Should girls be given the option to wear pants?

[owidjaja]

I remember seeing this article in our Society & Culture Google Classroom and I got so triggered because it made me realise how backwards our uniform policy is (in general): Should Australian schools force girls to wear skirts?

I don't know about you, but from my experiences, I remember in primary school girls were always given the option to wear pants or skirt/dress (I went to a public school). I moved to a private junior school and boooyyyy was it different. I don't think it would be as strict as a grammar school but our winter uniform was a blouse, jumper, blazer for the top and we had to wear stockings and a kilt (yes, a heavy-ass kilt). Everyone despised the kilt. We couldn't run in it (especially if anyone has to chase after the bus) or whenever we ran, the slit in the kilt would flash open, and PE was a nightmare because you had to wear your PE shirt underneath and then bring the pants to school, get out of your stockings (without ripping) and get into your PE shorts. No wonder girls prefer sports uniform. I remember the school didn't want to change the uniform because one of the senior members of staff supposedly designed the winter uniform so they didn't want to change it.

Come senior school, our winter uniform isn't as bad as the junior school uniform but we still have to wear a blouse, blazer (jumper is optional), skirt (not as bad as a kilt) and stockings. And let me tell you, stockings do not keep you warm. They tear easily, they're itchy and ridiculously thin. Plus, skirts in winter?? It's freezing cold.

Which begs the question: should girls be given the option to wear pants?

I kinda feel this kind of discussion would be more targeted towards girls but hearing from guys would also be interesting!

[Aaron]

Yes.

I agree with the idea of a gender neutral uniform or a choice in what students wear, as long as it is consistent and within a framework to ensure that everybody is equal.

[PhoenixxFire]

Yesyesyesyesyesyesyes. I don’t think I can possibly say that enough haha.

My old high school (public) used to have an options with pants for girls but we got a new principal a few years before I started and she got rid of it. We asked a few times (and a petition went around) I don’t know if things have changed (although I live right near it and haven’t seen any girls in pants) but when we complained they just told us to wear the boys uniform  like sure that might be fine for 12 year olds, it’s not going to work for 18 year olds. There was only one girl that actually did wear the boys uniform, and she got glared at and called horrible names for it, it’s so ridiculous to not have an option for pants, I absolutely hated wearing a dress/skirt for 2 years.

[Lear]

In consideration of the features of males and females, a skirt would actually make more sense for men and pants for females. Maybe the Scottish had it right .

But in all seriousness, it’s 2018 and everyone should be able to equally access what uniform they wish to wear.

[sarangiya]

I'll take the controversial opinion haha.
Personally, I think it's a great idea and do wholly believe that we should have access to whichever uniform we want.
But, for example, there aren't actually any pants in my school's uniform (apart from sport tracksuit pants). We are an all-girls school.
So having access to pants in the uniform would actually come with the expense of designing and manufacturing the pants, not to mention the price on top of a uniform that already costs around $1000 outright.
Because of the huge unlikelihood the uniform would be altered and the huge likelihood those who chose to wear it would face social stigma, I don't think it's a good idea.

Thinking that I too would prefer pants over dresses, skirts and stockings, I thought about other ways to improve the uniform.
I'm not too fussed with a blouse and jumper, since that would be what is worn with pants. I think the blazer is pretty standard for all school uniforms, too. The skirts are definitely cold in winter - that's what I wholeheartedly agree with. I'm not sure about you, but we are allowed to wear woolen tights instead of stockings, which don't rip and are somewhat warmer. Some girls even wear skins other clothing beneath their tights for warmth.
Overall, I think the idea of pants at my school is so far-fetched I can't even imagine it.
If it suits the image of other schools, I think that is great. But unless everyone agrees and there is some significant push for it that would warrant the production of pants as a new uniform item, I don't think it's entirely necessary.

[Calebark]

I didn't even know there were schools where girsl couldn't wear pants. Gosh, that's so backwards. Oh no, we need to prepare them for the real world where girls can't wear pants!

...wait

[secretweapon]

Definitely, it's unbelievable how many schools still don't allow this in, considering it's 2018

[EEEEEEP]

Because of the huge unlikelihood the uniform would be altered and the huge likelihood those who chose to wear it would face social stigma, I don't think it's a good idea.

If it suits the image of other schools, I think that is great. But unless everyone agrees and there is some significant push for it that would warrant the production of pants as a new uniform item, I don't think it's entirely necessary.

That's  just a big assumption though!  Why would a stigma exist? Girls already wear pants at work and pretty much everywhere. Stigma doesn't exist anywhere for females who wear pants =). People wear whatever they want these days

As for your second point of contention. Why does a school image have anything to do with skirts or pants? A schools image has more to do with how people go about their lives, behave and wear their uniform.

I respectfully disagree :,).

[PhoenixxFire]

Why would a stigma exist?

It shouldn’t but it does - when there aren’t many people wearing pants, people who do wear them get judged but obviously it depends what school you go to. It’s very much a cliquey thing. It’s not really an issue if lots of people are wearing pants but when it’s just a few it can get nasty

Like if you had free dress you would have the kids wearing their expensive brand name stuff and the people who are excluded because they can’t afford that stuff.

[strawberries]

re: stigma
Yeah at my high school we could wear pants, my parents actually strongly encouraged me to wear pants too. I personally didn't want to because of the social stigma so I internally wished that there was no option for pants so I wouldn't have to wear them

But in answer to OP's question, I don't see a problem with girls being given the option to wear pants, but I can see why some schools mightn't allow esp re image and stuff

[sarangiya]

That's  just a big assumption though!  Why would a stigma exist? Girls already wear pants at work and pretty much everywhere. Stigma doesn't exist anywhere for females who wear pants =). People wear whatever they want these days

Essentially, PheonixxFire and strawberries have said what I would have about stigma.
Of course, there's no stigma in society. It is stigma within the school itself.
Becuase of it, I don't think it's realistic to expect a change but I will say that the only way change will happen is if pants are adopted into the uniform.

As for your second point of contention. Why does a school image have anything to do with skirts or pants? A schools image has more to do with how people go about their lives, behave and wear their uniform.

I respectfully disagree :,).

My second point of contention was more the practicality of introducing pants into the uniform. I'm not sure if you mean to, but you say the school image is determined by how people wear the uniform. Our uniform rules are very strict, and are even scrutinized by women that used to go to my school years ago. So, I agree to some extent the uniform has to do with the image. I also agree that the conduct of the students has a large bearing on the image. But our school's history and expectations built up after a long time are also a part of our image. For example, the fact that we are Catholic school, or because people see us as more subdued and docile women (whether or not it is true).

Many interesting questions came out of this !

I will put forward: I don't think the a skirt restricts the freedom of a woman. Students that wear skirts at school generally wear pants outside of school. Only if there is genuine and significant want for a change of uniform and it is ignored would I think the school is backwards.

[fantasticbeasts3]

Yes, yes and yes!

In primary school, no one wanted to wear the pants. Only one girl did, and there was no stigma or judgement with her wearing pants, but that could be because I went to a school with a pretty tight-knit community so no one gave thought to uniform and what people wore.

In high school, that option wasn't a thing. We only had sports pants. There's an issue with practicality and stuff especially with PE like... the winter uniform is such a hassle to change in and out of. I think if we were given the option to wear pants in years 11 and 12 when we had to change uniforms, the girls in my year definitely would. I don't think the uniform will change though - it's only had a few adjustments since the school was established and none of the higher-ups want to change it.

[beatroot]

Of course girls should be given the option to wear pants! Only having a skirt/dress as part of the uniform is so backwards. It gets ridiculously during winter time because the tights were so thin! Girls from my school wore their PE uniform instead which got them into trouble. Why should girls suffer through the winter time wearing tights with their skirts/dresses when there can be the option to wear pants?

[owidjaja]

I'm not sure if this is an issue in your school, but my school always had the issue of girls having their skirt lengths too short. At my school, it needs to be at the knee but there are some girls who change the length to mid-thigh and their study privileges get revoked. But last term, our whole year group was annoyed that we weren't able to get Year 12 jackets or study privileges last term because of these uniform issues (e.g. wearing PE uniform on the wrong day, skirt lengths etc.)

Wouldn't giving girls the option to wear pants solve this problem?

[Potatohater]

I spent my high school years in a public girls school and we were definatley allowed to wear pants, and so should everyone! It’s disappointing that this is even a topic up for debate. Even in summer, girls could wear pants if they wanted, and in the winter you could wear as many layers as you wanted so long as the surface was school uniform. We didn’t have shorts though, only long pants, but still, I can’t believe there are schools that don’t allow pants, that’s crazy!