Men can't wear shorts to work, so they're wearing skirts

Men across Europe are complaining about what they see as unfair dress codes.  

With temperatures reaching record highs in the French city of Nantes, bus drivers of the CFDT Semitan union showed up to work wearing skirts, as they are not allowed to wear shorts despite the hot conditions.

According to the International Business Times, the drivers called the shorts ban "absurd," and pointed out that female drivers are allowed to wear skirts, but men are not allowed to wear shorts.

SEE ALSO: Man told he can't wear shorts to office, abides by the dress code for women instead

"Our uniform is not appropriate for these high temperatures. We envy women at moments like this,” Didier Sauvetre, a driver from the CFDT union, told the local Presse Ocean news site.

Ladies, are you rolling your eyes yet?

The logic behind the protest comes from the fact passengers cannot see the drivers' legs once seated, so in theory, it doesn't matter whether they're wearing shorts or pants. "We do not understand the ban," one driver said. "When we drive we are seated, the travelers would not even see it!"

According to The Telegraph, union member Gabriel Magner said that the high temperatures behind the windscreen combined with a lack of air conditioning in buses makes it "unbearable in trousers." He continued by stating that the "modern approach" to the issue would be to allow drivers to wear long shorts from time to time, and called the fact that women can wear skirts but men can't wear shorts "discrimination."

Although Semitan has produced a new line of more breathable "summer trousers" for their drivers, the company's policy on shorts has not budged. 

The bare-legged protest comes after UK call center worker Joey Barge was sent home for wearing shorts. In an act of defiance, Barge showed up to work the next day in a bright pink dress. As a result, the company changed their dress code to state that men in the office would be allowed to wear three-quarter-length shorts in black, navy, and beige only.

According to the Mirror, five boys from Isca Academy in Exeter, Devon, have since followed suit with a similar protest and strolled into class wearing skirts after they were told they would be put in an isolation room if they wore shorts to school. A boy's mother said her 14-year-old was told a day earlier by a teacher "you can wear a skirt if you like" after he complained about the heat. 

Taking the suggestion literally and not wanting to be put in isolation, the boy, along with his friends, wore skirts—and only one of them got in trouble, because his was "too short." 

Upwards of 50 male classmates are now planning to act accordingly, borrowing skirts from girls. 

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