Mum Explains Why She Is 'Bitterly Disappointed' That School Uniform Is Still Gendered In 2017

Girls' uniform is 'tighter, stretchier and more fitted'.

A mum has started a Twitter thread explaining why she is “bitterly disappointed” that in 2017, school uniform is still “gendered”.

Lucy Rycroft-Smith, who tweets at @honeypisquared, is a professional writer and mother of an 11-year-old daughter. She feels that girls’ uniform is often tighter and more fitted, meaning they have less range of movement than boys.

“I’m beyond-eye-rollingly-flabbergasted that we still have gendered uniform policies in schools and - surprise, surprise - girls seem to lose out more often than boys,” she told HuffPost UK.

“If we dress our children differently, we are telling them in the strongest terms that we expect them to act differently.

“It’s time to move to completely gender neutral uniforms in schools - and for retailers to stop making girls’ clothes and shoes patently inferior to boys.”

Image Source via Getty Images

I've spent all day sewing name tapes and tailoring school uniform; I'd like to talk to you about it.

— Lucy (@honeypisquared) September 3, 2017

The mum started off by saying she was “bitterly disappointed” that uniform is still gendered in 2017.

1. I'm so bitterly disappointed that uniform, in 2017, is still gendered. By which I mean almost all schools have 'boys' and 'girls' uniform

— Lucy (@honeypisquared) September 3, 2017

2. I've been wearing menswear for nearly a year. I've learnt that roomy trousers and big pockets make a huge change practically and mentally

— Lucy (@honeypisquared) September 3, 2017

..so I've made sure my children have that for school. There have been some barriers to it.

— Lucy (@honeypisquared) September 3, 2017

Rycroft-Smith said she often wears mens’ clothing as it is “roomy”, whereas uniform for girls is so often “restricting”.

3. Uniform labelled 'girls', on the whole, is tighter, stretchier, more fitted,less room for movement.We're displaying & hobbling our girls.

— Lucy (@honeypisquared) September 3, 2017

4. Skirts tend to be thigh-knee length: how does this affect their range of movement, comfort, self-awareness? Ask them: it's interesting.

— Lucy (@honeypisquared) September 3, 2017

5. Tights, in my experience, are one of the most uncomfortable and attention-requiring garments ever. Giving them up changed my life.

— Lucy (@honeypisquared) September 3, 2017

and I wouldn't wish them on anyone.If a skirt means tights (and I'm not even going into that right now),let's get rid of baby AND bathwater

— Lucy (@honeypisquared) September 3, 2017

And she also went on to discuss how school shoes for children are gendered, too.

6. My child's school uniform policy prohibits boots. Boots. There is not a single reason I can think of for this, except control freakery.

— Lucy (@honeypisquared) September 3, 2017

7. Look at the gendered shoes we have on offer. Boys get sturdy, waterproof, well-made. Girls get flimsy, blister-inducing, diamanté.GET OUT

— Lucy (@honeypisquared) September 3, 2017

8. PLEASE TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN/CLASS ABOUT THIS STUFF. Take them shopping, point it out, prioritise their comfort and confidence.

— Lucy (@honeypisquared) September 3, 2017

9. Finally: reversal of button- side on shirts as a way of signifying -nay, PERFORMING gender is wholly ridiculous. It's laughable.

— Lucy (@honeypisquared) September 3, 2017

The mum’s tweets gained attention online with other parents agreeing with her thread.

As a teacher and mother of both genders, I am disgusted by 'girls uniform' on offer in most stores. They have gone from smart to sexy #wrong

— Hayley Edmunds (@planethayley) September 4, 2017

There is an obsession in schools with uniform. Boys have asked me, seriously, if they can wear skirts in hot weather. I don't see why not.

— Christine Swan (@chris_swan) September 3, 2017

Great thread. As a teacher I'd like trousers with pockets (which many women's pairs don't!)

— Nicky G White (@MrsWhites_Class) September 3, 2017

We are supposed to bring up children to learn to say No. Then dominate and gender label them. Love this thread, food for thought

— Nickii (@NickiiMesser) September 4, 2017
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