Oppression is still here

I can’t help but think that there is a disservice amongst Colleges and Universities with their Student Affairs staff members. I have worked at a few different institutions over the past five years and they have varied on this issue. What exactly might that be? Professional dress code. Institutions have gone as far as to mandate that female employees who wear skirts or dresses must wear stockings. Do they still make them? I thought they were of a dying breed. What do stockings offer females? How does bare skin change from that of sheer material? Why are males allowed to wear khakis and a polo and be considered business casual, but when it comes to women they have to put in more effort into what they are wearing?

There is the argument that students will not respect nor respond to staff if they are not dressed in “authoritative” clothing. Has anyone actually done some research on this? I ask, because no I have not looked into this anymore than sitting in the shower and thinking about it this morning. For me it comes down to approachability and comfort. As a live-in staff member I am not going to rush and put on a suit at 3:00am in order to look professional when dealing with a residence hall violation. I have not been asked to do that, but I don’t think it’s such a drastic stretch to not be considered as relative here. As live-in staff members we work where we live. Students see us in our pajamas. Students see us doing our laundry. If you have seen my unmentionables, is it really too far fetched that I would not be able to wear something comfortable at work? 

I don't petition that we wear pajamas to work...every day (come on, who doesn't like a good ole fashion spirit week every now and then?), but that we not be so rigid when it comes to this issue. If we are trying to educate students on being individuals, should we not model that?

I'm well aware of the time and the place for certain more formal business attire and such, but as a grown adult am I not able to make that decision for myself? I found an article in The Chronicle that really spoke to me - Wearing Me Out.

The many stylings of me:

I think the author is right on the money, and so I leave you with this:

"I am not saying that it is OK to show up for an interview (or even a class) in a torn, grime-covered T-shirt, but I do think it is fine if someone doesn't exactly fit the norms for dress or appearance in a particular field. If we have too-strict rules about what our colleagues should look like, we may exclude people who don't look exactly like most of us."