Ties for women, skirts for men at Oxford

In a move to please its transgender student community, the Oxford University has introduced a new academic dress code which allows men to wear skirts or stockings to exams and formal occasions while women can wear suits or white bow ties.

In a move to please its transgender student community, the Oxford University has introduced a new academic dress code which allows men to wear skirts or stockings to exams and formal occasions while women can wear suits or white bow ties.

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Under the old regulations, male students were required to wear a dark suit with dark socks, black shoes, a white bow tie, and a plain white shirt and collar beneath their black gowns when attending formal occasions such as examinations, the Daily Mail reported.

Female students have to wear a dark skirt or trousers, a white blouse, a black ribbon tied in a bow at the neck, black stockings and shoes. The dress code is strictly enforced by the university, which has the power to punish students deemed in breach of the rules.

Punishments range from fines to rustication. However, the university's council, headed by vice-chancellor Andrew Hamilton, has dropped any distinction between the sexes by deleting all references to men and women.

The new academic dress code will be applicable from next month.

The reforms were introduced following a campaign by the student union, which argued that transgender students could face punishment if they wore 'inappropriate' dress.