Challenging private schools girls uniforms

[SAMlady]

Have been considering a local private school but cannot bring myself to apply for our DD as the uniform guidelines do not allow girls to wear trousers.

I know it's an archaic way for private schools to keep up the old boys club and keep women in their box and enforce differences but would gladly hear suggestions for smart ways to challenge the school pointing out their stupidity- but without being the annoying parent. I'm probably not the right sort of parent anyhow as I just can't condone silently supporting this division and messaging.

So far:

1. why have pastoral program and tell pupils they can achieve anything but not let girls do perfectly normal thing
2. they will prob say it's tradition but can a) use examples of other traditions that they've adapted such as use of technology and b) talk about my school which is top grammar, founded in 1565 and they adapted when I went to school in the last millennium ffs

Policing of whatever the uniform is, is usual in schools, of course. However, I do understand what Elendon is saying wrt how sometimes the way in which girls uniform is policed veers into sexism. Not all the time, not often, but occasionally.

I find a lack of trouser option for all pupils to be weird, old fashioned and possibly representative of the attitudes of the school. It would make me wary and want to find out more about the school ethos and pastoral support.

I am old enough to have been in school AND then the workplace when women were not allowed to wear trousers. It was wrong then - and quite rightly it changed.
It is ridiculous in this day and age that trousers are not an option. It really shouldn't be an issue!

Policing of appearance regarding young girls and young women is so much different to men.

Really? It's just an aesthetic choice. Wearing dungarees is also a perfectly normal thing to do-you don't expect them to include those in their uniform so you? They just don't have trousers on their uniform list. Get over it.

I am completely with you OP, it's ridiculous

I have said here before, I am surprised there aren't social media campaigns commenting on schools who do this. I don't know how anyone could feel they were sending their DC to a remotely up to date contemporary school if girls still had to wear skirts, it's bizarre.

I think the points you make are totally valid but ironically the best way is probably for parents with children at the schools to get them in and then be "that" parent. My mum was that parent for both our primary and secondary schools. No one took it out on us - in fact I think half the teachers probably agreed, but the heads didn't agree.

btw are there any religious exemptions at the school you are thinking of?

Actually if the school has a sixth form attached to it then wearing dungarees would be acceptable for young women in business attire so long as the material wasn't obviously denim or ripped. The boys wouldn't be allowed to do that.

So, young men always in suits and the young women in clothes that would be acceptable within the work place.

Also OP I would ask what the policy is regarding clothing on non uniform days - some schools include the teachers in this.

That would be an interesting response.

Quite odd to come to feminism chat and see people defending this silly skirt-only policy.

Also: any one who uses the fatuous phrase "Get over it" can immediately be dismissed as an idiot and their point of view ignored.

hack - there are regulars on here who are happy for girls to be obliged to wear skirts at school. they will tell you all about their skirt cartwheeling, tree climbing days and pay no heed to anyone who had problems on account of tights and thrush and eczema. I still have the fucking eczema scars at 41!

in fact, if there was a way to run a sweepstake I would know who to bet on to suggest 10 million types of socks or tights I could have worn to avoid the eczema but no, any type of them gave me eczema and posters who "like to see girls in skirts" will not have ANY of that.

The thing about the vehement defence of skirts is that no one is suggesting here that girls should be banned from wearing them! Just that those who want to can wear trousers, whether that's none of them, a handful or a majority. To specifically ban one item of uniform from girls but not boys is bizarre.

Dd 's school just got a new uniform including trouser option. Haven't seen a pair yet! Interestingly uniform supplier was adamant that we didn't need trousers as the girls don't wear them - seems he's right!!

Minute they are in 6th form - trousers on all of them!!!!

Petra, sadly there may be girls who want to wear trousers and their parents won't let them. It might be that in 6th form they start to win that battle with their folks?

If trousers are important to your daughter and girls already at the school, they could mount their own campaign for a trouser option in the uniform. Here is a school that it happened at recently:
vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouver-thoughtful-protest-yields-shift-in-decades-old-school-uniform-tradition

Dd 's school just got a new uniform including trouser option. Haven't seen a pair yet! Interestingly uniform supplier was adamant that we didn't need trousers as the girls don't wear them - seems he's right!!

If the supplier is telling parents of girls they don't need them then maybe that's factoring into why girls aren't wearing them - they're being told (via parents) that girls "don't wear them", so being gendered despite having the option.

If skirts do not aid in learning (they don’t) and reinforce gender stereotypes (they do), then it’s time for change. I’d be ‘that parent’ because it matters a huge amount that we don’t just go along with things we know to be wrong because it’s easier, but I know that it comes at a price sometimes so I don’t expect other parents to do that.