The suggestion that, as a female, wearing a skirt to school damaged my mental and sexual wellbeing is beyond absurd ... or is it?
I have no memories of receiving therapy for gender identity issues during my schooldays but perhaps the damage was so severe that I had, in fact, suppressed them. My brain's way of protecting me from such an horrific ordeal.
Thinking back now, I remember that, with the skirt and blouse we were also required to wear a tie, similar to that which men wear. And come to think of it, the skirt in question was not a print with flowers or butterflies in pink, instead it was a masculine-styled check design in a rather manly green.
OMG ... maybe I really was a victim. Can I claim government compensation? Is there a supporters group? Where's John Campbell when you really need him? I feel so violated.
Then there was the PE gear, where we had to wear shorts during those physical, action-packed workouts. Not wanting to bare my knickers to all, I thought shorts were a sensible choice but clearly those on the gender bender had another agenda altogether. They were out to confuse me, befuddle me and make me question my sexual identity.
Heaven knows how my child-bearing hips managed to swing their way out of school gate, avoiding therapist's couches and mental institutions?
At school I had worn skirts, ties and shorts. In a world where everything and everyone must have a label, what did that make me? A girl, a tomboy, a cross dresser, confused?
Or could it possibly be that I was none of those elaborate and definitive titles, but in fact something way less ordinary, like your average school kid?
It would take way more than a school uniform to define me.
Why do we have this need to take the most simple, innocent and well-meaning of things and twist them out of all proportion until they become so distorted that we wrongly believe they need fixing?
In this day and age, what the hell is gender neutral anyway and more importantly, who is it neutral to? And who gets to decide?
Just because many females choose to wear trousers it doesn't mean that they all should have to, gender neutral doesn't mean majority rules, which brings me back to the main question. What is gender neutral?
Perhaps a beige onesie will do the trick and then what ... gender neutral subjects? Will it spell the end of cooking and woodwork?
Just a thought, but maybe the writers of this report would be better off putting their energy into the really important issues that surround our children's education, like why they are performing so abysmally in maths and why basic levels of literacy remain so low.
Solve the problems that already exist instead of inventing solutions for those that are imagined.
-Kate Stewart is a politically incorrect columnist of no repute. She does welcome your feedback - investik8@gmail.com
