jan 26, 2007 - Heritage Christian Academy, and their uniform
Description:
At my school, we had uniforms. Of course, they were gendered, with the boys wearing shorts and the girls wearing skirts. Once, I tried to wear a pair of shorts under my skirt, which got me in some trouble. Not only was I told by my music teacher that this broke dress code and they had to be taken off, but it was also published in our monthly bulletin that was sent home to the parents. Before music class, a different teacher saw them and said that I still had to sit like a "lady". Not surprisingly, this was very confusing to me. Not only do school uniforms enforce a clear distinction between classes, based on who can afford to go to a school that has a uniform, but uniforms also show "ritualized girling" and affect the way girls move and sit (Happel, 2013). Skirts also impose an idea of modesty, which pants do not. Wearing a skirt meant I always had to be conscientious of what my body was doing and always had to sit with my legs crossed, which is not always very comfortable.
Added to timeline:
Mary Nell's Autoethnography
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