Oxford University changes dress code to meet needs of transgender students
Students sitting exams or attending formal occasions will no longer have to wear ceremonial clothing specific to their gender
Press Association
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 29 July 2012 06.27 EDT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/jul/29/oxford-university-dress-code-transgender-students?newsfeed=true


Photograph: Martin Argles for the Guardian

Oxford University has rewritten the laws governing its strict academic dress code following concerns that they were unfair towards transgender students.

It will mean men will be able to sit tests in skirts and stockings and women will have the option of wearing suits and bow ties.

Under the old laws on academic clothing – known as subfusc – ...If a transgender student wanted to wear subfusc of the opposite sex they had to seek special dispensation from university proctors, who had the power to punish those who breached the rules.

Oxford University said: "The regulations have been amended to remove any reference to gender, in response to concerns raised by Oxford University Student Union that the existing regulations did not serve the interests of transgender students."

Simone Webb, president of LGBTQ Soc, said: "This is an extremely positive step, and indeed long overdue."

He told The Oxford Student: "I am of the opinion that it is possible to keep elements of tradition in this way while making them unrestrictive to trans students, genderqueer students, or students who wish to wear a different subfusc to that which they'd be expected to wear."

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Oxford University dress code changed to 'meet needs of cross-dressing students'
By JONATHAN PETRE
PUBLISHED: 10:29 EST, 28 July 2012 | UPDATED: 16:05 EST, 28 July 2012

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2180251/Men-wear-skirts-Oxford-University-academic-dress-code-changed-meet-needs-cross-dressing-students.html

• Change in regulations the first in 1,000-year history
• All gender references removed from clothing rules
• Comes in response to concerns from student union

[T]he university's council, headed by Vice-Chancellor Andrew Hamilton, has dropped any distinction between the sexes by deleting all references to men and women.

While students are still required  to dress appropriately for formal occasions and exams, they no longer need to ensure their 'sub-fusc' – the clothes worn with full academic dress – is distinctive 'for each sex'.

The reforms were introduced following a campaign by the student union, which argued that transgender students, including transvestite or 'gender confused' men and women, could face punishment if they wore 'inappropriate' dress.

Jess Pumphrey, the union's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer executive officer, said the change would make a small number of students' exam experiences 'significantly less stressful by eliminating the need for trans students to cross-dress to avoid being... disciplined during their exam'.
She said there was 'an active  transgender community' in Oxford, and every member she had spoken to 'had found sub-fusc, under the old regulations, to be stressful'.

Congratulations to the Press Association and The Guardian UK for getting it right. They used correct gender references and respectful terminology in their headline and throughout their article.  (See article above the line).

The Daily Mail (see article below the line) in their article from the previous day, was confused about who was crossdressing, and missed the key point made by the University and the students themselves which was that the old policy was forcing transgender or genderqueer men and women to crossdress (wear clothing that does not match their personal gender expression) in order to avoid sanction.

In my opinion, it is a good day when one of the most traditional universities in the world "gets it" and moves to protect the well-being of all of its students including transgender and genderqueer men and women. If Oxford University can update one of their oldest traditions so that all of its students feel safe and welcome, what excuse does any other institution have? THANK YOU OXFORD. -MadelineB

Another milestone on the road


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-19038488