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100 teen boys shocked administrators when they all wore skirts to school

Boys at Collège Nouvelles Frontières wore skirts to school in protest of a sexist dress code.
Boys at Collège Nouvelles Frontières wore skirts to school in protest of a sexist dress code. Photo: Zachary Paulin

Over 100 teen boys at Collège Nouvelles Frontières in Canada wore skirts to school to protest a sexist dress code.

Students joined similar protests that are sweeping through Quebec to highlight the arbitrary requirements imposed on girls – but not boys – and the inherent anti-LGBTQ rationalization behind it.

Related: GOP Senator introduces bill that could require genital exams for girls competing in school sports

When Zachary Paulin told classmates he intended to wear a skirt, he urged them to do so as well. He told CBC that he thought about 30 students would join him.

Instead, over 100 classmates came to school showing their legs.

“I knew that it was going to be a big movement, but not that big of a movement,” he said. “I was pleasantly surprised.”

Photos posted on social media show groups of teens posing for the camera in their matching skirts and dirty sneakers.

“Today, you probably saw that some boys, including me, wore skirts,” Paulin posted with on Instagram with some snapshots of the day. “Well, let me talk a bit about why we did that. Basically, a boy wearing a skirt is a sign of resilience, solidarity, and support in the intersectional battle for equality between the sexes.”

“The double standard on the way society views our women and men is blatant; if a woman decides to wear a suit or pants, clothes associated with masculinity, it’s not a big deal.”

“But the moment a man does anything remotely feminine – whether it is to put nail polish, makeup, or, in our case, a skirt – fingers are pointed and he gets insulted. People will say that he’s not a ‘real man’ and they will automatically assume his sexual orientation.”

“So, by wearing a skirt, we are united and together against the sexualization of women and we’re sending a message against toxic masculinity which keeps boys from being who they truly are, without judgment,” he continued.

“We’re in 2020, we should be open-minded and fight to end discrimination, homophobia, and sexism. That’s what our skirts represent.”

View this post on Instagram

⬇️English version in comments⬇️ Voici le texte original que j’ai lu à l’interphone aujourd’hui: « Bonjour à tous et à toutes, Aujourd’hui, certains d’entre vous ont probablement remarqué que des garçons, comme moi, portaient la jupe. Eh bien, laissez moi vous parler du pourquoi de ce geste. En gros, le fait qu’un garçon porte la jupe est un signe de résilience, de solidarité et de support à la bataille intersectionelle d’égalité des sexes. Le double standart sur la façon dont laquelle une femme et un homme devraient se présenter aux yeux de la société est flagrant; si une femme porte un complet et des pantalons, vêtements associés à la masculinité, on n’y pense pas plus que ça. Mais à cause de la masculinité toxique, le moment qu’un garçon va faire quoique ce soit de féminin, que se soit se mettre du vernis à ongle, du maquillage, ou dans notre cas, une jupe, il se fait pointer du doigt et bombarder d’insultes. On va dire qu’il n’est pas un vrai homme et on va immédiatement assumer son orientation sexuelle. Aussi, la jupe représente parfois un moyen pour certains établissements scolaires d’abuser du code vestimentaire inconsciemment. Les agresseurs, tant qu’à eux, vont excuser leur geste en sexualisant les femmes inutilement et grossièrement. Donc, en portant la jupe, nous sommes solidaires aux femmes de la société qui se font constamment sexualiser et à qui ont dit de cacher le corps, et nous lançons un message contre la masculinité toxique qui empêche les garçons d’être ce qu’ils sont vraiment sans jugement. On est en 2020, et nous à NF, on est ouvert sur le monde; c’est-à-dire qu’on n’accepte pas ça la discrimination, l’homophobie et le sexisme. C’est ce que représente notre jupe. Merci. » #jupepourtous

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