Victoria’s Education Department will consider its position on gender-neutral school uniform legislation that would allow boys to wear skirts.
The proposal was made by a Keilor high school at the recently convened Victorian Youth Parliament.
The Gender Neutral School Uniform Bill, written by five Overnewton Anglican Community College students at the 29th Youth Parliament, proposes the removal of gender labels so “girls’ skirts” would be referred to only as “skirts”.
It will be presented to Education Minister James Merlino for consideration.
The college’s bill argued that students who define themselves as “gender diverse” do not feel comfortable wearing skirts or pants that don’t confirm to their gender identity.
College team leader Tessa Buchanan said the bill aimed to allow students to wear any part of the school’s uniform, regardless of their gender.
“It is accepting that students’ comfort and the practicality of uniform should come before restrictive practices in the name of tradition.”
While there were concerns a new dress code could lead to bullying, the college’s Lachlan Stevenson said gender should not define individuals.
“Male and female are nothing more than aspects of a person’s physiology, just as height, weight or race are,” he said. “Through this bill, we hope to take a step, even if it is a tiny one, towards the society in which this separation of biological gender and identity is history.”
The Youth Parliament gives young people a voice at the highest level of state government, and its bills have passed into more than 25 pieces of Victorian legislation, including mandatory bicycle helmets and roadside drug testing.
– YMCA Youth Parliament press gallery journalist Sunny Liu with Ben Cameron
