U.K. group says school skirt requirement discriminatory

If British education officials have their way, it will soon be difficult to be sure which students are girls and which are boys.

Britain's Equality and Human Rights Commission recently warned schools that they cannot require girls to wear skirts.

In American public schools this ruling would have little effect (although increasingly districts are instituting uniforms), but in Britain's tax-supported schools there is a long tradition of requiring students to wear uniforms — modest jumpers and knee socks for girls, white shirt and trousers for boys — sometimes complemented by inexpensive blazers in the school's colors.

Far from regimenting the students, uniforms ensure that students from more affluent families do not embarrass their poorer peers by showing up in class in the latest fashions.

The commission now contends that uniforms discriminate against transgenders, of which there are no more than 5,000 of all ages in the United Kingdom. Officials argue that compelling all girls to wear skirts breaches the rights of those who are unsure of their sexuality. "Pupils born female with gender dysphoria experience great discomfort being forced to wear stereotypical clothes — for example a skirt," the commission argues.

The guidelines are meant to protect students who believe they were born into the wrong gender, "regardless of whether or not they intend to undergo, are undergoing, or have undergone gender reassignment."

The commission states: "Uniform is a key issue for young 'trans' people at schools. Many schools have strict uniform codes where boys and girls are required to wear particular clothes; for example, girls cannot wear trousers."

Elsbeth Insch, head teacher at Birmingham's King Edward VI Handsworth School, refused to comply, saying, "The message is: not in my school — we're sticking with our skirts."

Although the ruling is well-intentioned, it is an extreme illustration of the tyranny of a tiny minority over the vast majority of students who welcome uniforms as a way of breaking down Britain's stifling class consciousness.

A potential weakness of all democracies is that a majority of their citizens will dictate to its minorities how they shall live. Accordingly, nations are careful to craft bills of rights to protect minorities from the majority.