Schools across the country should consider making uniforms gender-neutral rather than forcing girls to wear skirts and boys to wear trousers, the Scottish Government has said.
Responding to a campaign led by a 15-year-old schoolgirl, a spokesman said ministers agreed that boys and girls “should be treated equally” when it came to the uniforms they wore.
“It’s not about dictating the way anyone dresses”
The development comes after teenager Jess Insall successfully passed a motion in favour of the move at the Scottish Liberal Democrat conference earlier this year.
The schoolgirl argued that allowing children of either gender to choose whether they wanted to wear trousers or skirts was a “sensible” move that should ultimately be rolled out UK-wide.
“It isn’t saying that everyone has to wear the same uniform – it’s saying that whatever the uniform is, there can’t be any difference between genders,” she told i.
“Instead of saying boys have to wear trousers and girls have to wear skirts, schools can say pupils can choose between skirts or trousers.
“It’s not about dictating the way anyone dresses. ‘Gender-neutral’ can be quite an alienating term, but all it really means is not treating people differently because of their gender.”
The schoolgirl’s impressive speech at the Lib Dem conference in November led to delegates passing a motion calling for the Scottish Government to take action on the issue.
The move was also backed by the party’s UK deputy leader, Jo Swinson, who campaigned for girls to be allowed to wear trousers when she was a student at Douglas Academy in Milngavie.
Asked to comment on the campaign, a Scottish Government spokesman said: “Ministers are clear that girls and boys should be treated equally and schools should ensure suitable school clothing is worn.”
‘Happier and more productive’
Ms Insall argued that a nationwide policy would lead to happier pupils who would in turn be more productive – as well as sending a strong international signal on gender equality.
“On the practical side, we’ve had really cold weather lately and for girls wearing skirts can be incredibly uncomfortable. I’ve been wearing two pairs of tights every day,” she said.
“It also encourages physical activity if girls have more practical options. That’s already a problem – we see lower levels of physical activity in girls than in boys.”
She added that it would promote gender equality from an early age and would make it easier for transgender and non-binary pupils to embrace their identities and “take things at their own pace”.
Culture of acceptance
Ms Insall, from Strathblane in Stirlingshire, has already lobbied her own school’s headteacher to change its uniform policy. Her actions have proved controversial among some of her peers.
“I have always been quite outspoken about it. I have experienced people who weren’t too pleased about it. I get people coming up to me and calling me the usual stuff: feminazi, feminism‘s cancer.”
But she added: “I think the vast majority of pupils would support this – I’ve found very few girls who are against it.”
The idea is also gaining support across the UK. In September Parson Street Primary School in Bristol announced a gender-neutral uniform policy to encourage a “culture of acceptance”.