Japan would seek to eliminate the iconic school swimsuits

The company Footmark Co., Ltd. has launched an initiative in Japan to establish the “unisex school swimsuit“, where both male and female students wear the same swimsuit design for swimming practice or other sports. The design includes two separate top and bottom garments, as well as additional garments that would reduce exposure to ultraviolet rays.

According to the company statement, the “unisex” feature is intended to allow all students to participate in their school’s swim lessons without having to categorize themselves under one gender. Prices range from 6,380 to 6,820 yen (about $51, depending on the dealer) and are available in ten different sizes.

The statement adds some background for this new design decision:

In recent years, attention has been given to the “genderless” movement in the school sector, with new initiatives such as the introduction of free choice of school uniforms amid growing understanding of and interest in LGBTQ issues. However, in school swimsuits, although there have been changes in the shapes of male and female swimsuits from the Showa (1926) to the Reiwa (present day), gender-specific designs persist, and many of these swimsuits reveal differences between the sexes.
Other companies also sell bathing suits that conceal the body shape, but there have been no top and bottom bathing suit sets that can be worn by men and women alike.

Of course, the iconic Japanese school swimsuit would be forgotten if this new design begins to be accepted by the educational institutions of the country. So when the news hit the comment boards in Japan, it inspired opinions like:

«So you could trade it with someone and they wouldn’t know».
«It’s a bad time to be alive».
«I don’t care that there are genderless people. I just want to be able to choose».
«Where is the evolution in that?».
«I’m jealous because I hated the school swimsuits I had to wear».
«That would be swimming with clothes, right?».
«So the step of losing the uniform skirts is just around the corner».
«It looks like swimming is going to be hell. Maybe the boys will take off their shirts anyway.».
«By nature, a man can not do anything with a T-shirt, I assure you».