'AITA? I made a big deal out of the 'ladies first' mentality at my kids school.'

"AITA? I made a big deal out of the 'ladies first' mentality at my kids school."

So I (32F) have two kids in elementary school, one in sixth grade and another in second. My youngest has been mentioning to me that at various line up times, the period where children have to line up to transition from one room to the next or during lunch time, that the teachers require all the girls to go first while the boys wait.

I’m not sure if this is a new rule of sorts or if my older child never mentioned it as I’ve only heard of it this school heat so far, but I don’t like it. I’m being told that in the lunch line the boys have to wait while the girls all go grab their food first, then they can go. At recess, the line is all girls and then boys after.

That it’s being enforced by the teachers, lunch staff, and recess monitors. My oldest confirmed this is what’s happening, she just didn’t think to say anything to me about it.

Am I wrong in thinking this sets an inappropriate idea for the kids? Would I be in the wrong if I reached out to the principal about my concerns regarding this? I don’t want to be one of “those” parents so I thought I’d get some outside perspective before making a decision.

Here's what people had to say to OP:

JJQuantum said:

NTA but if it’s a private school they can do whatever they want with that.

Vdavwil said:

NTA. This is not an appropriate application of the "ladies first" concept. Otherwise, men would never get their latte at Starbucks. "Ladies first" is a fairly antiquated idea that if a couple arrives together, or at the same time, you let the woman go first. Not even in the "ancient times" when this was taken seriously, did it apply to school aged children.

Nor did it mean large groups of women all went before the men. They do have boy's and girl's lines, because they sometimes act up when put together, but my memory of way back in the 60's had the teachers either alternating who went first, or picking the line that quieted down and behaved the soonest.

HellaShelle said:

NTA. I’d ask what’s going on first though. Could be a temporary measure if a significant number of boys were making shoving girls a thing or something like that. Although even under those circumstances, they should still have it pointed out to them that their resolution is problematic, especially for kids that young.

TemporaryOwlet said:

It means that boys have less time to eat, play, use bathroom. NTA, talk to the principal.

femme_enby said:

NTA. This is just enforcing gender norms & stereotypes, which generally helps no one but in various ways can harm everyone.

lt_girth said:

NTA. The teacher is creating a system of inequality in the classroom. The boys and girls need to learn that the girls won't always be first in line in real life. Better to learn that lesson young than wonder why people are getting pissed at them for cutting to the front of the line at 16 years old.