Gender neutral school uniform = Trousers

[ItIsOnlyAnOpinion]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5906031/Girls-banned-wearing-skirts-40-schools-insist-gender-neutral-uniforms.html

No more skirts.

I think I'm happy with choice of trousers and shorts. Will solve a number of problems.

They will not tackle upskirting pervy boys, or tolerate boys in skirts, instead they take a choice away.

I was in year 6 and a group of us girls chose to wear shorts (black knee length all chose to buy from the same place) and we just all showed up to school in them. I also stopped wearing a cardigan and wore a jumper instead. However it was nice to have the choice and don't think that should be taken away

Should uniforms actually be uniform, finally?

When I was a teenager I went through a puppy fat stage and felt massively thunder thighed and uncomfortable in trousers.

I love a dress or skirt in the summer. Much cooler. I look awful in shorts.

The rationale is off too. There will be girl trousers and boy trousers. So they wont be gender neutral unless they are all made to wear the same trousers.
The reason that uniforms tend to be skirts for girls is because womans waists hips, bottoms legs come in all shapes and sizes and are much harder to fit than men.
This is why girls/womans cheap trousers tend to have a stretch in the fabric as the cut becomes less important. Yoga pants fit all as are stretchy.
men tend to have a more up down straight shape.

If you are in the size 12 range you may have noticed that the sizing is all over as people shapes tend to deviate a lot at this size. fat is deposited on the hips for some on the bum for others and the waist.

I say trousers and nice kilt option for all.

A gender neutral uniform would be to specify skirt, shorts, trousers, and allow all students to wear any of it. That's all and it's not very complicated. Girls that prefer wearing skirts should not have that option removed in the name of "gender neutrality".

busyboysmum
The only pair of non sporty strech trousers that i have that fit me properly where very very expensive.

It is interesting that in the idea of gender neutral always seems to be taking something away from girls rather than adding

I would have given my eye teeth to be allowed trousers at school. All-girl secondary school, mandatory skirts, mixed primary school, mandatory skirts. My legs were freezing because I couldn't layer up with leggings underneath trousers, tights with a skirt don't come close for warmth. I'm hence finding it hard to get annoyed about mandatory trousers for all.

I hope that they are all allowed shorts in the summer.

When something is made gender neutral it is always always always what is the norm for Boys or men made the rule for women and / or girls it's never the other way round.
Just imagine the furore if the new gender neutral uniform was navy blue kilts and pink striped shirt and navy blazer with pink badge

It doesn't matter if the girls are upset at losing the skirt option but it would matter a great deal if the boys were upset at the compulsory kilts.

I do t understand why schools can't just have a list of acceptable uniform items (including trousers, skirts, shorts etc.) from which any pupil is free to choose any combination.

kilt option Could also consider knickerbockers.

We went on strike and sat on the field for hours to get trousers for girls. Our local school is now considering banning trousers for girls from September.

Teacup that's because a lot of girls and women already wear trousers, very few boys and men wear skirts. Even in Scotland where skirts (kilts) are socially acceptable for men very few men wear them. It's just going with the majority.

And for girls in the summer they're really gonig to notice the difference if they can't wear skirts - if they're at senior school there are very few schools that will let them wear shorts instead of trousers.

I know it means everybody suffering but it would be nice to see them introduce sensible shorts for older kids as well as primary age ones! Would people abuse the option? Probably a bit - but only in so far as they are already abusing the trouser and skirt options!

The headmaster is an idiot.

Tony Smith, head of Priory School, said last year: 'The reason for the uniform change initially is about equality, and decency.

Our students will all now wear the same uniform. 'It is a much more decent uniform and it is far less likely to lead to abuse.

Decent? Clothes cause abuse? I'd be taking that up with him if my kids were at that school.

Indeed Upstart Not only is he an idiot I question his suitability to be a headmaster.

The school my son was at has a strict uniform policy but now allows girls to wear trousers- judging from recent school photos and from what I've noticed from seeing senior pupils out and about it isn't being taken up.

The most gender neutralising approach is surely to dump uniform completely and let children wear what they want. My dd's school did this with no apparent issues.

I suspect that head meant that girls forced to wear trousers would be less likely to break school rules (ie to roll up their skirts).

They will not tackle upskirting pervy boys, or tolerate boys in skirts, instead they take a choice away

It would serve them right if a trans girl complains. Didn't Lily Madigan complain about not being allowed to wear a skirt at school?

This idiot headmaster also said

'It is a gender neutral uniform, and we've thought carefully about that, ensuring that it is was gender neutral.

'We have transgender students in the school and we have an increasing number of students who are at that crossroads of understanding around their gender.

I really hope he has a Lily Madigan amongst his pupils. It is nonsense of course there is no reason for denying any pupil to wear a skirt but I bet he would not dare tell a trans girl they weren't allowed to.

If he is hung up on enforcing rules then he may be wanting to head off a boy insisting on the right to wear a skirt, and think if it's trousers for all then that won't be possible. If LM had been at a school where the girls had been made to wear trousers then they would have had no grounds to insist on their right to wear a skirt in order to 'dress as the girl they truly are' because they would be dressed the same as all the girls (and boys).

This is based on my assumption of abuse = abusing school rules as opposed to sexual abuse. The emphasis on 'decency' is concerning as well as the authoritarianism.

If he is hung up on enforcing rules then he may be wanting to head off a boy insisting on the right to wear a skirt, and think if it's trousers for all then that won't be possible

But he would have Lily arguing that this policy has only recently been introduced, is discriminatory of trans girls and pointing out other schools where a unform policy is a skirt.

A truly gender neutral policy would be to allow boys and girls to pick either.

Decent? Any headmaster who suggests that if his female students were being harassed it's because they were dressed indecently should be sacked.

My children's school introduced trousers-only for girls (yr7-11) some years ago, as they were fed up with the girls blatantly flouting the skirt length rule (as we all did ourselves) and decided to stop the argument once and for all. Nothing to do with gender issues back then. Seemed sensible to me and better than the compulsory opaque black tights year round....warmer in winter, cooler in summer.

Uniforms generally are a patriarchal instrument - as if dad knows best what's best for the rest of you