Administrators at a Massachusetts high school were surprised when their new dress code banning yoga pants attracted worldwide attention.
They were probably even more surprised that male students at Cape Cod Regional Tech showed some solidarity with their female counterparts by showing up in the tight-fitting attire on the first day of school in protest of the clothing restriction that by nature targets female students, reports the Cape Cod Times.
"I just wanted to support the girls in their decision to wear yoga pants," Marz DeMiranda, 17, told reporters. He had on blue-and-black-checkered pants. He wanted people "to realize when sexism is happening and call it out."
Earlier this week, students had criticized the ban as reactionary and unfairly forcing female students to cover up.
"It’s pretty much like the same thing that’s going on in the Middle East," one male student told CBS News. "Women can’t drive because it’s a distraction to men and I don’t think it’s fair that we can take something away from the girls just because it’s either distracting the guys or its non-professional."
Another female student pointed out that "yoga pants are really comfortable."
Senior class president Seana Aiolupotea told reporters on Thursday that many female students see the reason behind banning the pants as being a distraction to boys, which they say is a sexist motive.
School officials are taking the protest in stride and told reporters they will not be punishing students for wearing the stretchy clothing on the first day of class.
"We expect them to be wearing yoga pants today as a form of protest," school Superintendent Robert P. Sanborn told the Cape Cod Times. "No one's going to detention. No one's going home."
The comfortable pants have been a trend for some time, though reactions about that are mixed.
In April, fashion critic and social commentator Fran Lebowitz told Elle Magazine that yoga pants "are just another way of being in pajamas."
Watch the report from CBS News here:
