RAF Bans Skirts on Parade
 

Speaking as someone who is TG, I don't understand the reasoning behind the decision here at all.

RAF women banned from wearing skirts on parade | News | The Times & The Sunday Times

The Royal Air Force has banned women from wearing skirts on parade and issued a trousers-only rule in an attempt to become more inclusive. The move is partly owing to an increase in transgender troops and was discussed at a meeting by officials who address issues such as diversity, inclusion and uniform policy.

It is believed to have been put into action last year as part of a regular review of uniform policy. No decision is believed to have been made on whether to continue with the ban. The rule change has been criticised by some servicemen and politicians. Philip Davies, the Conservative MP, said: “It’s a ludicrous decision.”

The RAF first allowed women to wear trousers on parade in 2001. Some 14 per cent of the RAF’s 33,000 personnel are women, a higher percentage than in the Royal Navy or Army.

Lets have a casual day, seven days of the week. Must be coming, jump in first and put the progressives to sleep.

Why ban them? Why not make them optional as I believe the daily dress rule is. Glad I am no longer involved.

I would be interested to know who these 'officials' were. Probably blanket stackers and scribblies.

If you are born a male with dangly bits you are a male, if not then you are a female! If you grow up feeling different then fine, I have no issues but society shouldn't have to change or bend over backwards to accommodate you. The world has gone mad.

You are entitled to your view, but it's irrelevant to the question I asked, which is how banning skirts is supposed to make things more inclusive?

I would suspect they were more worried that some anti-TG barrack room lawyer would insist on the right to wear a skirt, and it was easier to preempt the situation and make everyone wear trousers instead.

So what are the pipe band going to wear now?

And before I get the inevitable comments, my roots are North of the wall and it will always be a kilt to me.....

What's a 'parade' these days?

The new American boss of some UK company raised a few eyebrows when he demanded that "No women are to wear pants in the office!" - until it was explained to him that words in English and American don't always have the same meaning.

Perhaps this nonsense was dreamed up by the same idiot who required female cabin crew to wear flying suits rather than the much smarter blue cabin dresses they used to wear. The RAF then (and probably now) didn't issue flying suits which fitted every figure...

Oh I don't know, one only had to observe a Nimrod crew to see the variety of sizes and girths available in stores, or was that down to some hidden elastic....

A couple of years ago there was a thread about the confusion on a joint service parade where you had the Light Infantry charging about at 140 ppm,the bulk of the services at 120 ppm, the RN at 116 and the Guards at about 98 ppm. Also in the mix was skirted females whose skirt width only allowed a pace length of 27 inches as opposed the standard 30 Ins. Let's face it the RAF bands are multi gender, and no skirts there. Having said that, if this ruling is adopted across all 3 services, I can see the Royal Marines having something to say about it.

Hands down funniest quote on forum so far in 2017. ;););)

What is TG ...... cannot be Top Gun in context but ........ ?

Perfectly reasonable. I suspect they're ensuring an absence of hairy legs on display.

Well, someone had to!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z5pRYacssM :ok:

Get you!

and this one of course.....


http://images.oobject.com/thumbdir/t...5edd90ffa-orig

More a testament to the strength of the stitching, and before anyone says, yes that included mine (and several other FEs)!!

Let em wear shorts...:)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zAtnS6fXcgU

Of course there is a cost to all of this, you will need a new number 1 trouser or whatever designation it is today, and that will no doubt entail a new uniform so that they both match... judging by some of the WRAF I knew, transgender has been accepted for years. End of the milk bottles... who would have thought it.

Ah yes, new uniform and gender discrimination. Due to fabric shortages, the then new T63 was issued in dribs and drabs. It was rumoured that SROs at Wittering said "Due to material shortages, WRAF skirts will be held up until SNCOs without trousers have been satisfied"

Sounds like a load of horlicks to me.

From AP1358:

0302. Ceremonial Occasions/Females on Parade. Mixed dress of skirts or trousers is not permitted within a parade. When on unit ceremonial duties or
parade, the parade sponsor will decide whether skirts or trousers are to be worn.