Headteacher backtracks after calling for 'gender neutral' uniform

[hellooooooomama]

He was going to ban skirts.

Parental feedback was not sought initially, but they've had plenty of it since the change was announced!

My opinion. Police the children effectively if they're not wearing it properly. Don't punish the girls who are following the rules.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9915zgvjk4o?at_link_id=743ED69C-41D3-11F0-AA25-C9355B601FDF&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_ptr_name=facebook_page&at_link_origin=BBC_Essex&at_link_type=web_link&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_medium=social&at_format=image&at_campaign_type=owned&fbclid=IwQ0xDSwKuxqJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHk6aensTQMd06TSswic5MxNQHZ2Ru4bMWTwlqBl_l3XOBjgDph5zvELMd7g9_aem_wrAH7AjLCJqPj7Nn6TwJcg

Don’t be daft.

Thanks for the constructive contribution!. Enjoy your talk about girls knickers, pants, arses, short skirts and periods running down their leg and how teenage girls ought to cover themselves up. Each to their own😆

You called women discussing their own periods ‘internalised misogyny’ which is pretty fucking stupid.

You have obviously never experienced flooding in public then, as a young girl it was quite traumatic as was being forced to do sport wearing only knickers.

Yes but you're completely missing the point because where you live the girls wear black biker shorts underneath.

Where I live no one wears black biker shorts underneath, if they did there would be absolutely no problem. Unfortunately here if you walk up the stairs you are likely to see bum cheeks, it's frequent and completely inappropriate. I don't want to be 'obsessed with it' as you keep accusing people of being, I just want it kept appropriate and it's not.

Personally I'm all for trousers, they're much more practical, they're don't show bum cheeks and they're another layer of material between periods and leaking, especially if they're black which hopefully won't even show.

I wish trousers had been an option when I was a teen, but I probably wouldn't have worn them if no one else did as I'd have wanted to fit in and everyone (past year 8 certainly) would have preferred skirts to look better for the boys - it would have been much better if trousers were the only option.

Why do your daughters want to roll their skirts up?

I don’t think this even is feminism though! Yes skirts, particularly mini skirts, were associated with women’s liberation, but that was women, not children and not in relation to a school uniform. This whole thread is bizarre.

Yes, I agree. This thread has taken a very strange turn and does not seem to be about feminism, safeguarding, children or misogyny. I am out, but not before I flag up that misogyny is NOT SPELLED MYSOGYNY. There, I feel better now😁

Apart from the fact that the search term also returns results for male clothing, the majority of theirs doesn't expose anywhere near as much of the body in the first place. It's as though women have been stuck with expectations to show more for general observation by males for years - to be decorative rather than functional, to titillate rather than be warm or unburned by the sun, whereas men have covered up from the neck down, normally with at least two layers/with thicker fabrics.

Feminism is also not dressing for the male gaze. If you read up on it, you might understand why some of us do not wish to conform to an expectation to have more of our bodies visible than men to men.

I'd be all for baggy black joggers as school uniform, I'm pretty sure that would suit everyone. Tight trousers discriminate against girls on their periods.

The local UTCs have black cargo trousers for everyone, both sexes. They're oversubscribed, so quite popular. Tops are logoed polo shirts and sweatshirt or hoodie.

Agree with you.

A group of grown posters aggressively criticising schoolgirls for rolling up their skirts and anyone who offers an alternative, more tolerant or empathetic view gets immediately shut down.

It’s as if these people see girls who roll up their skirts not as teenagers exploring identity, autonomy, trail and error and peer dynamics, but as threats to order and symbols of moral decline. This says far more about their own discomfort and projections than it does about the girls' school uniforms.

Framing schoolgirls as temptations and distractions is a form of sexualisation, and it suggests that adult self-control depends on how much skin a teenager shows. That’s not just outdated, it’s absurd, adults are responsible for their own thoughts and actions.

Implying that girls should be policing their bodies just to make others feel comfortable reinforces the idea that their value and safety hinges on how well they hide their bodies. It's so reactionary and hostile and not at all about protecting children, it’s about controlling girls.

The outrage isn’t really about skirt length, it’s about posters discomfort with girls having control over their own bodies and choices. At its core, it reflects a sexist attitude towards young female teenagers, dressed up as concern.

Equality for men, at last. Rejoice.
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2025/may/31/thigh-guy-summer-mens-short-shorts-in-high-demand-and-steering-swimwear

For all your slut menz

https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/short-shorts-2024

Or perhaps that's a pile of bollocks and it is actually entirely reasonable not to want to see people's arses in your workplace.

Making a comeback from the 50s, 60s, 70s. Not a new thing.

Teenagers who are just beginning to develop as sexual beings have always tried to run before they can walk. They probably always will. That's fine. It's called growing up. Part of growing up involves making mistakes, some of which will involve dressing inappropriately.

The role of adults is to hold the line and tell our teenagers when they have crossed it. Showing your gusset at school is one of those lines.

But by all means carry on telling us that a thirteen year old girl wearing a skirt so short that everyone can see what she had for breakfast is fine and we're the problem for thinking otherwise. That'll show us.

BTW you still haven't explained why it's wrong to tell girls to cover a body part that boys are also expected to cover.

Some girls feel uncomfortable with trousers as the emphasise their body shape. Also it feels like the outline of a sanitary pad can be seen through them. I liked skirts and dresses for that reason. It's more modesty for a girl.

Perhaps if the head themselves concentrated on 'more important issues' than trying to remove rights from girls and making them feel uncomfortable going to school on their period, then the school would do better. Funny how the school has time to waste on such frivolous issues like this but whines when protective mothers and parents call them out to the media. Lets be honest; we all know if the media didn't get involved, the school would have just IGNORED the parents and girls requests.

Going to the media is often the only way for girls to get any justice at these schools. If the head feels 'shamed' by the media, then it's well deserved and they should look at themselves why.

What rights are removed from girls by asking them to wear their skirts long enough to cover their knickers?

Dresses? We had dresses for 'Summer uniform' and you can't roll them up.

I went to the supermarket yesterday and decided to see if I had actually been 'ignoring men's erroneous ways' with their penis-displaying joggers.

The vast majority of men were wearing jeans or proper shorts with a zip. Very few wearing joggers and those that were could have been a Ken doll, you couldn't see anything.

So I'm pretty confident that I have not actually been ignoring men's shameful attire.

Sorry, are you actually suggesting getting rid of staircases in schools to stop people being able to see girls underwear???????

Anything other than suggest that they follow a sensible dress code, right?

I mean, there are dress codes in the vast majority of places, particularly workplaces that means you can't walk around with your arse on show, male or female. It is well understood what constitutes appropriate attire for various occasions.

Yet the minute it is suggested that these should apply equally to teenage girls you are a MISOGYNIST, a PERVERT, you are POLICING YOUNG GIRLS' BODIES and furthermore you are REMOVING THEIR RIGHTS.

Batshit.

No, I am suggesting we have solid staircases, not ones with open treads. Open tread staircases are common particularly in 70s buildings - they look airy, unfortunately the give a good view from below of people going up the stairs.

It’s not the staircase that’s the problem.