Sexist School Uniforms
Forcing boys and girls into gender roles from the very beginning
One of the schools I considered for my children has a compulsory school uniform. It’s a private school, of course. The state system cannot enforce a school uniform.
I like the uniforms. I think they take some thought out of what to put on each day and they help to foster a sense of belonging. I also like schools with no uniform. I think they help to foster individual taste and creativity.
Uniforms themselves are not the problem.
This school has a set of options for the girls’ uniform and a set of options for the boys’ uniform. These options are not the same. Private schools, in general, tend to be conservative, but there’s no need for them to be. I have visited private schools with high fees and toffee-nosed reputations which have identical school uniform codes for boys and girls. But not this school.
The girls are expected to wear a pinafore dress. They can choose whether to wear a short-sleeved shirt or a long-sleeved turtleneck underneath it. They can choose whether to wear socks or tights. But they cannot choose to wear pants in winter or shorts in summer.
The boys are expected to wear pants in winter or shorts in summer. They cannot choose to wear a dress.
