The affective matter of (Australian) school uniforms: the school-dress that is and does

Abstract

In Australia, school uniforms are prevalent in both government and private schools. Uniforms as measurements of power are hotly contested, and gendered uniforms are of educational interest and concern. The pervasiveness of gendered uniforms has sparked ongoing campaigns such as Girls Uniform Agenda, 1 a movement to ensure that female students identifying as girls have options to wear trousers and shorts. Campaigns related to gendered uniform assume a binary gender and have focused on the growing demand for girls to be allowed to wear trousers and shorts. Rarely is the notion of boys in dresses raised, except where it is produced as some humorous hijinks 2 or a monstrous transgression Show more