Photo: Pakutaso
lifestyle

Japanese high school adds culottes to uniforms to better accommodate gender diversity

25 Comments
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24

As adjectives, “uniform” and “diverse” are complete opposites. All the same, Yamasaki Prefectural High School, in the town of Shiso, Hyogo Prefecture, has made a number of revisions to its student dress code over the last few years to accommodate evolving attitudes about gender, and the latest is the introduction of culottes of culottes to its school uniform.

Like most high schools in Japan, Yamasaki traditionally required male students to wear slacks as part of their uniform, and girls skirts. In response to feedback from students, in 2020 the school revised its policy, allowing all students to freely choose whether they want to wear slacks or a skirt, as well as the choice between a necktie (traditionally worn by boys) or a ribbon (traditionally worn by girls). Following a speech from a transgender resident of Shiso at the school last summer, though, it came to light that a number of students feel uncomfortable wearing slacks as well as skirts, and so the school proposed culottes as an alternative.

▼ Yamasaki High School uniform with culottes

Screen-Shot-2023-01-16-at-8.03.11.png

An opinion survey found that 70 percent of the school’s students are in favor of offering the option, even if they don’t necessarily plan to choose to wear culottes themselves. With such widespread support, all students, regardless of their gender identity, will be allowed to wear culottes from the start of the 2023 academic year, which beings this spring. At that time Yamasaki High School will also be introducing new uniform blazers with buttons that can be configured on either the left or right side of the jacket, so that students can dress in the way they feel best matches their identity.

Source: Kobe Shimbun Next via Otakomu

Read more stories from SoraNews24.

-- Japanese public school to allow male students to wear skirts, chest ribbons as part of uniform

-- Japanese middle school promotes long pants to full-uniform status for girls, equal with skirts

-- Petition to allow students to choose what they wear to school gathers almost 19,000 signatures

© SoraNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

25 Comments
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Bronco, sshhh, you're ruining it

7 ( +15 / -8 )

High schools don't allow girls to wear their natural hair color if is not dark enough, but if they want to wear girls or boys attire, let them?

And... what is this supposed to help them with?? They are teenagers. A sole transgender student means everyone else can do as they please? If it is transgender doesn't that mean he switched from one to the other? Why the need of neutrality? It ultimate nonsense. And peddling to the mob and what is chic and populist. Also enables the teenagers to just be more rebellious and be more in your face and to want to do as they please in other realms as well. Identity is one thing. Gender another. Why can't we see this. A woman can be strong, brave, courageous, heroic, powerful, driven, etc. as A WOMAN! Likewise, a man can be sensitive, kind, gleeful, tender, nurturing, etc. as A MAN. The fact that people, and this case teens "doubt" their gender because they think if they are strong, or sensitive they must be of the opposite sex, is pure nonsense. And just reinforces, as Bronco says, the issue that personality traits and gender-bound, which they are NOT.

These kids don't to be let wear whatever they want inter-genderly, they need to know it is okay to have all kinds of personality traits as a man or a woman and there is nothing wrong to express them. And that their gender only defines their reproductive strategy and being a man or a woman with an spectrum of personality traits only enriches his or her experience and that of humanity as well. And that they can thus have a happy plentiful life as a man or a woman, without changing what is naturally and biologically given.

4 ( +10 / -6 )

So 70 attire

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

The uniforms should be the same for both sexes.

-5 ( +3 / -8 )

An opinion survey found that 70 percent of the school’s students are in favor of offering the option

Today I asked my students what movie they would like to watch for movie night, and the most vocal student recommended watching Godzilla. No one else dared to share their opinion. That's just how many Japanese students are. So, I asked if everyone was ok with Godzilla. They all nodded. I could imagine that's how this survey took place.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Question....Can a boy choose to wear a skirt in this new ' gender fluid society ' ???

-5 ( +4 / -9 )

Whatever next ? Sanitary wear in the boys toilet too....or can I just use the girls toilet instead ??? Just asking.

-2 ( +7 / -9 )

I guess already the meaning of the word ‘uniform’ is widely misunderstood when allowing more than one option.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Just looks really ugly.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Is that how we make decisions now, it seems, just ask kids what they would prefer. That is why they are teenagers, cannot choose by themselves everything.

Where have all the experienced developmental psychologists gone?? Where are they? Where is their voice and experience? Funny how easy psychological science is ignored and disregarded.

An identity crisis exists for every teenager in the world, actually to every human in the world at different stages in life. It is specially critical and important to solve the early ones at early stages of development.

Helping teenagers with an identity crisis by letting wear whatever they please, is like giving them a candy to solve innermost psychological issues. It's just a lazy attempt to help, an at that a completely abhorrent one since totally ignores to the question why? which is what most teenagers are wanting to let out, with their acting out. They want and need help to untangle their minds from pain. frustration, duress, lack of confidence, lack of care, love and meaningful relationships, and many times lack of proper physical care (nutritionally, hygienically, medically, et)c., don't school authorities know why well nourished, with at least some good relationships, and mostly from 2 parent households were at least one parent is caring and nurturing, are almost never amongst those with a terrible identity crisis, least of all a gender one.

It was, and it has been a well known fact.

But instead of legitimately help them fight their demons, find their true confidence from within, we placate their urge with rattles, blankets and pacifiers in the form of school attire.

What a disserve and what a way to fail these kids.

The woes of humanity will l only get worse from here.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

There's no such thing as gender when it coms to humans. Gender refers to nouns in certain foreign languages such as most European languages, including Russian. These nouns can be masculine or feminine (and in some languages, neuter). Human beings have a sex - male or female. Not only is there no such thing as human gender; there is not such thing as transgender, because you cannot change a non-existent thing. You can't just make up new words and will concepts into being just because you feel like it.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Both sexes, long pants in the winter. Shorts in the summer. Shirt or blouse. Jacket.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

To be honest, I had no idea what culottes were until now. They should be able to wear them but they're pretty damn ugly.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Getting out of hand. Really. Stick to the old boys' attire, same for girls and make ONE outfit for transgender. No choosing and no fooling around.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Whatever next ? Sanitary wear in the boys toilet too....or can I just use the girls toilet instead ??? Just asking.

Otherwise known as the slippery slope logical fallacy.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Funny Japan doesn't allow gay marriages but push and identify transgender/gay types but neglect the rights. IF they did why would this be a concern of what type of uniform a student wears.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

IF I were a female and had the catch the trains I would wear one this would deter the gropers from going and peering under skirts

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Admittedly had to google culotte.

Baby steps I suppose, surprised at all the negativity.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Funny Japan doesn't allow gay marriages

Japan is not a person. I assume you mean the lawmakers of Japan.

but push and identify transgender/gay types but neglect the rights.

The people pushing for trans/gay rights are not the lawmakers, they are pushing the lawmakers.

You seem to think that everyone in Japan is part of a single, mono-thinking entity. That's not how it works. The "Japan" you speak of in the first point is not the "Japan" you speak of in the second. They are different people.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Do high school girls wanna wear something as horrible as that?

The answer is nope! They wanna wear skirts above their knees and long socks.

Parents? Yes. For sure parents. But no way a high school girl would choose to wear something as ugly. Just give them the option to wear pants.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Man! Completely weird on many levels. Must have been the Oyaji who thought this up. I think before deciding on uniform selection, why don’t they try the uniform first and putting themselves in the current students’ shoes, or in this case “culottes.” It’s bad enough that boys at some school have to wear shorts in winter.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Getting out of hand. Really. Stick to the old boys' attire, same for girls and make ONE outfit for transgender. No choosing and no fooling around.

Make ONE outfit for EVERYONE - no choice, no fooling around

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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