Japanese schools have banned female students from tying ponytails, claiming that the hairstyle “sexually excites” males. Japan’s schools are infamous for imposing absurd strictures, such as those on length of socks and colour of underwear, reports VICE World News. The Vice report quoted a former middle school teacher who said that school admin told him girl students exposing the nape of their necks could “sexually excite” boys. “They’re worried boys will look at girls, which is similar to the reasoning behind upholding a white-only underwear colour rule,” the teacher told the publication. He added that students are compelled to accept these norms because there is very little criticism against them. A 2020 survey suggests that in the southern prefecture of Fukuoka, about one in ten schools bans the ponytail.

This is only one of the many draconian rules in Japanese schools, known as buraku kosoku. Japanese schools’ strictures are not just regressive but also arbitrary. For instance, a bob hairstyle is allowed even though it exposes about as much of the neck as a ponytail. An undercut, on the other hand, is prohibited. Students often receive no explanations for the imposition of these rules.

Asao Naito, an associate professor of sociology from Meiji University, told VICE that even though the rules vary from school to school and across generations, the intended impact is to ensure that no one stands out from the crowd