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Katie Woods's avatar

Nelly, I think we have very similar brains 😅Same. Same. Same. Absolutely adore this poem. One saved multiple places on my phone 🫶🏼

And I was also having a full on reflection//FB rant about my rubbish (as a girl !!!) Secondary school PE experience a few weeks ok… 👇🏽

**When my children start secondary school I hope things are different. I hope my daughter won’t be taught to hide her sanitary products in a pencil case so that the boys don’t see them. I hope that my son and daughter are equally clued up about periods and their reproductive systems. I hope that teachers won’t publicly shame girls for wearing make-up and that my daughter will feel comfortable wearing a skirt or trousers without either being an issue or an act of rebellion. I hope that teasing girls and making unwanted advances and comments about their bodies won’t be dismissed as ‘teenage boys being teenage boys.’ I hope my daughter enjoys PE lessons and doesn’t dread them like I did because…. there are only 2 trampolines so that means all the boys are coming to join-in and watch us self-conscious girls bouncing up and down smiling (but secretly we are praying that our perceived cellulite, padded bras, sanitary towels don’t show, leak, fall out!) I hope she doesn’t only have to play netball and obsess about growing to a 34DD because that’s how all the girls in FHM//The News of the World look. I hope my son will respect women’s choices and won’t expect all women to be hairless sexual objects because that’s all he’s seen through advertising, media and TV. I hope things are better. And it starts with us, at home. Reflecting and being conscious about what we watch, say and do. It’s scary thinking about all this. But so fucking necessary…** Katie x

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Lindsay Johnstone's avatar

Oh cripes, having a total flashback to hockey on the blaize pitch aged 12...! I tried to tell my 11yo daughter about gym pants a while back and she was utterly horrified, as you'd expect. Ours were elasticated royal blue rough cotton and most closely resembled the waterproof outer layer that 1980s mums used to put over cloth nappies. We teamed them with a blue short kilt and blue knee high socks. What a sight! So actually not a lot of corned beef thigh on show what with all the sock and kilt action but I can't imagine actually doing any sporting activity trussed up like that now! My daughter starts secondary after the summer and it seems the policy is more or less black leggings all day every day!

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