Boys Wear Skirts To School In France To Fight Sexism

"Lift the skirt" day was a pro-equality demonstration in Nantes, France, during which students of all genders were encouraged to wear skirts to school.

Boys from 27 high schools in the French city of Nantes were given the chance to wear skirts Friday to school as part of an anti-sexism demonstration.

The demonstration was called "Ce que soulève la jupe" — alternately translated as "what raises the skirt" and "lift the skirt" — and was backed by the city's education authorities.

Officials also encouraged girls to wear skirts.

Student Arthur Moinet, an organizer for the demonstration, said the event was sparked by an ongoing problem with sexism in his region.

Boys were not required to participate, though a majority supported the demonstration, Euronews reported.

Boys who didn't want to actually don a skirt could wear a pin reading, "I fight sexism, what about you?"

About 150 members of a conservative group called Les Sentinelles Nantes protested the demonstration.

Gender has been a contentious topic in France recently, with the country passing a new equality-oriented education curriculum earlier this year.

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