Brighton College

[Caultron]

So Brighton College announces that boys and girls will now each have the choice to wear the Trouser Uniform or the Skirt Uniform.

Parents and reporters are bound to ask, "Why?"

And the reason, of course, is that some students and parents have asked for it, and that it falls in line with recent societal trends.

So what do you call these students who want to switch uniforms?

Obviously, those here would prefer a label that includes themselves but excludes any negative associations they may have.

So we're back to semantics and cognitive dissonance.

For the record, it seems rather tyrannical to me that boys who want to wear the skirt also have to wear the bolero jacket and white socks, and vice versa for girls, and that apparently once you sign up for a uniform you have to wear that one every day. Then again, hundred-year-old (or whatever) dress codes do tend to be absolute.

[Judah14]

For the record, it seems rather tyrannical to me that boys who want to wear the skirt also have to wear the bolero jacket and white socks, and vice versa for girls, and that apparently once you sign up for a uniform you have to wear that one every day. Then again, hundred-year-old (or whatever) dress codes do tend to be absolute.

That's why I think it is better to do away with dress codes in the first place. Unlike at factories and other jobs that have a really compelling reason to have a uniform, I see no reason for schools to require uniforms. They are an additional unnecessary burden on students, especially poorer ones when the uniform is not "issued" as with police and military uniforms.

[dillon]

Brighton College has a made a positive step in allowing all pupils to identify with the gender they wish to, with parental approval. The uniforms are encouragingly named "Skirt Uniform" and "Trouser Uniform" which could be interpreted as non gender specific. The two uniforms are very similar in other aspects (skirt uniform in brackets); long sleeve white shirt (white long sleeve blouse), black V-neck jumper (same), College Tweed Jacket (College Tailored Black Bolero Jacket) black socks (white socks, black anklet socks or neutral coloured tights) and black shoes. As previously stated it is unfortunate that is is not just a simple choice of skirt or trousers for any gender. From my understanding it is not relaxation of gender based dress code. At present for a boy to wear a skirt he would have to identify as gender dysphoric to do so which is different to boys having a choice of clothing and hence why they are called uniforms. Sadly a person will only get to wear a skort for sports wear if opting for the skirt uniform. Curiously one can't wear make-up or nail varnish with a skirt uniform but it is not prohibited with trousers.

That's what I gathered from reading the various accounts; that the student must have parents declare him/her gender dysphoric. The policy applies to both boys and girls, but it wasnt clear to me if the student could opt between trousers and skirts. Apparently, according to one account, the college is concerned with the perception that they may be facilitating crossdressing. So I would guess that once the kid commits to a gender identity, that's it for uniform choice?

[mugman]

Although the cost of uniforms to less fortunate families are yet another financial worry, they do equalise the image of kids, at least, during school hours. To have a child always turning up in designer label jeans because dad's a banker, whilst someone else in cheap supermarket gear has to defend their family's lesser situation all the time is not, to my mind, beneficial to a well balanced schooling life. It might breed snobbery, envy, hate, bullying and so on. Uniforms are a part of formal education and have been for ages...why re-invent the wheel just for the sake of trying to be trendy?
If I were making school dress code decisions it would be trousers or kilt for boys, and trousers or kilt-skirt for girls. Skirts for boys is maybe over cooking the issue. If females can wear kilt-skirts at some schools, why can't transgender boys wear kilt-skirts if they want to...or, as females do, trousers? That might solve all the unnecessary parent approval and 'skirt uniforms'. The freedom for a boy to wear on any day either black trousers, which aren't expensive, or additionally a lower cost black kilt, seems to me to be something I would have been happy to go with when I was at school. If a girl is able to choose between a 'trouser uniform' or 'skirt uniform', and switches between the two as she pleases - which I'm assuming is the case here, then why can't a boy enjoy that same leeway of comfort?

[Judah14]

Although the cost of uniforms to less fortunate families are yet another financial worry, they do equalise the image of kids, at least, during school hours. To have a child always turning up in designer label jeans because dad's a banker, whilst someone else in cheap supermarket gear has to defend their family's lesser situation all the time is not, to my mind, beneficial to a well balanced schooling life. It might breed snobbery, envy, hate, bullying and so on. Uniforms are a part of formal education and have been for ages...why re-invent the wheel just for the sake of trying to be trendy?

Well I attend a university which does not perscribe a uniform, so I have a bias against uniforms.

[mugman]

I didn't think universities had uniforms anyway - this is education touching on adulthood, and a different stage of socialising altogether I think. I went to art college after normal schooling and we wore what we wanted as well. And for arty types like we were that could be almost anything !

(Actually David Bowie, same age as me, attended the same college, and you know how artistic and imaginative he was! Sadly I never knew he was there at the time, as he was of course largely an unknown.)

[Caultron]

I didn't think universities had uniforms anyway...

Brighton College teaches students aged between 11 and 18, so it's really more like a junior high + high school than a university.

[Caultron]

Here are the two uniforms, and apparently you have to wear all of one or the other, and not switch back and forth.

brightoncollege_3553811b.jpg

From http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/ed ... upils.html

[mugman]

I've found a few uni pics with uniformed students, so I was obviously wrong there. The only uni I'm familiar with is in Wales, and I hadn't noticed any particular dress code. I guess it's down to the management or maybe historical status of these places...Oxbridge etc.

[Stu]

Here are the two uniforms, and apparently you have to wear all of one or the other, and not switch back and forth.

brightoncollege_3553811b.jpg

From http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/ed ... upils.html

If that were the case, I would opt for the trousers.

The skirt would be a nice option, especially in summer but, if I had to choose one or the other, the trousers would be more practical IMO.

Stu

[Couya]

I'm sure all the girls would choose trousers, too.

Martin

[crfriend]

Sometimes it's about more than basic practicality. Without the occasional flight of outright whimsy we would be vastly poorer not only as individuals but as a species. Now, I know that traditional schooling is as much about beating individuality out of children as it is about "learning" -- and that's likely serving to stoke the fires somewhat in opposition to this move, especially on the part of parents who had their individuality beaten out of them by the system a their childrens' ages.

As far as the pictured rigs go, I'm not sure what the cut of the front of the uniform bolero jacket is, but from the rear it looks quite reminiscent of the classic "Ike Jacket" as championed by Dwight David Eisenhower, and it'd be hard to call that style "effeminate". The "schoolgirl skirt" is a bit stereotypical, but the rest of the rig looks perfectly workable. The sack that the lad is wearing in the photo looks about as uninspired as, well, every other low-grade suit out there. I'd go for the skirt-rig in a moment, save for the fact that I'd need a longer skirt; one proportioned like that on me would be positively indecent.

Heck, part of the opposition to this may be that fathers don't want to have to confront their sons for shortening their skirts by rolling up the waistband the way their daughters do (but that's a problem for mom).

[quantum]

These are the basic choices:-

[dillon]

Although the cost of uniforms to less fortunate families are yet another financial worry, they do equalise the image of kids, at least, during school hours. To have a child always turning up in designer label jeans because dad's a banker, whilst someone else in cheap supermarket gear has to defend their family's lesser situation all the time is not, to my mind, beneficial to a well balanced schooling life. It might breed snobbery, envy, hate, bullying and so on. Uniforms are a part of formal education and have been for ages...why re-invent the wheel just for the sake of trying to be trendy?
If I were making school dress code decisions it would be trousers or kilt for boys, and trousers or kilt-skirt for girls. Skirts for boys is maybe over cooking the issue. If females can wear kilt-skirts at some schools, why can't transgender boys wear kilt-skirts if they want to...or, as females do, trousers? That might solve all the unnecessary parent approval and 'skirt uniforms'. The freedom for a boy to wear on any day either black trousers, which aren't expensive, or additionally a lower cost black kilt, seems to me to be something I would have been happy to go with when I was at school. If a girl is able to choose between a 'trouser uniform' or 'skirt uniform', and switches between the two as she pleases - which I'm assuming is the case here, then why can't a boy enjoy that same leeway of comfort?

At 33000 pounds for boarding students, I don't think uniform costs is a deterrent.

In an ideal world, each sex would be given the choice of which bottom they want to wear on any given day. That would be the fairest and least stigmatizing thing to do. I just think their declared policy is designed to be progressive in name only. It appears to force gender identification, which is the same as forcing the kids to remain in the closet, in order to choose a uniform.

[mugman]

I was visualising the change over to a more relaxed skirt / trouser choice for schools in general, maybe replacing the skirt idea with kilts - not specifically with the Brighton College in mind. Will any non-private schools take up on the idea as well if the College's way works, or will this be just a one-off stunt? Time will tell I'm sure. There isn't an awful lot any of us can do anyway, whatever we think about it...unless we've a son attending the school of course...