Here Is Why Male Teachers In Spain Are Wearing Skirts To The Classroom

As a human, we have no restriction or limit to believe what we can become but as female and male individuals, we are guided to act and grow in a certain way that would fulfill the criteria of decency and acceptability in society. This is what we call the gender stereotype.

For a very long time, our society has been working in a way that caters to the traditional ideas and norms about the roles associated with gender. How a female and a male should act, how they should show their emotions, what specified jobs they should look for and go for, and most importantly what clothes they should wear.

Here’s a story about why male teachers in Spain are wearing skirts to the classroom that will enlighten you about how,

‘It’s not about the dress you wear, but the life you lead in the Dress’ – Diana Vreeland.

What is happening in Spain since May 2021?

Since May 2021 two male teachers of Spain teaching in a school named Virgen de Sacedon primary school, Valladolid, have started wearing skirts in order to show their solidarity with the campaign ‘Clothing has no Gender’ thus, challenging the gender stereotypes that have been prevalent in the society.

The ‘Clothes have no Gender’ Movement took birth on 27^th October 2020 and since then has been growing tremendously. The reason for this campaign to begin in the first place was, that in the year 2020 a student named Mikel Gomez was thrown out of his school in Bilbao, the Basque country. The reason for expelling him from school was that he wore a skirt to school and being a ‘male individual’ he should not have done so. How rash and mindless the reason is?

Mikel Gomez was even asked to visit a psychiatrist as if wearing a skirt was a state of “mental illness” was highly unethical. Living in the 21^st century we are still bound by such kinds of prejudice and stereotypes concerning what a certain gender should and should not do and what they should and should not wear. To say the least, it is a matter of great shame and pity.

Everybody needs teachers like Ortega and Velazquez

Recently in the month of May, two male teachers named Manuel Ortega, aged 37, and Borja Velazquez aged 36 came together and started this trend of wearing skirts in the classroom so to end this stereotype of clothing for the genders.

They ditched their trousers for skirts after they came to know that one of their students was bullied and mocked for wearing a t-shirt with an anime character print. Due to the homophobic and discriminatory slurs inflicted upon that child by other students, he was forced to go and change his t-shirt.

Outraged and alarmed by this merciless happening, Ortega along with Velazquez resorted to wearing skirts whenever they came to teach in the class in order to educate their fellow students about diversity and tolerance.

Un cole que educa en el respeto, la diversidad, la coeducaión y la tolerancia. ¡Vístete como quieras! Nos sumamos a la inicitiva #LaRopaNoTieneGénero @CEIPVdeSacedon @educacyl @cfievalladolid @FTriangulo @fecylgtb pic.twitter.com/GgnoejXe2N

— Borja Velázquez (@borjamusico) April 29, 2021

Everyone is free to wear whatever they wish to wear

Their motto for wearing skirts was simply to teach how everyone is free to wear what they want as long as it does not hurt any other person. Both the teachers clarified while talking to El País that their wearing a skirt has nothing to do with any sort of publicity stunt but to “increase tolerance and respect” among everyone. Ortega wrote on Twitter saying he believes in,

A school that educates with respect, diversity, co-education and tolerance

thus encouraging students and people to dress however they want.

Mikel Gomez, the student who was bashed last year for wearing a skirt to school and was sent to a psychiatrist posts a video on the TikTok app saying him wearing a skirt was his way of showing unanimity with the concept of feminism and diversity.

Jose Piñas, another teacher who supported gender equality

Last year another teacher of the Basque country named Jose Piñas decided to wear skirts in support of #LaRopaNoTieneGenero meaning ‘The Clothes Have No Gender.’

He shares his experience that how 20 years ago he went through a lot of bullying and abuse for his sexual orientation in the same institution where he teaches now. Sharing his picture on social media wearing a skirt in front of a chalkboard he says that he stands in solidarity with the student Mikel Gomez who was expelled and sent to a psychiatrist for wearing a skirt and that it’s about time to end such discrimination based on gender.

With the efforts of teachers like Piñas, Ortega, and Velazquez a positive change in students’ thinking and behavior was reported. Still, Ortega and Velazquez believe that there is a long way and more efforts should be put in by the whole school as high school sometimes can be very challenging and hard for students of diverse sexual orientation, and in order to end the gender stereotypes altogether a sense of awareness and acceptance is very much needed.

Hace 20años sufrí persecución e insultos xmi orientación sexual en el instituto en el q ahora soy profesor, muchs profes, miraron para otro lado. Quiero unirme a la causa del alumno, Mikel, q ha sido expulsado y enviado al psicólogo por ir a clase con falda. #LaRopaNoTieneGenero pic.twitter.com/5PEN9vityY

— Jose Piñas (@joxepinas) November 9, 2020

Conclusion

All three teachers have received huge praise and applause from parents and netizens. This initiative to end clothing discrimination based on gender has made the student nothing but feel confident about themselves and their diverse choices. This incident tells us that it’s not about the dress that the teachers wore but how they are leading their life by educating children that one can wear anything they wish to wear because one’s clothing should not be based on gender stereotypes.

As is said, “everyone is free to choose, free to dress, and free to say” whatever they want.