Pants protest sees school change its uniform policy
Student leads conversation with tailored trousers at York House
On Jan. 12 of this year, when the air was icy and temperatures hovered at –2 C, 15-year-old Maren Gilbert Stewart decided enough was enough. The student at Vancouver’s all-female York House school set aside the kilt and tights of her school uniform, slipped on a pair of slacks and went to school.
They weren’t just any slacks. With her mother’s help, Gilbert Stewart had selected a style from a uniform shop and had them tailored to fit properly. The pants, carefully steamed and pressed, had been lying in wait for some time.
“I didn’t want to be disrespectful,” she said. “I just wanted to be comfortable.”
Still, she hadn’t asked permission. She knew this act of rebellion could misfire. “I was afraid of the repercussions,” said Gilbert Stewart. The York House uniform has nearly a century of tradition behind it and, like every teenager, Gilbert Stewart knows the line between fitting in and standing out is often difficult to navigate.
As she settled into early-morning band practice in the music room at York House, fellow students
expressed their excitement, and their support. The issue had been quietly discussed among students for some time — two years ago a student named Jaqueline Tam at St. John’s led an effort to include trousers in that school’s dress code, and her success was something of a legend among the girls who call themselves “Yorkies.”
Kimberly Harvey, senior school director, approached Gilbert Stewart at lunch. “I said you’re out of uniform. I’m going to ask that you return to the kilt, but I hear you, I see you, and we are going to have a conversation,” said Harvey.
After school, buoyed by the encouragement she’d received from classmates, Gilbert Stewart made a decision. She wasn’t going to back down.
“Visibility leads to acceptance,” she said. “I wanted it known that this was a huge thing, that it was wanted, that it was already accepted.”
That night she spent hours composing a formal proposal that addressed issues of comfort, cold weather, personal empowerment and the protection of gender expression under B.C. law. She also reached out to classmates on Facebook, asking if anyone wanted to join her in wearing pants.
The next morning, over a dozen girls streamed into the senior school in pants. That’s when Maggie Coval, York House’s head girl and a Grade 12 student, along with the vice-head girl, Kira Tosefsky, 17, sprang into action.
“At 8:30 a.m., I was in front of Mrs. Harvey’s office saying have you seen the pants? What are we going to do about this?” said Coval.
Coval chose to wear her kilt that day, but she was ready to seize the moment. A recent presentation by speaker JoAnn Deak had fired up all the girls on becoming change makers in their communities. “We are all trying to figure out how to create change, how to make a change that benefits the school and reflects what the student body wants.”
Her first question to Harvey was “are pants possible?”
The answer was “maybe.” There would have to be a process. The girls could make their case, but they would have to make it in skirts. For now.
An open meeting was called for faculty, students and administrators. The night before the meeting, Coval, Tosefsky and Gilbert Stewart agonized. “What if no one showed up and it was just the three of us?” said Coval.
The next day, the room was packed. “I nearly cried,” said Gilbert Stewart.
One student, Amanda Lim, 15, even showed up with an armload of trousers in different cuts to demonstrate potential style options.
When Coval and Tosefsky asked why it was important for York House to add trousers to the uniform options, “hands shot up” said Coval. Although there has, historically, always been a connection for women between progress and pants, it was clear that basic issues of comfort, practicality and safety would win the argument.
Ysabelle Delgado, a 16-year-old Grade 11 student, said riding her bike to school in the kilt is, at best, awkward. On cold days, tights just don’t cut it. She’d wear sweatpants under her skirt and strip them off before going in.
Others pointed out the kilt and bare legs can draw the wrong kind of attention on public transit and downtown, stares that make them feel nervous and uncomfortable.
Gender expression was another issue. “Two students came forward when they saw me wearing pants who don’t identify on the gender binary,” said Gilbert Stewart. “They said the kilt is great, but I don’t feel comfortable in it. They love the school, they feel comfortable here, but it was really important to them to be able to express their gender identity.”
“We didn’t even have to vote. The reasons were just so thoughtful, there wasn’t any reason not to add pants,” said Harvey. “The kilt isn’t going anywhere, but as of September, in the senior school, pants will be an option.”
Harvey says the peaceful pants protest, and the process of creating positive change through thoughtful action, is an embodiment of the values the school supports and the skills it hopes to foster among students.
“This school was started by seven progressive women during the Great Depression, and to stay true to these seven women we have to always look at continuing to be progressive. We knew the girls wanted change.”
Coval said she, the other students and the administration are all proud of the “symbolic but really practical change in the school. To me it better reflects the values of the school, of being progressive and empowering girls, and of equality.”
I wanted it known that this was a huge thing, that it was wanted, that it was already accepted.