Girls wearing skirts at school

[RedskyAtnight]

DD (Y10) has decided this year she wants to wear a skirt to school after having always previously worn trousers.
She had tried her skirt on and was showing me when she said "Oh and I'll need some cycling shorts to wear underneath". I told her she really didn't and I got a hard look and a "yes I do Mum, my school is full of paedos". Established that she actually meant boys at the school and not male members of staff.

DS (Y12) then wandered in, saw DD in a school skirt and asked "Are you wearing shorts under that?". DD said that I was going to get her some and he said "good, there are too many boys at our school who like looking up the girls' skirts".

I've come across the argument for wearing shorts under school skirts before, but it's normally at primary school age and linked to the risk of showing off underwear when doing cartwheels.

Perhaps I am being naive, but I was genuinely shocked that this was happening. Is this widespread teen boy behaviour, or is their school particularly bad?

DD likes to wear shorts under her school skirt and she's at an all girl's school so no one is "up-skirting".

They aren't as long as cycling shorts but longer than big pants!

I haven't worn shorts under skirts since about the age of 12. If it is for modesty reasons I would have assumed that an adult would wear tights, leggings or trousers. I didn't know it was a "thing" until this thread.

I'm in my 30's and this has been going on forever. I much preferred wearing a skirt to trousers though (still do, i find it more comfortable) so I would have hated it if they went trousers only, in fact despite having the choice the vast majority of girls in my school chose skirts.

I honestly think I'd rather my dd wore shorts under her skirt at school as teenage boys can be on the lookout for opportunities to see the oop sex in this light and although it's wrong I would find it nicer to have to complain about a boy looking up my skier knowing he didn't really catch a glimpse of much, I doubt not wearing shorts will stop this. I don't suppose much will still it except maybe stricter penalties at school maybe. But the way schools are now I doubt they will enforce anything.

Wouldn’t teaching boys not to abuse girls be a better solution? And, you know, create a better society going forward?

This.

Quite shocked that the OP did not challenge her son on his statement. And what school s it where this is "common knowledge" but the school is not taking strong educational and disciplinary measures against all the boys?

We need to start punish & disciplining the boys for the culture of sexism they create.

Not punish & discipline the girls for the boys' actions.

And to add: I'm in my 60s. For some of my education I attended a pretty bog-standard comprehensive, mixed sex. In those days ...

Girls had to wear tunics, supposedly of a certain length. And yes, girls rolled the tunics over their belts to shorten them - this was the age of the miniskirt, remember. And boys were sent home if their hair was over their collars.

On the School Council, we started a movement to allow girls to wear trousers, but were told this was not going to happen.

The surveillance of what girls wear, particularly in a mixed sex environment, has been with us for a long time.

DD’s school had a bit of all of the above.

Metal staircases that made it almost impossible to avoid seeing the person above in a new light

A few boys who thought rulers are for skirt-flipping

Cycling to school strongly encouraged (not great in a short pleated or skater skirt)

Plus, the site was practically a wind tunnel. DD found it entertaining that even those in decent length skirts could have a Marilyn Monroe moment walking to the art block.

The only skirts likely to stay in place are the tight stretchy ones that schools seem keen to ban. Oh well.

Wouldn’t teaching boys not to abuse girls be a better solution? And, you know, create a better society going forward?

I agree. Sadly, in my experience, teaching arseholes that some behaviours are inappropriate is just water off a duck's back, and they still behave like arseholes.

DD's school was pretty good at trying to teach pupils how to be useful mebers of society, but she still had to put up with some horrible behaviour from some of the boys. I even had to contact school about one of them on one occasion, and the school were happy to haul him over the coals, but I asked them just to log it and keep it on record in case it happened again because DD didn't want a fuss making.

Quite shocked that the OP did not challenge her son on his statement.

DS told me that some boys at his school behave badly. I'm sure he's correct. What was I meant to have challenged? I'm aware (both from the way he said it, and from his reaction to previous sexist events involving girls he knows) that DS does not approve or condone this behaviour (and if he'd personally seen a boy doing it, I'm also fairly sure he would have punched or pushed the boy, which clearly isn't behaviour I agree with either, just in case you think I'm wrongly painting my DS as an angel).

DD always wears a skirt because she can't get trousers that fit, so skirts are a far more practical and comfortable solution than wearing trousers which are either far too short or else far too big and held up by a belt. Her school skirt is a sturdy kilt with decent pockets which is more practical than most of the trousers she's had.

Our school has opaque black tights as compulsory if wearing skirt. So no bare legs even in summer.

I am really against not allowing skirts as a choice because of bad behaviour.

My girls struggle to find trousers to fit, and they grow out of them, so skirts are loads better.

I'm in my 30's and this has been going on forever.

And I am in my 50's and ditto! I was upskirted as they now call it a number of times (before I moved to an all girls school, and even then, it happened at couple of times on public transport on the way home). Corridors are often crowded, and girls get skirts flicked up, and rubbed against and groped. Often you might not even see who does it, sometimes you may know, but it would never have been peer acceptable to tell. Girls just put up with it. I can't imagine that it now being illegal is going to help much, groping and sexual assault has always been illegal, and girls just put up with it, or tried to keep out of harms way.

My DD was groped by an 18 year old at 13, she turned round and kicked him really hard.

His mates laughed and she called her feisty and fridgid.

She called him a pedo.

Girls shouldn’t have to!

Gosh no my daughters not said anything and she’s in year 8, and been wearing a skirt throughout. Not even considered that

Boys putting their hands up your skirt was just a normal part of secondary school sadly. Girls generally didn't want the drama of telling a teacher and parents being called in and it spreading round the school so we'd just put up with it. I don't know if it's different now with the metoo stuff.

My dd is at an all girls school and she's always chosen to wear 'cartwheel shorts' under her skater style skirt. Which indeed is the one that I bought her when she started Y7 and she has no intention of stopping wearing as it rides up her legs...

Waking upstairs, periods, cold weather - all sorts of reasons that you might want an extra something on. I wear something similar when I cycle in a short dress tbh.

Yes, of course boys/men should be taught to respect girls/women but while we're waiting for that epiphany to arise, then girls and women should take what steps they need to feel comfortable.

Lets be honest about this - most girls wear cycling shorts to protect their modesty because they insist on rolling their skirts up so they are really short. At my DDs school they are only allowed tights after Autumn half term until Easter its short white socks otherwise. Also cycling shorts prevent chub rub which is another excellent reason to wear them!

My daughter wears cycling shorts under her skirt but her reasoning is she just feels more secure and warmer. Long socks and cycle shorts for her are easier than tights. She's got trousers too but seems to prefer skirts for some reason.