AIBU to think school skirt bans undermine choice rather than equality?

[BadBadCat]

AIBU to think banning school skirts reinforces the opinion that to be equal, women need to be more like men.

I don't fully understand the reasons behind banning skirts in the drive for equality. I can only think that there are other reasons behind it that are not being made explicit by schools- maybe to eliminate up-skirting issues, to avoid having to deal with girls wearing inappropriately short ones, to eliminate the issue of transgender boys wearing skirts etc.

However, in my opinion, removing the choice of a skirt, which has been the traditional wear for women and girls and enforcing trousers, suggests that men's traditional attire is superior to women's. I'm all for girls wearing skirts if they choose, but I think it should be a choice. Schools saying they want to ensure comfort for all is disingenuous in my eyes because girls who feel uncomfortable in skirts can wear trousers if they wish.

It seems to me another removal of women's rights,

What do you all think?

The only woman wearing what may be a skirt in that photo is not a nurse on her feet all day, she's also wearing ballet flats and not in "uniform". Administrator.

The trousers decision is the right decision. Majority of teenage girls don't wear skirts properly.. I'm not talking a bit rolled up, but literally their arse cheeks are sticking out. It's not a good look on a child and they haven't yet got the maturity to wear the skirts properly or even just a little longer (not all but most it seems).

I think it’s about time we should get rid of uniform all together. It seems to cause far more problems than it solves. I don’t think it’s fit for purpose and it looks dreadful.
I also don’t think removing the option of skirts for 6 hours a day, 190 odd days a year is removing women’s rights.
Uniforms are restrictive, my sons would rather wear soft waisted shorts for secondary school. They find them more comfortable and they fit better, they’d also prefer not to wear a shirt and tie but it’s not the uniform so they can’t.

There are four women in the picture wearing a dress/skirt?

The UK.

Academy trust in the Northwest

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/schoolgirls-barred-lessons-academy-doubles-34562944

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/oldham-school-skirt-ban-pupils-34565513

Multiple schools affected.

I'm all in favour of banning skirts at school. That's more like equality to me!

Teachers must spend valuable time policing the possible visibility of underwear and crotches on girls when they have so much more productive things to do, and so do the girls!

Once the skirts are gone, the heat is off for conflict, measuring tapes, visible crotches and underwear, competitiveness to see who can make the shortest skirt and so on. Teenagers will rebel, banning skirts at school will give them one less thing to rebel about and focus on why they are actually at school!

Anyway someone above mentioned banning skirts so the boys won't be leering and gawking at what they might see in a short rolled up skirt wearing girl, I think it's more to stop the utter brashness and competitive nature of girls wanting to impress the boys!

Also see this story where parents bought the skirt required from the approved supplier and were still told the skirt was too short.

Even though they weren't adjusting it and the example on the school website was the same length.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/denton-community-academy-school-uniform-37621209?int_source=amp_continue_reading&int_medium=amp&int_campaign=continue_reading_button#amp-readmore-target

This story is worse than the one about the school trousers tbh.

Girls are being affected by these uniform issues far more than boys.

It does strike me that it's indirect sexism on the part of the school in Denton.

Most of them are not wearing coats - the other sign I’m getting old is tutting at them all in the wind and rain and snow with no coat on.

They mostly have handbags, and the uniform is jumpers not blazers, so knickers are on show under rolled up skirts.

Also I am keeping my eyes on the children when I’m driving who are prone to step into the road/hustle and bustle and get pushed into the road. I don’t approve of what they’re wearing but I don’t want to run them over so need to keep an eye on what they’re doing.

I’m a straight, childless woman in my 30s. I don’t want to see children’s underwear. I’m not going out at 3pm with my binoculars to upskirt teenage girls. You cannot miss how obviously some of this underwear is on show. It’s better in winter as at least then it’s just gussets of tights I can see.

The red light district was light hearted hyperbole for somewhere where one would expect to see a lot of underwear. Maybe a more appropriate analogy would have been a Victoria’s Secret runway.

I don’t have any issue with an adult having their underwear on display (well actually I do, I don’t want to see that either but at least they’re old enough to think through and make those decisions in an informed way). Children should be guided and sheltered until they can make those decisions - because let’s be honest, these girls aren’t rolling their skirts up in a vacuum, are they? That decision is being influenced by societal pressures and teen culture and potentially the male gaze and patriarchy.

Oh wait - you want girls to be allowed to wear dresses not skirts?

I do agree with that and would be in favour of skirts being replaced with dresses (as this would solve my issue of them being rolled up too far).

But almost all the things you’ve just implied are bad about trousers are bad about skirts too.

(Also why no VPL with dresses? I have more VPL with dresses as it’s VPL plus the tights under the dress that show through).

Trousers!
Dungaree vegan !

I understand why schools may have trousers only, whilst I think there should be a choice. The 'does my bum look big in this' may be a joke from a comedy show, but causes very real issues for teenage girls and young women with trousers (and older ones too).

The existence of school.uniforms at all undermines choice!

Nope.... you've lost me

If there is acceptance of this inequality then can one assume that trousers means trousers and not spray on 'trousers' leaving little to the imagination? In the school where I worked 20+ years ago there was an insistance that boys wore school trousers, not chinos or the then popular cargo-pants but the 'rule' didn't apply to the girls, apparently the feminists who ran the school thought this would be 'unfair' to the girls!

I'm all in favour of banning skirts at school. That's more like equality to me!

How ridiculous, it's totally inequality to force 50% into something they may not be comfortable in and it also means that someone identifying as a girl cannot express that feeling!

The boys can't/won't wear skirts correct? Where's the equality in that?

If everyone wears trousers, it's equal. I bet if the girls were told tomorrow that there will no longer be a uniform, wear your own, the majority of girls will be in leggings, jeans, or whatever trouser variant is most current for their age group. I rarely see teen girls out and about wearing skirts now!

Most schools have a gender neutral uniform policy these days where both skirts and trousers are acceptable for all. Of course most boys will not wear a skirt, however it is not unheard of for obvious reasons.

Based on the drive to school this morning, I can completely see why skirts are being banned at secondary level 75% of the girls I drove past had rolled up skirts that were hovering at knicker grazing level. It was obvious it was due to rolling them up because the hems were uneven. It makes the whole point of having a skirt on the uniform untenable.

NOT from the POV of boys/hormones/male staff because those are all issues about men needing to be in control of themselves in a civilised society. From the POV of decency. In a professional / educational environment, it is inappropriate to present an overly sexualised image and the girls that flout the rules are the ones to blame for taking away the rights of others. The schools are just trying to circumvent the rule breaking.

Even as a youngster, I was prone to massive bloating. I tended to wear a pinafore to high school (trendy!). Trousers only would have been horrendous. I'd have had to go to school starving and stayed starving for the full day.

I'm with @SleeplessRoads. I saw exactly this today, 3 hours ago. It isn't cold mind, so no need for coats. But every girl I saw had a knicker skimming skirt level.

I’m shocked by some of these comments. Girls shouldn’t wear short skirts around hormonal teenagers? Teachers have better things to do than look at girls arses. What the actual fuck.

It’s not to do with oppression
It’s not to do with being active or otherwise
It’s everything to do with teachers not wanting to take up valuable headspace constantly telling girls to roll their skirts down

They'd probably have kept them if girls wearing them didn't show their bum. It's a waste of teachers' time battling with girls about showing their bum so trousers are a good idea.

Why are they more appropriate. My DD’s skirt is long. Girls have the option of trousers and there are a few who do wear them but the majority chose a skirt. My dd hates trousers as she finds them uncomfortable.

Problem is the trousers are going to be just some 'one size fits no one' offering from a single supplier. I have big hips and really struggle to find trousers, I have to shop around. The quality of my sons school uniform is appalling, the vast majority of boys are straight up and down but if I had a daughter I wouldn't trust the seams on the trousers to be structured for curves. Most of the girls wear skirts.