French Schoolboys Wear Skirts to School to Protest Sexism

In an effort to protest sexism, high school girls and boys in Nantes, a city in western France, wore skirts to school Friday, as well as pins that said things like “I fight sexism, what about you?”.

The event was encouraged by administration officials at 27 schools after curriculum changes intended to emphasize equality between the sexes were announced earlier this year. Some conservative parents were concerned their children were being taught that they could choose their own gender, an emphasis protestors at Friday’s event also made. According to the Telegraph:

Protesters contend that the “What the Skirt Raises” initiative is part of a covert government plot to introduce gender theory – the belief that children’s gender is not fixed at birth – into French education.

“They must have a screw loose,” one protester, named Chantal told French media.

In any case, if the photos being shared via the hashtag #JourneeDeLaJupe are any indication (Day of the Skirt) – some of which have been collected by Al Jazeera – the event looks like it was mostly peaceful and fun.