VI: Gender-Neutral Dress Code Allowing Girls to Wear Pants, Boys to Wear Skirts if They So Choose Introduced by Board of

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VI: Gender-Neutral Dress Code Allowing Girls to Wear Pants, Boys to Wear Skirts if They So Choose Introduced by Board of

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Gender-Neutral Dress Code Allowing Girls to Wear Pants, Boys to Wear Skirts if They So Choose Introduced by Board of Education

https://viconsortium.com/vi-education/v ... er-changes
Mr. Callwood stressed that while the policy makes provision to allow for a boy to wear a skirt if he so chooses, the school administration has some leeway and a decision would be based on whether a skirt on a boy leads to adverse outcomes at the school in question.
Yes - how dare a male be allowed to wear what they want! We can thank peer pressure to keep them in check.

It's kind of obvious, though, that they know they can change the policy and boys won't wear a skirt:
To assuage concerns on the matter of boys wearing skirts, Mr. Callwood stated, "We know in our community males don't wear skirts, so that's something known."

He added, "We had no cases in St. Thomas where any male wanted to wear any skirt to school. We have no cases with that, so all the males will be coming to school in a pants."
LOL - "cases" as if wearing a skirt is a disease/disorder.

I'll be brutally honest - there's no way I'd have worn a skirt in gradeschool had they changed the policy. I wouldn't have had the courage unless other classmates wore them first - my guess is the "troublemakers" would have, and set a bad precedent first... assuming their parent would even let them - which is very unlikely.
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Post by STEVIE »

There was something quirky about the language but my guess is that the community is very highly conservative and conforming.
On that basis alone, tell the kids that they can do whatever in the sure and certain knowledge that it will not happen, more than once anyway.
I even wonder how many of the girls may not actually be allowed to wear trousers or just be told to be mindful in gusty conditions.
This rather smacks of political expediency more than a real effort to give freer choice to male or female students.
Legislate ad nauseum but society will ultimately control the result.
Coder, I would wholeheartedly concur with that final statement.
When I was a pupil, I have doubts that even the most rebellious would have.
Even bullies have bullies who are bigger and nastier than they are.
In some of the cases I knew, they were called mostly Fathers with the occasion Mother thrown in too,
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Re: VI: Gender-Neutral Dress Code Allowing Girls to Wear Pants, Boys to Wear Skirts if They So Choose Introduced by Boar

Post by Jim »

Coder wrote: Sat Aug 20, 2022 5:54 pm Yes - how dare a male be allowed to wear what they want! We can thank peer pressure to keep them in check.
Peer pressure can go both ways. Schools usually have a number of cliques. These often have social leaders. One such social leader could say to his group, "Let's wear skirts tomorrow and screw the administration" and it could well happen.
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Post by crfriend »

Jim wrote: Sat Aug 20, 2022 10:41 pmPeer pressure can go both ways. Schools usually have a number of cliques. These often have social leaders. One such social leader could say to his group, "Let's wear skirts tomorrow and screw the administration" and it could well happen.
That sort of acuity usually does not manifest in grade-schools, so I suspect can be taken off the table. The sort of forward-thinking that such an act would have is likely fairly well beyond your typical schoolboy. This is the province of adults.

It would seem to me that the community and school "leaders" are firmly in reactionary mode and are denying that any sort of social change has happened since the 1950s.
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Re: VI: Gender-Neutral Dress Code Allowing Girls to Wear Pants, Boys to Wear Skirts if They So Choose Introduced by Boar

Post by Grok »

I was reading through this and thinking "we've had this discussion before".

The Powers That Be can look politically correct, while knowing that-for practical purposes-the boys won't be wearing skirts to school.
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Post by Coder »

Grok wrote: Sun Aug 21, 2022 2:30 am I was reading through this and thinking "we've had this discussion before".

The Powers That Be can look politically correct, while knowing that-for practical purposes-the boys won't be wearing skirts to school.
We have, but this is the first time - I think - the administrators have changed the policy to a truly gender-neutral one, all at the same time saying the quiet part out loud - that "we all know males won't wear skirts".
crfriend wrote: Sat Aug 20, 2022 11:54 pm
Jim wrote: Sat Aug 20, 2022 10:41 pmPeer pressure can go both ways. Schools usually have a number of cliques. These often have social leaders. One such social leader could say to his group, "Let's wear skirts tomorrow and screw the administration" and it could well happen.
That sort of acuity usually does not manifest in grade-schools, so I suspect can be taken off the table. The sort of forward-thinking that such an act would have is likely fairly well beyond your typical schoolboy. This is the province of adults.
Might happen in high school? While I can't imagine any one group doing that, I feel like someone at my (private) high school would have worn one just to test the waters or spit in the eye of the administration. I don't think it would have been a long-term wear, more just a rebellious act.
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Post by STEVIE »

Coder wrote: Sun Aug 21, 2022 2:35 am I don't think it would have been a long-term wear, more just a rebellious act.
,,,,,and that we have definitely seen before.

For the record, Scottish Schools generally allow boys to wear skirts but at grass roots level, probably not!
Tom, Dick and Harry will just have to toe the line for a bit longer.
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Re: VI: Gender-Neutral Dress Code Allowing Girls to Wear Pants, Boys to Wear Skirts if They So Choose Introduced by Boar

Post by Stu »

This is all about letting girls wear trousers, giving girls a choice that boys don't have but without being accused of gender inequality. This is demonstrated in the article


Mr. Callwood stressed that while the policy makes provision to allow for a boy to wear a skirt if he so chooses, the school administration has some leeway and a decision would be based on whether a skirt on a boy leads to adverse outcomes at the school in question.

In other words, girls have a free choice, but boys may have "some leeway", so long as it doesn't lead to "adverse outcomes".

Utter hypocrites.
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Re: VI: Gender-Neutral Dress Code Allowing Girls to Wear Pants, Boys to Wear Skirts if They So Choose Introduced by Boar

Post by ScotL »

Stu wrote: Sun Aug 21, 2022 9:59 am This is all about letting girls wear trousers, giving girls a choice that boys don't have but without being accused of gender inequality. This is demonstrated in the article


Mr. Callwood stressed that while the policy makes provision to allow for a boy to wear a skirt if he so chooses, the school administration has some leeway and a decision would be based on whether a skirt on a boy leads to adverse outcomes at the school in question.

In other words, girls have a free choice, but boys may have "some leeway", so long as it doesn't lead to "adverse outcomes".

Utter hypocrites.
Sadly true, This decision is only made to free the girls from a strict dress code enforced by the school. The boys will still suffer the strict dress code enforced by society. But it does open the door. Yes, they’ll use their discretion if a boy wear a skirt but they didn’t have to mention that boys could wear a skirt if they wanted to. This article and the administrations decree could have just mentioned that girls could wear pants if they wanted to. The mention of boys having the choice is progress
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Post by crfriend »

ScotL wrote: Sun Aug 21, 2022 10:23 amThe mention of boys having the choice is progress
"Progress" implies motion. Actual motion, under the conditions given, is not possible or at the very least highly unlikely. As with all other rulings in this class, it's all for the advantage of the girls and of utter meaninglessness to the boys. The boys will continue, lemming-like, to police themselves and the administration knows that fact cold (and likely encourage such policing, by e.g. looking the other way when it comes to bullying behaviours).
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Post by Stu »

crfriend wrote: Sun Aug 21, 2022 12:59 pm The boys will continue, lemming-like, to police themselves and the administration knows that fact cold (and likely encourage such policing, by e.g. looking the other way when it comes to bullying behaviours).
True.

I read a similar story about a UK school and one comment resonated with me when I thought about it. Someone wrote something like:

Who cares what boys wear to school? If they are wearing the garments approved in the school uniform list and they are decent, clean and comfortable, then who gives a stuff? Shouldn't we be focusing on more important matters like how well are they being educated?

You know what? I agree.
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Post by Coder »

Stu wrote: Sun Aug 21, 2022 4:14 pm Who cares what boys wear to school? If they are wearing the garments approved in the school uniform list and they are decent, clean and comfortable, then who gives a stuff? Shouldn't we be focusing on more important matters like how well are they being educated?
Education? What's that?
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Post by crfriend »

Coder wrote: Sun Aug 21, 2022 4:45 pmEducation? What's that?
Ideally, the outcome of schooling. sadly, ihe ideal is never met. Certainly not here in the USA now.
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Post by ScotL »

crfriend wrote: Sun Aug 21, 2022 12:59 pm
ScotL wrote: Sun Aug 21, 2022 10:23 amThe mention of boys having the choice is progress
"Progress" implies motion. Actual motion, under the conditions given, is not possible or at the very least highly unlikely. As with all other rulings in this class, it's all for the advantage of the girls and of utter meaninglessness to the boys. The boys will continue, lemming-like, to police themselves and the administration knows that fact cold (and likely encourage such policing, by e.g. looking the other way when it comes to bullying behaviours).
Sure, but consider the two possibilities. The new dress code either only mentions girls can wear pants or mentions girls can wear pants and boys can wear skirts. Which of those two scenarios is more advanced than the other?

In my mind, the fact they mentioned boys can wear skirts is progress. These communities are straight-laced. They are sure boys won’t wear skirts cause that’s unthinkable. But they mention it as a possibility. They didn’t have to. If you’d asked me which scenario they would have used, I’d bet my left you-know-what that they would only have mentioned that girls can wear pants.

I’m dumbfounded that this society (I worked in a similar island before) would even contemplate boys wearing skirts as an option. Knowing them as I do, that’s amazing
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Post by crfriend »

ScotL wrote: Sun Aug 21, 2022 9:16 pm[... C]onsider the two possibilities. The new dress code either only mentions girls can wear pants or mentions girls can wear pants and boys can wear skirts. Which of those two scenarios is more advanced than the other?
Both are nonsense. The former is merely a codification of the de-facto stance of the pat 50 years where the girls get an automatic pass. The second was made with the full knowledge that the boys will keep each other in line by way of bullying, which the administration always looks away from. Deliberately.

I was unmercifully bullied for years, in spite of my size and power, because I was "different" (I was large and slightly ungainly), and in spite of numerous appeals to The Administration nothing was done -- until one time when I'd had enough and let drive with one punch that took out several teeth and likely gave the recipient a concussion; I wound up with a cut-up fist. Guess who got censured. No, the administration is not going to be forward-looking in anything like this.
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