Can boys wear skirts? France divided by gender stereotyping experiment in primary schools

By ANNE PENKETH
Monday 30 June 2014

The French government sought to end months of bitter controversy over a scheme to combat gender stereotyping by scrapping a disputed primary school experiment but expanding gender equality training to all teachers.

Amid wild rumours and fears that gender theory had been imported from America, parents at about 100 schools had pulled their children out of classes in a mass boycott in January. It was claimed that boys were being forced to wear skirts and taught to masturbate. One protest, led by ultra-Catholics and the far-right who accused the Socialist government of destroying traditional family values, brought 100,000 demonstrators onto the streets in February.

More: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/can-boys-wear-skirts-france-divided-by-gender-stereotyping-experiment-in-primary-schools-9574297.html

Quote from: Olivia P on July 02, 2014, 02:17:39 AM
It was claimed that boys were being forced to wear skirts and taught to masturbate.

Um. Does it require lessons? Is it possible I was doing it wrong?

Quote from: Olivia P on July 02, 2014, 02:17:39 AM
Can boys wear skirts?

YES! Yes they can! No sarcasm intended, the truth is they can and should be able too, hell, a dress and make up too! Fyi, men used to wear those back in bible times and up until 1920, men even wore pink clothes too!

Brings up several questions.

Why can't all clothing be acceptable for both female and male?

Why can't we be comfortable and not be threatened by:
....using common restrooms with private stalls
....using common locker and shower rooms
....using common exercise facilities
....being nude with each other
....etc

It is all a matter of acceptance and mutual respect.

Quote from: mac1 on July 12, 2014, 02:47:16 PM
Brings up several questions.

Why can't all clothing be acceptable for both female and male?

Why can't we be comfortable and not be threatened by:
....using common restrooms with private stalls
....using common locker and shower rooms
....using common exercise facilities
....being nude with each other
....etc

It is all a matter of acceptance and mutual respect.

The answer to that is rather simple really. Because humans feel the need to categorize anything that's different (Male, female, sky, land, sea, bug, fish, bird, human etc. etc.) they decided to call one type of human a male and the other a female. Then, somewhere along the lines, gender stereo typing happened and said, only this gender can do this and wear that and so on and so forth. As for the nude, embarrassment maybe but, I honestly don't know.

Quote from: mac1 on July 12, 2014, 02:47:16 PM
Brings up several questions.

Why can't all clothing be acceptable for both female and male?

Why can't we be comfortable and not be threatened by:
....using common restrooms with private stalls
....using common locker and shower rooms
....using common exercise facilities
....being nude with each other
....etc

It is all a matter of acceptance and mutual respect.

I have a very different answer than Shana-Chan.

It's because gender is powerful and important.

No one knows that better than trans people.

It is uncomfortable to be in a mixed gender environment for many people in many situations. Our gender identities, which are powerful and hard to deny, make us more comfortable with those of our gender.

We are WIRED that way. That's why the need to transition is so powerful for us. And that's why the need to be around members of one's own gender is so powerful for the rest of the human race.

Quote from: suzifrommd on July 12, 2014, 08:39:32 PM
I have a very different answer than Shana-Chan.

It's because gender is powerful and important.

No one knows that better than trans people.

It is uncomfortable to be in a mixed gender environment for many people in many situations. Our gender identities, which are powerful and hard to deny, make us more comfortable with those of our gender.

We are WIRED that way. That's why the need to transition is so powerful for us. And that's why the need to be around members of one's own gender is so powerful for the rest of the human race.

True Suzi, you do have a valid point but, I want you to think about the 1st two humans ever, one male, one female. Back then, there was only 1 of each gender, I highly doubt back then besides the obvious difference in their bodies that their were rules like we have today, even with the first couple of generations I'd say. (Such as what clothing we can were, make up being for girls only and so on) So yes it's true that we'd still want what the other gender has that we don't have body wise, but it's not true we'd feel anything towards clothes, make up, how we walk and talk, what bathrooms we can use and so on if it was never taught to us that, this is how this gender dresses, acts, talks and so on, not to mention teaching us that this gender is only allowed to use this bathroom. Teaching us stuff like that is WHY it gets hard wired into our brains.