Girlguiding has launched a new uniform for all its members with a focus on “self-expression, belonging and confidence”. The new clothes, in bright colours, also come with relaxed rules as the institution’s new “pared-back approach” means that members will only have to wear a regulation top to be considered “in uniform”.
It might be 36 years since the Guides, Rainbows, Brownies and Rangers had a uniform revamp, but changing fashion is hardly a new thing. Comparing the stiff, cotton, belted, brown frock of 1967 Brownies with its pre-stitched yellow tie to the shorts and Day-Glo yellow t-shirt of the 1980s uniform is a wonderful insight into a societal shift towards a more playful and relaxed approach to kids.
What has changed is the idea that uniforms – and by definition sticking to the rules – might no longer be so important. Girlguiding is making a fuss about its relaxation of what’s required of girls, headlining all their press releases with the aim that members feel “free to express themselves”.
The new “be your authentic self” outlook of Girlguiding is a very modern concept. The colours, materials and shape of the uniform might have shifted over the decades, but looking back through the history of Girlguiding, the importance of conformity is ever-present. The uniform even stipulated the colour of knickers girls should wear according to their group and uniform. A Girl Guide Gazette from March 1915 chastised members for wearing the wrong cross on their bags. “At recent rallies there were several noticeable discrepancies in uniform marring the effect”, it said, “we have to remind Captains that only the official uniform is admissible for Girl Guides, and any departure from the regulation navy hat, navy blouse and sky-blue tie is not permitted”.
In contrast, today’s new mantra seems to send the message to girls that rules don’t really matter. Self-expression is a wonderful thing to nurture, particularly in young children, but there’s a time and a place for it.
Membership of a group or club demands the idea that you try to fit in and “belong”, to use a word beloved by the Guides. Belonging to something – your school, your family, your Brownie club – means that there are certain things we all agree to do together. There is a sacrifice involved in the transaction – you get to be part of the club if you promise to compromise some of your own particularities to work as a team. This process of disciplining and socialising is vital for children – it’s what’s behind their ability to sit still in class or eat nicely at the dinner table. If, by contrast, your first message to girls is that their own self – not the identity of the group – is what matters most, any idea of succumbing to the rules sounds contradictory.
Don’t get me wrong – as a mother of two, I love comfort and ease. I wince at babies dressed up in jeans getting trapped wind by the minute, or girls trussed up in scratchy tutus tripping over their skirts at the playground. But I also support the idea that there will be times when my kids might be a little uncomfortable – physically and mentally – for good reason. My three-year-old often bemoans the fact that I won’t allow him to wear his Spiderman pyjamas to nursery. Girlguiding consulted its members on the new uniform rules, and “47 per cent said they were most confident when they can choose what they wear”. Go figure – girls, like boys, don’t like being told what to do. But good parents, carers and role models in groups like Girlguiding know that there’s a word for children who always get their way. Maybe this new uniform is spoiled.
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