SCHOOL UNIFORM REFORM:
Why uniforms should be gender neutral
History has proven again and again the importance of fashion as a reflection to the developments and changes facing society. By taking for granted fashion, one oversees the importance of the latter, as a means of expression, surpassing aesthetics. In many cases, it was a way of making a political statement and used as a symbol to represent ideologies and power. Without looking much further, during the 60’s and 70’s the big afro and black outfits represented black power in the struggle and resistance to racial subjugation. Joan of Arc famously cross-dressed by wearing men's armor in the 15th century and in 1850 the popularization of the “bloomer” pant by women’s rights activists. Let us not forget the 20’s and 30’s where celebrities like Marlene Dietrich famously wore publicly full pantsuits, resulting in controversy. Thanks to all of these women and their active action for the women’s liberation and freedom of expression we can now wear pants publicly and has become a norm. But if I can use pants while submerged in society, then why can’t I wear pants in school?
A place allegedly meant to mold the future citizens, that should reflect and prepare us to whatever lies ahead. We have fallen into the deadly traps of tradition and based our principles by the Scottish who settled in 1838, avoiding change for the sake of “tidiness” and “customs” but along the way forgot to develop and change along the reality of the society that lies outside our community walls. If we want to become the school our students deserve, then we should begin by appearances, granting them the space to express themselves and be comfortable in their own skin, something hard to attain during adolescence. The lack of a non-gender based uniform limits us profoundly into regressing into the standardized binary conception of gender, whilst, contradicting themselves by wanting a “uniform” that by definition be identical for everybody, and at the same time making it impossible to accomplish by establishing clothes by gender.
We came together as a group in the “Centro de Estudiantes” and decided by majority that a change was meant to come. We have discussed this possibility previously with people high in power and agreed on the need for a reform on the school uniform, which is why we present this letter of argumentation on the reasons why it is much needed. For us, students and in most cases girls, the option of pants goes further than the appearances. We shall asses the shallow and most pragmatic arguments first. Winters are cold, getting lower than -2C during its harshest, and we do not have any other option than to wear long socks, which aren’t effective, as they barely cover, are very delicate and tend to break constantly with anything, moreover, these are particularly expensive and it is impossible to be “tidy” and not to have holes in our socks without buying a new pair every week.
One must not forget, that many of us return home in public transport and even though ideally one should walk freely on the streets wearing whatever, free from fear and strange stares, it is only a utopian thought. Many of us girls who walk from school towards a train station or bus stop are constantly pulling downwards the hem of the skirt, and are prone to receive uncalled compliments from strangers, which unfortunately is out of our hands to control, after all we are only 15-17 year-old girls. The possibility of wearing pants and avoid the drama of having to change before heading home (which some girls do in order to avoid wearing skirts in public) and would make us girls feel safer outside school grounds, at least until we arrive home. Picture it, returning home late, after 8 hours of brain collapse from an overdose of education and information attacks, the last thing we want is to have to worry about the length of my skirt, or have to put up with the perverted glances coming from the workers at the train station (yes, it happens, society is still chauvinist) and be constantly self-conscious. It doesn’t help to a young girl’s self-esteem and further regresses the lack of a secure sensation one has whilst roaming the streets.
On a more theoretical and philosophical level, one must argue the fact that we as a school thing about gender as a binary thing, either male or female and the consolidation of such character is brought upon on the superficial, how one acts, talks and dresses. But in an ever-changing society one must not ignore the innovations and constant liberations of gender and sexual orientations. Such as gender fluidity or the fact that sex (the sexual organ you were born with) should not be even considered as the same thing as gender (the one you personally identify with), but as two different things that may coincide. In that case, having a designated uniform according to sex is old-fashioned. Ideally, one must have certain standardized clothes (if you must) and settle for the gender neutrality, so that we can separate the clothing from the person, therefore avoiding the assumption of one’s gender according to your sex. Once again, the uniform is a tool of sexual oppression and limitation, as one is confined to identify to their sex and not their gender. Therefore, we suggest the implementation of pants for girls but also the right and liberty for boys to have the possibility to wear a skirt if they want to. Furthermore, as an act of corruption against the standard male role, appearance and behaviorism surrounding and pressuring the idea of the perfect male, coincidentally limiting and confining the boys in our school to standards and not promote the exploitation of their uniqueness. Ideally without the fear of being mocked or bullied, but to asses that problem, we have much work to do. By adopting gender-neutral uniforms the school can transmit a positive message of equality, encourage the questioning of gender norms, inspire a culture of acceptance and help bring down gender stereotypes.
Another aspect regarding appearance we would like to reconsider is the lack of freedom on the aesthetical decisions we make on our bodies. In this case the liberty to dye our hair the colour we like, not only the natural colours because then again, what are natural colours? The application of piercings and tattoos. As students we understand the necessity and agreement on the use of a uniform, but we believe that in order to be more consistent with the “be unique” speech the school delivers and the pursuit of individualistic and creative minds it seeks we should give more importance and allow a minimal flexibility within the uniform in order to allow the exteriorization of our personality and the maximal expression of our inner selves in order to feel comfortable and represent ourselves in the most honest way possible, starting with our body. Furthermore, the dyeing of our hair or the decoration of our ears or nose, the growth of hair in our face or the inking of our skin will not intervene in our education in any possible way, in any case, it should be a means to the ultimate adolescent aim of finding and expressing ourselves. There is certain dichotomy between the impulse and promotion of the “Be Unique Week” and the reality during the rest of the year, where uniqueness is encouraged and celebrated, but the moment a student pulls it from the theoretical level and applies it to reality, the nose ring must be taken down, the tattoo will be chastised and the dyed hair will be politely asked to be dyed back to its “natural state”. The proposition is not to encourage or promote the use or the application of any of these aesthetic elements, but to avoid or stop altogether the chastise of their use, and to be able to wear them in school without our tutor having to ask us to remove it. There is a dual speech, that confuses and gives a fake sense of freedom of expression on the aesthetical and superficial plane, that should accompany the sense of liberty, progress and modernism the school has on many other aspects. Let’s get over theory and put things into practice.
Given the previous arguments, we, the “Centro de Estudiantes” in representation of the students of the school, ask for a revision on the uniform and aesthetic conditions and requirements of our persona during school grounds. We think of this change as something that was due to happen and a key element for our aim towards progress which will allow us, as a community, to take a step towards the future. This way, not only can we exercise our freedom of expression on walls, verbally and with the arts, but also on the utmost and highest form of representation, our body. We know that the change cannot be sudden and will probably take time for planning, so we suggest, for the meantime to allow girls to use joggings as an alternative to the skirt until we can agree on a solid model and fabrication is ongoing. We are aware of the drastic changes this entails, so we think of it as a highly positive, but gradual change that should happen in stages. The first step and most urgent towards it are the previous proposals, but we also aim to broaden the spectrum of options inside a certain designated set of clothing items, for students to feel utmost comfortable and wear what feels more representative, express themselves with confidence and to distinguish themselves through their own personal style; such as different skirt designs but maintaining the same St. Andrew’s pattern, a higher freedom of creativity for the y12 hoodie designs, the possibility for a more casual upperwear instead of the shirt and to overall go a bit further than tradition and school colours. But once again, it’s a long process of gradual change, which we ultimately hope to achieve. 📷
Sincerely,
Centro de Estudiantes
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