Thai school girls – longer skirts, bigger blouses

The Thai Education Ministry is telling teenage female students to dress “appropriately” and stop wearing dresses that are too skimpy.

The Ministry has made amendments to the Child Protection Act to codify the length of dresses and the tightness of blouses, rather than leaving it up to school boards to come up with their own guidelines (you can imagine those evening meetings held in stuffy school board rooms with mostly male academics deep in discussion).

The amendment appears to only target female students who famously, or infamously, flout the dress codes with their short skirts and undersized blouses.

The revision, signed by newly appointed Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan, says the changes in the laws will improve the behaviour and safety of students. Meanwhile male students have been spared any specific guidelines regarding the way they wear their uniforms.

The amendments also prohibit students from joining gangs that “disturb the peace” or cause a “public commotion” inside or outside school.

Parents or guardians of a student who breaks the new regulations are liable to fines of up to 30,000 baht and/or three months in jail.

Female Thai students have been testing school and university dress-codes for decades with the many Thai soap operas set in schools, and popular with young Thai people, often sexualising female cast members by dressing them in very short and tight skirts and tight-fit blouses. The Thai ‘schoolgirl’ is also a popular ‘theme’ in locally produced porn.

Thai school uniform standards attract attention around the world with even the Japanese, also known for pushing the boundaries of skirt length, acknowledging that Thailand takes the sexualising of school uniforms to the next level.

Universities in Thailand continue to rank far behind in world academically but they are “No. 1” in the sexiest female university uniform stakes according to a number of surveys.

Whilst conservative social standards abound in Thailand, outwardly, Thai officialdom has always tolerated pushing the boundaries of female sexuality by turning a blind eye to the bar-girl culture and, yes, the enforcement of student dress codes.