I'm thinking back to the private Christian school my siblings and I attended as little kids. The school enforced a lot of thoughtless anti-girl policy, but one of the policies they put a lot of thought into was that little girls must not wear pants. Or shorts. (Heaven forbid!)

It was skirts or nothing.

I remember a bit of a mini revolt one year, girls complaining bitterly that they couldn't play at recess like the boys, because of their skirts. Team sports were impaired because girls were trying to keep their modesty intact while kicking soccer balls wearing knee-length skirts. (Can you even imagine?)

The administration came up with a compromise. Girls could wear shorts UNDER their skirts. But woe betide the girl who took off her skirt and wore ONLY the shorts, like the boys.

No, no! Can't have that! Detention for you!

(None of the men in charge actually added, "you shameless little tart," but you could feel their smoldering judgment.)

Granted, that was a long time ago, and pants on girls aren't the cultural bugaboo they used to be. But the underlying attitudes haven't changed much, have they?