Category Archives: Opinion

‘You can’t wear that!’: Street Harassment, Victim-Blaming, and Policing Girls’ Uniforms

This collaborative piece was born out of the very first meeting between It’s Not a Compliment (INAC) and Girls’ Uniform Agenda. Connecting the dots between the policing of girls’ school uniforms, and street harassment, we explore how children are taught to accept cultures of victim-blaming and inequality from a young age. In this piece, Amy Blain, the Director and ACT Representative of GUA, works alongside INAC’s Community Liaison Officer and GUA Supporter, Alex Lee, to

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Why Pants & Shorts for Girls are the Key to the Door

Issy is one of Girls’ Uniform Agenda’s Young Uniform Activist, Issy tells her story and explains why this fight is more than just a pair of shorts or pair of pants. My name is Issy and I have attended a coeducational public school since year 7.  I am the pinnacle of a radical intersectional feminist and when thinking about how gender inequality impacted day to day life for young people, school uniforms and their problematic

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Freedom, Childhood, and School Dresses

Guest Blog from GUA Supporter, Alex Lee, ANU Student, Jasiri Trailblazer Fellow 2018 A Child’s Mind (and body) For me, primary school is synonymous with a feeling; that sensation of pure unbounded freedom, joy, and limitless possibility evoked by the ringing of the lunchtime bell and the running of six hundred feet in a kind of ritualised race across the oval and towards the Playground. I distinctly remember the sensation of a ball of energy and

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Uniform Shop Conversations: Dresses for Girls

I was buying more shorts for my little one and speaking to another Kindy parent whilst waiting in line at the uniform shop. Our conversation was a reminder of just how strongly ingrained in school cultures it is for girls to wear skirts and dresses.  It went like this: Mum:  I wish Aisha* would wear shorts and a top to school.  All she’ll wear is the skort and top. Me: Yes, I don’t see the

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Schools Ban Pants and Shorts for Girls

Said no headline ever. Requiring girls to wear dresses and skirts, with no other options, is a ban on shorts and pants.   We see Australian headlines of schools banning skirts and dresses; and the absolute outrage in the UK following the decision of 40 secondary schools to ban skirts.  We don’t see headlines of the shorts and pants ban for girls.  Yet, girls still can’t wear shorts and pants in schools across Australia, in

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Time to Change – Girls’ Uniform From a Teacher’s Perspective

Guest blog from Early Year’s Teacher and Girls’ Uniform Agenda Supporter, Louise Lenzo I work as a teacher in a non-denominational private school, which caters for learners from pre-school to year 12. The early learning unit is based on a modern Montessori method of teaching and learning. The Montessori Method of education is based on self-directed activities with hands on learning where children make choices and develop their potential. With the Montessori approach in mind,

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#MeToo and Girls’ School Uniform

The #MeToo movement is about women raising their voices together, to demonstrate the sheer magnitude of women who have been sexually harassed or sexually assaulted. It is a rare moment in history where many women, who have been frightened into silence for so long, are shouting out about their treatment. #MeToo has taught us that women will stay in situations where they are uncomfortable, and endure men violating their bodies, because they are terrified. It

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The Dress Trap – Equality and the School Dress

We’re a long way from achieving gender equality however you look at it.  When we ask young girls what they think, they say they feel judged on their appearance and don’t feel equal to boys, not even at school. “More than half of Australian girls report that they are most often valued for their looks, not their brains and ability.” Schools give these reasons for dress and skirt only uniforms: “It’s tradition, it’s always been

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