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"Letting my freak flag fly" is from a Crosby, Stills and Nash song. They coined the phrase themselves and it's a good think in the song. CSN and seventies culture mainly associated it with long hair.
Hm. I have nothing to do with Oberlin except for a lovely young friend who attends the conservatory. Sadly, neither of my kids were willing to apply to any schools west of the Hudson. I would have loved to go visit.
I do know of young men at schools seen as much more conservative than Oberlin who have experimented with wearing skirts to class, either because they're contra dancers and that's what they where or for other more personal reasons.
Why would this bother any one else?
Clearly, it's not the norm, and if a few individuals are unsure of their own personal boundaries and are looking to discover them, then good for them. If they decide they like wearing skirts, well than good for them too.
Kilts, the short white pleated skirts Greek soldiers once wore, togas, chitons, robes .... these have all been acceptable masculine dress in the cultures they appeared.
Why are they rules?
How does experimenting with a clothing style mean someone has lost a sense of decorum? Are they rude? Threatening others? Making noise that makes it impossible to learn?
I am a college teacher, and when it was in style I did find rows of backwards baseball caps in my classes alienated.
Why did I do? Got rid of the rows and had everyone sit it a circle so we could listen to each other and see each others' faces and facial expressions. I never said anything about the caps; it was the style. I am glad it passed.
If a guy wore a skirt into my classroom why would I have difficulty with that?
And things that push the envelope often become accepted. Georges Sand was very outrageous for wearing trousers. Well, I think we know where that went. Is there anyone who thinks a young woman has lost a sense of decorum for wearing pants?
Many Native American tribes allowed men to wear women's clothing and self-define that way.
Let's not project our anxieties onto kids and make value judgments.
And as to the question about whether college should be a bubble or a half-way house, well, one of the reasons I chose college teaching as a profession was because I didn't want to conform to a corporate dress code. I guess you could say I am spending my entire life in the academic bubble. It does make me happy.
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