Japanese schools banned female students from wearing their hair in ponytails because the “nape of their necks” could “sexually excite” male students.
Former middle school teacher Motoki Sugiyama told Vice the reasoning is similar to that of the schools’ white-only underwear policy, so that they won’t show through the uniforms.
“They’re worried boys will look at girls, which is similar to the reasoning behind upholding a white-only underwear color rule,” he explained. “I’ve always criticized these rules, but because there’s such a lack of criticism and it’s become so normalized, students have no choice but to accept them.
According to Vice, a 2020 survey showed that in the Fukuoka prefecture of the country, one in 10 schools banned the up-do.
Sugiyama taught in the prefecture of Shizuoka for 11 years in five different schools, which all outlawed ponytails. Since he felt the gendered rules were sexist and discouraged students’ self-expression, he attempted to liberate the children subjected to those “unreasonable demands.”
Parents and students alike expressed outrage at the absurd dress code in June, pushing the Japanese government to revise the prefectural boards of education’s rules. But not every school was whipped into shape.
nypost.com
