Una, Lady Troubridge (1924) by Romaine Brooks. Androgynous appearance, don't you think?
According to the UK government’s Equality and Human Rights Commission, requiring skirts for girls for school uniform attire is illegal. They argue that such a policy is discrimination against female-to-male transsexuals.
A report was published which stated “requiring pupils to wear gender-specific clothes is potentially unlawful…pupils born female with gender dysphoria experienced great discomfort being forced to wear stereotypical girls’ clothes—for example, a skirt.”
The Commission then proceeded to imply that schools which refuse to discontinue “discriminatory” uniforms may face “costly legal action” when the guideline becomes active.
The guidelines in question also extend rights formerly reserved for individuals diagnosed with gender identity disorders to all whom claim the symptoms, “regardless of whether or not they intend to undergo, are undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment.”
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Dated, I know. But I thought it was an interesting read because of various reasons:
Dated, I know. But I thought it was an interesting read because of various reasons:
- Why are skirts being banned altogether? Can't we just let them decide whether or not they want to wear skirts? No need to resort to such drastic matters.
- On the other hand, what about boys who consider themselves females trapped in male bodies? Will skirts be provided for them?
- Doesn't extending rights previously reserved for those diagnosed with gender identity disorders to all who claim the signs encourage people who want attention to "cry wolf"?
-Jeremy Fu
The biggest issue for me would be the assumption that clothing, or appearance in general serves as some sort of causal and direct evidence for sexual desire and gender identity. What about the "heterosexual male kids" who might want to wear a skirt? Does the wearing of certain garments undo the supposed heterosexuality of the child/person? Why are we so uncomfortable with ambiguity? Kaja Silverman has an article about how all children, no matter their gender, are fascinated by women's clothing and accessories as they have all been birthed by women.
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