Skirts stifle girls, Jess tells Lib Dems
A Stirling teenager last weekend addressed a party political gathering on the thorny topic of school uniform.
Scottish Liberal Democrats, meeting in Dunfermline, backed a motion calling on all schools to adopt a policy of gender-neutral uniforms for pupils.
It followed a row over a Welsh school’s attempt to introduce a skirts-only policy for girls.
Jess Insall told the party conference that allowing girls to wear trousers and boys to wear skirts could result in happier students, better exam results and even better jobs.
She said:“It’s a small step forward but it will make a huge difference.”
Her call was backed by the party’s UK deputy leader Jo Swinson, who recalled how she had campaigned for girls to be allowed to wear trousers when she was a student at Douglas Academy in Milngavie.
She said:“I read about a school where primary school girls were told they weren’t allowed to turn cartwheels in the playground because it was unladylike, as if we send our little girls to primary school to learn how to be a lady.”
Jess spoke of the“harm sexist uniforms are doing to young girls”and added:“I’m not telling anyone to take away their skirts. I’m telling you all that pupils should have the freedom to dress appropriately for their personal identity, regardless of their gender.
“Is it really acceptable that we dictate the way our children dress based on only their gender or in many cases the gender that society forces them to conform to?”
Giving girls“more practical uniform options”could help encourage greater physical activity, she added .
“The minute a girl walks into a primary school she is shown that the boys have more freedom to run about. She is told while she has to wear a skirt the boys don’t.
“She is told to take inequality for granted and to respect it as the norm.”
“When pupils feel comfortably and appropriately dressed it boosts self-esteem. This in turn boosts mental health, which means pupils will be happier and more productive in schools. This leads to better exam results, which can lead pupils to better jobs.”
A Stirling Council spokesperson said:“We value school dress code as a way to contribute to our schools’ethos, social inclusion and security.
“The council’s school uniform guidance document is non-gender specific and each of our schools develop their own school uniform code in consultation with their school community. These codes are reviewed on an ongoing basis.” ●To comment on this story email john. rowbotham@ trinitymirror.com or write to the Observer at 34 Upper Craigs, Stirling, FK8 2DW.