Can a Boy Wear a Skirt to School?

[ccharles000]

BY now, most high school dress codes have just about done away with the guesswork.

Girls: no midriff-baring blouses, stiletto heels, miniskirts.

Boys: no sagging pants, muscle shirts.

But do the math.

“Rules” + “teenager” = “challenges.”

If the skirt is an acceptable length, can a boy wear it?

Can a girl attend her prom in a tuxedo?

In recent years, a growing number of teenagers have been dressing to articulate — or confound — gender identity and sexual orientation. Certainly they have been confounding school officials, whose responses have ranged from indifference to applause to bans.

Last week, a cross-dressing Houston senior was sent home because his wig violated the school’s dress code rule that a boy’s hair may not be “longer than the bottom of a regular shirt collar.” In October, officials at a high school in Cobb County, Ga., sent home a boy who favored wigs, makeup and skinny jeans. In August, a Mississippi student’s senior portrait was barred from her yearbook because she had posed in a tuxedo.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/fashion/08cross.html?_r=1

[Cassandra]

1. Does he have the legs for it?

Is he willing to shave them?

[dmallind]

2. I actually like the idea of a skirt but confess I lack the personality (and the legs) to do so

In many cases I am perfectly willing to openly flout convention but in this one there is something that stops me. I'm a fat bugger with pasty skin and a large scar from an old knee injury, so perhaps it's better for the world that I lack the confidence to wear a skirt. It is not a gender issue with me that I would wear them - I think they are simply more practical and would be more comfortable. Skirts for men - not just tartan kilts - exist and I have gone so far as to peruse the websites that sell them, but just not willing to take the final step I guess. Good for those who can!

[Brickbat]

3. I had a good male friend who loved to wear my skirts. I hate wearing skirts. He thought they were

practical and comfortable. When he came to visit me in college he would borrow my long skirt when we'd go out.

[dmallind]

8. I like this one - surprisingly expensive though

These are marketed as non-tartan kilts and I suppose technically are as they wrap around. $190 seems a bit steep though!

[Brickbat]

9. Not bad!

The skirt my friend wore was a long, black, flowy one that I used for musical performances. Frankly, I thought he looked silly, but he was my friend, so it wasn't a big deal.

[dustbunnie]

12. I like the way the embellishments on that non-tartan kilt celebrate the genitals.

:) Man-skirts look good on most. Can't wait for the day when people feel comfy dressing to highlight their personalities, not their genders.

[bluedeminredstate]

14. That's sharp!

I love a man in a kilt and I think as a "casual" kilt-type look it's very good-looking. I wish the kilted look was accepted in this country because it's nice to see a man's legs sometimes. I know for women, as far as comfort goes, you can't beat a skirt. I think jeans are so uncomfortable - the fabric is stiff, the wedgie factor is unbearable, and trying to find a good fit is difficult. Give me the freedom of movement of a skirt any day!

:thumbsup:

[Speck Tater]

4. Maybe in Scotland. nt

[pipi_k]

7. What's under those things anyway?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJB1u1ZFzrk


hee hee

[Blue-Jay]

17. a-waaang....a-waaang (sung like a bagpipe drone)

[3waygeek]

5. Just call it a kilt

School admins would be less likely to suppress a display of ethnic heritage.

[AwakeAtLast]

6. That was my thought, too.

[noamnety]

10. I stopped a boy in the hall who was wearing a skirt

to ask if he'd done the embroidery on it himself. :)

I'm proud to be at a school where it's a non-issue.

[Jkid]

11. I don't mind students wearing skirts or kilts

The skirt or kilt would just need to be long enough to cover most of the thighs. But he should wear long socks to cover the hairy lower legs.

[buzzycrumbhunger]

19. Socks?

Would you also require long socks to hide the hairy legs if they were wearing shorts? That's just silly. Granted, a kilt traditionally is knee-length and worn with knee-high woolens, but I think they look great with sandals or work boots, as well.

[donco6]

13. No one would bat an eye here.

We don't have differentiated dress codes (like different hair length for boys/girls.)

[Ian David]

15. Every year, we'd have a bunch of senior boys who would wear skirts to class on the same day...

... and every year, we'd have girls who would wear a tuxedo to the prom...

... and every year, the school would just let it go, because they saw it as a healthy little act of rebellion, and not worth picking a fight over.

As long as the guys wore underpants with the skirts.

[Tim01]

16. Depends entirely where it is. nt

[buzzycrumbhunger]

18. My son's worn a kilt for years

. . . and yes, he favors a Utilikilt most of the time because they're so handy (all those pockets mean the sporran is extraneous and you don't have to fend off jerks also teasing about the "man purse"). I highly recommend you go to their site and peek through the photo gallery. There are even construction crews who use them as their uniform. There's also a discount rack with older or imperfect items at considerable discount. Considering they wear like iron (no knees or crotch to blow out), the price isn't really so bad. And honestly, is there a woman who wouldn't throw herself all over a man in a kilt? (Maybe that's just me. :9)

Back on topic, though, I noticed the requirements tightening up in weird ways by the time my daughter got to HS. Suddenly, summer clothing was verboten (no tank tops in FLORIDA?) and she started to get hassled about hair color (neon green was our fave), though it wasn't prohibited. They did start to get ugly about same-sex couples and she planned on going to prom with her best friend (a girl in a tux), just to push the limits and make a point. In the end, they decided it was a spotlight they never coveted, a cause that didn't pertain to them (not gay), and school dances never interested them anyway, so the plan kind of fizzled. I think she kind of regrets it now because it would have made HS less of a wasted effort.

I find it really odd that schools are going back in time like this. Hair length? My son's always had hair longer than mine (ponytail to his butt), lots of kids still go for fun hair colors, piercings, and clothes to make a statement. They're teenagers, fer cryin' out loud--and these are temporary things. Whatever happened to the idea that school was for teaching kids to discover who they are and think for themselves? It seems TPTB just want us all to fit their prescribed boxes and just keep the line moving until the corporate world can take over for them. Bleagh.

[Initech]

20. I say if people want to express themselves that way, go for it.

Fuck it, you only live once, you should be allowed to dress as you please.