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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

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Original poster

Girls not allowed to wear trousers to school...anyone with experience?

42 replies

21stcentury · 04/03/2011 20:04

A few months ago my daughter started at her new school for 7-11 year olds. The uniform policy states that only Skirts are allowed for girls. We approached the school and were told that Governing Body would be reviewing the Uniform policy. They sent out a general questionaire that asked parents if they were happy with the current uniform. Less than 50% of parents responded. The results of this review have now come through:

"After a lengthy discussion particularly on the pros and cons of allowing girls to wear trousers, the Governing Body has decided not to make any change to the school uniform but to update and clarify the guidance for parents... We have also supported a proposal that during cold weather girls should be allowed to travel to and from school in trousers with the option to change at the beginning and end of the school day."

I have seen the following article www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-126456/School-face-court-girls-wear-trousers.html
but was wondering if anyone else out there had experience dealing with Governing Bodies on this issue that could help us respond to this. If there is anyone who knows the "cons" of allowing girls to wear trousers I would also love to know.

OP posts:
LeninGrad · 04/03/2011 21:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

tigerbear · 04/03/2011 21:39

I'm shocked tbh - what is their reasoning that girls shouldn't wear trousers? Why ever not?
What would happen if you sent you DD in trousers anyway?

Unrulysun · 04/03/2011 22:14

A friend of mine went on a course at a school the other day and was told asked not to wear trousers as it is a Jewish school. I was Biscuit when she told me.

amiheartless · 04/03/2011 22:33

I can't believe this still goes on OP how frustrating for you.

when I was at school we had a really creepy HM he tried to force girls to wear skirts. because ..wait for it...
Some girls didnt have the figures for tight trousers, Shock IHO

candleshoe · 04/03/2011 22:44

www.equalityhumanrights.com/hafan/cyngor-ac-arweiniad/darparwyr-addysg-a-hyfforddiant/triniaeth-deg-ym-myd-addysg/school-uniform/

This link takes you to Human Rights Commission Opinion on this issue.

The trouble seems to be that this has been recently clouded by 'religious' dress issues and so has become more restrictive not less.

Uniform is utterly unenforceable, legally, at Primary Schools.

Helzapoppin · 05/03/2011 10:51

If you want to take this further, I would contact the local authority and ask for their view on the matter. I would mention that it is an equal opportunities issue, both in terms of gender, but also because girls from certain cultures may feel very uncomfortable being forced to wear skirts. I suspect that they would take a very dim view of such a silly (and I think a little illaegal) rule.

Unrulysun- that seems to be the case in some Jewish schools. I remember a friend who works for a local authority who had to visit a Jewish school having to get her outfit 'approved of' before she went in. Bizarre.

SardineQueen · 05/03/2011 16:34

Blimey.

Whether it is legally enforcable or not is interesting but not that much use as many parents would not send their children in in something that was not regulation IYSWIM. So in theory, it's good to know, in practice, it doesn't help.

I have no idea what the girls wear at the primaires I've put DD down for.

OP surely they should show you the minutes of the meeting if you ask, needing a FOI request for it seems well overboard! Mind you again, I've not got children at school yet so maybe they aren't very transparent...

Of course girls should be able to wear trousers. And boys skirts...

Original poster
21stcentury · 07/03/2011 15:29

Tigerbear - no reason was given, just that the pro's and con's had been debated...I have trawled a whole lot of past threads about this and the only con's I have seen are:

  1. Not smart (!?) to have a mix for girls
  2. Trouser legs getting wet if they are too long
  3. Not traditional
  4. Arguments in the morning regarding choice of Trouser/skirt; apparently the girls go through phases of what is cool or not cool.

None of these stack up against the practical Pro's as far as I can see, never mind the basic principle.

There?s a group of us getting together next week to decide next steps - I'll update you once the situation moves on again.

OP posts:
ZZZenAgain · 07/03/2011 15:31

absolutely ridiculous for girls to have to wear a skirt and not be allowed to wear trousers. Should at least be an option

StewieGriffinsMom · 07/03/2011 16:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

NoodlesMam · 07/03/2011 17:12

I know of a secondary school where there is a 'no skirts' policy! The girls were coming in with them like belts and the school eventually got sick and banned them. My DD1 attends a Catholic all girls school and there's a skirts only policy. TBH I am sick of buying bloody tights!!! If she were able to wear trousers these would last a whole lot longer than the school policy opaque tights. I don't think it bothers DD1 now she's older and not cartwheeling round the playground but when she was younger she would insist on trousers and if that had been a problem I would've fought for her right to wear them. Apart from the fact it's completely sexist I think trousers are much more comfortable - no worries about coming out the toilet with the back of your skirt tucked into your knickers or worries of it riding up!

Avantia · 07/03/2011 17:15

I would question whether it is down to the Governors of the school to make this decison - surely its up to the head teacher .

Perhaps someone could through some light on that - I have just started as a Governor would say its not down to us , howvever will listen to Governors of more experience .

candleshoe · 07/03/2011 18:47

stewiegriffithsmom - some very good points well made. My senior school had clothes guidelines don't dress like a slut but no uniform.

Original poster
21stcentury · 10/09/2011 18:11

I said I would update when there was progress... 6 months later and still very little. After numerous letters and e-mails, we finally had a face to face meeting with the Chair of the Board and the Head of the School this week.

They offered to discuss possibly holding a new consultation next year, where the specific question regarding trousers would be put to parents. Our point is: this is a discriminatory practise and thus the Board of Governers have a duty to end the injustice now, rather than hide behind what might be the opinion of the parents (although I doubt the majority of the parents will object to the change). The Board could, as I understand it, discuss this before the next BoG meeting and take the decision to implement the change at the next meeting. Instead as we currently stand, there will be a minumum of another 6 - 9 months before any action is taken.

We have drafted a letter setting out our objections purely on the basis of this being discriminatory and asking them to reconsider, copying the Local Authority and Local MP. We will then look to contact external organisations for support.

So if anyone out there is going through anything similar, has insight into the workings of School Boards or has any suggestions on what to do next I would love to hear from them.

OP posts:
Catitainahatita · 10/09/2011 18:31

Wow SGM: you distilled everything I have ever thought about uniforms in a very concise way. Brilliant. Not that it helps me much, Mexico is extremely uniform obssessed -rather like the UK in this way- and casual sexist discrimintation in girls and boys uniforms is rarely questioned. My dc's school are in for a nasty interview with me on the subject quite soon.

21st century: sorry for the hijack. I hope you get it resolved. I hated wearing my uniform and especially the skirt at my school in the 80s. We tried civil disobedience en masse, and after a while we managed it. But that was secondary school. Primary is much more difficult to negotiate. Keep going and best of luck.

nailak · 10/09/2011 18:44

i went to a girls school in late 90s, had to wear kilt, we pondered fighting for the right to wear trousers, but decided they would probably make us wear ugly pleated trousers, that were worse then kilts...

sarahtigh · 10/09/2011 21:50

there was an article in the news earlier this week about a school that wanted to ban girls wearing skirts and insist they wear trousers , there is uproar from some girl pupils who do not want to be forced to wear trousers, but thi was a secondary where i guess the skirts were what my father would refer to as "wide belts" the other thing is typical teenagers will want to wear skirts if they suggest banning them and would want to wear trousers if skirts enforced
i am sure they could alter rules stating that skirts must no more than 10cm above the knee or whatever at least and that trousers must not trail on floor

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