Dress Codes Target Women

In my very progressive opinion, dress codes should only serve two pur­poses: visibility and safety. Uniforms make sense as a way to identify employ­ees, especially in places like restaurants and theaters. Requiring employees to wear store-brand clothing makes a lot of sense in the retail world as a way to ad­vertise the merchandise and show cus­tomers how clothes look on real people. (I recently bought a jumpsuit from Mi­chael Kors simply because the blonde retail associate looked so great wearing it. I mean, if she looks good in it that means I’ll look good in it too, right?)

Dress codes for certain occupations also make sense. Hard hats and steel-toed boots in construction zones. Lab coats, goggles, and closed-toed shoes in labo­ratories. Hazmat suits and gloves for certain health care workers and those cleaning up hazardous waste. These are meant to protect the individual from a potentially dangerous environment while simultaneously avoiding lawsuits. These codes are logical and reasonable.

I start to cringe, however, when dress codes begin to decide what attire is “ap­propriate.” I understand what certain dress codes are trying to accomplish. Businesses want to look professional and competent by having employees who themselves look professional and com­petent. But the common conclusion that dress codes seem to reach is that women’s bodies are overtly sexual and must be concealed as much as possible.

I recently became a new volunteer with a local organization and a new em­ployee with a separate organization so I had a couple of mandatory orientations to attend in which I learned a lot and had a great time. However, without fail in these and every other orientation I have ever attended, the low point is always the review of the dress code. Let us examine the dress code from the first orientation.

SUGGESTED CLOTHING

MEN:
Button-Ups
Cargo Pants
Cargo Shorts

WOMEN:
Blouses
Capri Pants

BOTH:
Closed-Toed, Rubber-Soled Shoes
Jeans
Sweatshirts
T-Shirts

PROHIBITED CLOTHING

MEN:
Anything With Offensive Words Or Images

WOMEN:
Heels
Midriffs
Short Shorts
Short Skirts
Strapless Tops
Stretch Pants
Yoga Pants
Tank Tops

BOTH:
Flip-Flops
Sandals
Sweatpants

Out of the 9 types of clothing that were encouraged, 4 were unisex, 3 were common to mostly worn by men, and 2 were common to mostly worn by wom­en. I think the approved list of clothes is quite balanced if not a little dated (capri pants… really?). It is the prohibited list of clothes that draws my attention. Out of the 12 types of clothing that are not allowed, 8 are types of clothing that typically only women wear. Meaning exactly two thirds of the prohibited list is aimed directly at women.

Women are very creative with the styles of clothing they wear, I understand that. What bothers me is that I know why these clothes are not allowed—be­cause they display the female body too much. Skirts and shorts expose your legs, tank tops expose your arms, crop tops expose your abdomen, and low-cut tops expose your cleavage. But it doesn’t stop there. Leggings and yoga pants and stretch pants expose nothing but they outline the bottom half of your body, and that apparently is not acceptable either. Besides your head and your hands, there is hardly a body part left that you should not be worried about putting on display.

I wonder what employees, volunteers, and patrons of venues would wear if there were no such explicit dress codes? The second orientation I went to had a very relaxed dress code that essentially amounted to “use your own discretion.” I asked two supervisors if there had been many issues with this laissez-faire ap­proach to the dress code over the years. Only one incident in which provocative shorts were worn by an individual could be recalled.

By making sure to list every article of clothing a woman might own that could be deemed as sexy and ignoring the myriad of other forms that looking unprofessional can take, dress codes tell women that their exposed legs are more visually offensive than profuse sweating. That even a hint of cleavage is more im­proper than ill-fitting clothing. That curve-hugging leggings are more dis­tracting than body odor. This is not fair. This is not true. This is not okay.