Article about boys wearing skirts as a protest in Quebec school

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Jim2
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Article about boys wearing skirts as a protest in Quebec school

Post by Jim2 »

Ran into this article about boys wearing skirts at a school in Quebec as a protest. It is in part a protest against the labeling of a man who wear skirts as somehow not a "real man".

https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/10/18/s ... gh-school/
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Re: Article about boys wearing skirts as a protest in Quebec school

Post by Stu »

This is very sad in some respects. Rather than donning skirts to experience the comfort and freedom, or to have a fashion alternative to trousers, or even to assert their right to enjoy the same sartorial choices that females take for granted, they have instead bought into the misandrist victim narrative. By wearing skirts to show solidarity with women (and maybe trans or gay men), they are reaffirming that skirts are female attire and they are donning them for the shock value that carries.

Women in modern western societies are not an oppressed class of human and we should stop indoctrinating our boys to believe they are. Indeed, in some respects, women are more privileged in these times and the fact this board exists is testimony to that.
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Re: Article about boys wearing skirts as a protest in Quebec school

Post by Grok »

MIS enthusiasts get no benefit from this...we are on our own.
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Re: Article about boys wearing skirts as a protest in Quebec school

Post by Uncle Al »

Sorry everyone but I disagree with your comments. This "experience" HAS HELPED our efforts.
This is the last paragraph from the article :arrow:
He added that while he found the experience of wearing a skirt liberating,
“you can’t really bend and you’ve got to be cautious with your movements”
After looking at the pictures, I agree that the skirts are too short - especially for guys.
BUT, he got the message out about his experience. That his concepts/ideas will change.
I hope he decides to wear them more often :D

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Re: Article about boys wearing skirts as a protest in Quebec school

Post by crfriend »

Uncle Al wrote: Thu Nov 12, 2020 9:05 pmAfter looking at the pictures, I agree that the skirts are too short - especially for guys.
I think you might get some push-back from some of the guys here. After all, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.
BUT, he got the message out about his experience. That his concepts/ideas will change.
I hope he decides to wear them more often :D
Indeed.

I was heartened to head the misandrist rant about "toxic masculinity" portrayed as a force that hamstrings real men; it's always nice to hear an aggressor's language turned against them. Well done for a youngster. That alone gives me hope.

However, we do need to be aware of the news outlet that this was published on and what their agenda is...
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Re: Article about boys wearing skirts as a protest in Quebec school

Post by Faldaguy »

Stu » Thu Nov 12, 2020 12:25 pm

This is very sad in some respects. Rather than donning skirts to experience the comfort and freedom, or to have a fashion alternative to trousers, or even to assert their right to enjoy the same sartorial choices that females take for granted, they have instead bought into the misandrist victim narrative. By wearing skirts to show solidarity with women (and maybe trans or gay men), they are reaffirming that skirts are female attire and they are donning them for the shock value that carries.

Women in modern western societies are not an oppressed class of human and we should stop indoctrinating our boys to believe they are. Indeed, in some respects, women are more privileged in these times and the fact this board exists is testimony to that.
Stu, I don't get it; anything that you remotely perceive as aiding women or short-changing men seems to get under your skin. And yes, sometime we see only one side of discrimination in an article, but these are just some teens who have had the courage to address what seemed to them unfair...and in the words of the article, their proclamations sound a great deal like those I often read on this site:

(Emphasis added)

“The double standard on the way society views our women and men is blatant; if a woman decides to wear a suit or pants, clothes associated with masculinity, it’s not a big deal.

But the moment a man will do anything remotely feminine, whether it is to put nail polish, makeup or in our case, a skirt, fingers are pointed and he gets insulted.

This seems bang on to the concerns often addressed here at SC. And yes, I think it will help open those kids eyes to sartorial choices too.
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Re: Article about boys wearing skirts as a protest in Quebec school

Post by STEVIE »

There is one thing that no one can actually know.
How many of the boys concerned would have thought about wearing a skirt anyway?
The "protest" just affording them the luxury of being part of a group.
Lets be honest that is something that very few cafe members have enjoyed and certainly not in their formative years.
The length of a skirt and how appropriate it is is just a fashion choice, male or female.
Hell I have been told off for that more than once myself.
As I said elsewhere, our hope for change must lie with the kids and not just for the small stuff like the length of a skirt and who should or should not be wearing it.
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Re: Article about boys wearing skirts as a protest in Quebec school

Post by Stu »

Faldaguy wrote: Fri Nov 13, 2020 3:41 am Stu, I don't get it; anything that you remotely perceive as aiding women or short-changing men seems to get under your skin.
Yes it does. It is an inequality and it should get under your skin, too. If you think about it, this site is a men's rights group that seeks to rectify a particular inequality.
Faldaguy wrote: Fri Nov 13, 2020 3:41 am but these are just some teens who have had the courage to address what seemed to them unfair...and in the words of the article, their proclamations sound a great deal like those I often read on this site:
What "unfairness" are they seeking to address? What rights do they enjoy that their female classmates are being denied? Care to list them?

These boys are not seeking to extend sartorial options for all men. Nothing could be further from their minds. In reality, they have had their heads filled with a brand of feminist nonsense that is particularly rife and pernicious in Canada - and has been called out by Canadian women like Karen Straughan and Professor Janice Fiamengo.

In recent years, we seem to have reached a state whereby anyone who is not part of a particular group has to share blame for the wrongs of others. As a white westerner, I am responsible for slavery, apparently, and I have "privileges" that my black neighbour does not enjoy. As a man, I have "toxic masculinity" and so I am responsible for all evil deeds done by any males against any females, and I am inherently oppressive and violent. These boys have been indoctrinated in such a way that they are expected to confess their "privilege" and experience guilt when they have done no wrong and that is because some politically-motivated people are exploiting their youth and gullibility. This is evil. It is not to be celebrated.

I would tell those boys to wear their skirts because they like how they look and feel, and to do so proudly as brave young men challenging irrational and unfair societal inequalities.
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Re: Article about boys wearing skirts as a protest in Quebec school

Post by SkirtsDad »

I sometimes despair at the hypocrisy, judging and bitterness that appears in some of our threads, on a forum that is espousing freedom and equality.. Equally, however, I also grateful for those that shine a light on it.

The article, also about the Canadian school, that I posted a link to on the Spanish institute thread, says (if you use Google translate): "Because a guy wearing a skirt is 'Oh, he's extremely gay!' Clothing has no gender, it changes your mentality (…) anyone can dress however they want, ” Tom Ducret-Hillman

For some out there that perhaps still don't get it (these youngsters clearly do): The often prevailing idea idea that in wearing a skirt a man must be gay is both sexist and homophobic. It is suggesting that gay men are "not real men" but also, that women are of lesser value. How do you expect people like us to have the freedom to wear what we like without fighting sexism and homophobia?

How many here have been asked if their clothing choice means they are gay? I have been. Often, to make themselves equal women still have to become more like men. That in itself tells us there is still not equality. I would think we ought to be grateful that these youngsters are fighting these battles.
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Re: Article about boys wearing skirts as a protest in Quebec school

Post by Uncle Al »

SkirtsDad wrote: Fri Nov 13, 2020 10:11 amI would think we ought to be grateful that these youngsters are fighting these battles.
:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

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Re: Article about boys wearing skirts as a protest in Quebec school

Post by Stu »

SkirtsDad wrote: Fri Nov 13, 2020 10:11 amHow many here have been asked if their clothing choice means they are gay? I have been.
Nope. Not once. But so what if you are? You just say no. Gay men won't generally deny being gay and, if they wanted to hide their sexuality, they would steer clear of wearing anything that might suggest they were anything other than a regular guy.
SkirtsDad wrote: Fri Nov 13, 2020 10:11 amOften, to make themselves equal women still have to become more like men.
How? In what ways are women not equal by virtue of them retaining their femininity? This is a myth that people just keep repeating because... they never think to question it. Most of the world's powerful women in the past and today are very feminine, from Margaret Thatcher to Indira Ghandi.

Of course, a small number of high-power roles demand personal characteristics that come more naturally to men (on average), like military jobs or jobs that demand an almost obsessive level of dedication, and in those jobs then of course female candidates would have to display those characteristics.

It is beyond me why people are still buying into this myth that women have to be like men to succeed in life is beyond me, especially when there are so many examples of feminine women being successful. It's complete baloney promulgated by the feminist lobby.
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Re: Article about boys wearing skirts as a protest in Quebec school

Post by pelmut »

Stu wrote: Fri Nov 13, 2020 10:49 am
SkirtsDad wrote: Fri Nov 13, 2020 10:11 amHow many here have been asked if their clothing choice means they are gay? I have been.
Nope. Not once.
I have been asked several times, but without any reference to the fact that I wear a skirt, if being transgender means I am gay.  I reply that I don't fancy men -- in fact I didn't even like being one.
But so what if you are? You just say no. Gay men won't generally deny being gay and, if they wanted to hide their sexuality, they would steer clear of wearing anything that might suggest they were anything other than a regular guy.
A friend of mine has pointed out that if a gay man is looking for another gay man (who presumably isn't looking for a woman), why on earth should he want to dress as a woman?
There is no such thing as a normal person, only someone you don't know very well yet.
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Re: Article about boys wearing skirts as a protest in Quebec school

Post by Uncle Al »

Here's a follow-on article dated November 1st, 2020
https://studybreaks.com/college/dress-codes-2/

To me, the last paragraph quoted below, sums up how the kids are able to recognize the problems
and work on solutions. It OPENED THEIR MINDS on how to behave and how their behavior affects others.
Despite the fact backlash against the dress code protest, it ultimately led to a moment of unity for all genders in the school system, bringing together classmates to fight against the sexist policing of skirt lengths. The movement educated many high school boys about the discrimination that women, other boys and LGBTQ+ people face due to the clothes that they wear. Most importantly, not only are the schools involved in the conversation, but now a whole new array of people are included due to the circulation of the protest on social media. The movement opened up the conversation about double standards and sexism, thanks to these boys using their courage to create solidarity.
The last sentence says quite a lot, a "Key" that opens the door to knowledge and understanding :!:

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Re: Article about boys wearing skirts as a protest in Quebec school

Post by Stu »

The article says:

"Male High school students from Québec made big waves as they challenged the sexism and oversexualization of female bodies built into school clothing regulations."

Can anyone explain to me how the uniform at this school is either sexist or sexualises students? It just looks like a pretty standard school uniform to me.

This sounds like an excuse for the boys to have a lark around and get some attention.
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Re: Article about boys wearing skirts as a protest in Quebec school

Post by Pdxfashionpioneer »

Once again I find myself agreeing whole-heartedly with Al. And everyone else in this thread except Stu.

Stu, if you want to talk about obsessive dedication to a purpose, you need not go any further than Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was fiercely and unstintingly dedicated to obtaining equal rights for every American.

While she was working at that weary task, she made time to be a good mother and an equally good wife.

Like Faldaguy, I don't get you or your non-stop negativity and contentiousness. Chillax amigo!
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Social norms aren't changed by Congress or Parliament; they're changed by a sufficient number of people ignoring the existing ones and publicly practicing new ones.
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