The large huddle of schoolgirls are coming out of the National Museum at Collins Barracks after a visit earlier this year. It’s a dirty day; raining, cold, blustery. Walking behind them you can almost see the goosebumps on their legs from 20 paces as the wind whips at the edges of their maroon uniforms.
It’s exacerbated by Ireland’s preponderance of single-sex schools, unusual internationally, and by complex and sometimes disturbing perceptions of femininity.“We should definitely have the option,” of trousers says a pragmatic second-year at Muckross Park College, an all-girls school in Donnybrook in Dublin. “It’s horrible having to wear a skirt cycling to school on a freezing day. I can’t see what the big deal is. It’s the 21st century.
We asked Coláiste Íosagáin whether students had raised the possibility of trousers in school, for reasons of practicality or comfort, and if so, was there any follow-up or plans currently to look at the issue, but the school declined to comment. St Conleth’s is a mixed school, the boys wear grey trousers while the girls’ uniform is a tartan skirt.The ritualised ‘girling’ of young women
Skirts differentiate female from male and are physical markers of sex and gender confirming “traditional” gender identities. “They have, therefore, implications for how girls are treated, viewed and, most importantly, for how they are able to move.” Some focus group comments about skirts and cycling: “Because we have a skirt, it gets stuck in the chain”; “Say you want to cycle home, you have to go get changed, put on a pair of leggings, then go get your bike. So it’s just a hike”; “Because, you do get caught, the skirt gets caught in the chain”; “You don’t want your skirt getting blown up either”; “Lads get to wear pants, so it’s more convenient.
It’s not helped by poorly cut trousers, or where there’s been no consultation, so there’s little buy-in from students. She says “uniform policy in many schools is outdated” but some are making progress. “We need to seriously review our archaic uniform policies, and recognise uniforms are not just clothes you wear to school; they shape people’s sense of identity, and equality within schools.
Fanning went to Loreto Secondary School in Clonmel – all girls, all skirts. “The uniform was a pinafore, and in winter I was freezing. Knee length with bottle green tights. Some students wore leggings or fluffy socks under the tights.”
Education Education Latest News, Education Education Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: IrishTimes - 🏆 3. / 98 Read more »