Does anyone else think there is something wrong with how men and women are required to dress in the workplace?

MahdDogg · 2014-07-03T20:49:07+00:00

Yup, and the reason it is like this, is that men have not said anything to get it to change. We need to raise the disparity with employers and if fired because of it sue the fuckers into the ground for sexual discrimination. It's the only way it will change.

Crimson_D82 · 2014-07-03T21:27:19+00:00

Get all of the male employees together and agree to wear whatever the hell you want, regardless of company policy.

MyOtherProfile · 2014-07-03T22:47:00+00:00

Dress codes, especially in work environments, are often highly gendered and unfair as a result.

From the bottom up, men are usually told what type, material, and colour of footwear, pants, belts, shirts, jackets, ties, even things like facial hair, hair length, piercings etc. are all dictated. While some places are a little more lenient about certain things, plenty of dress codes tell men what colour of shirt they have to wear everyday. I have seen men told that their belt buckle, hair, shirt, and/or tie is too "loud" and they have to change it. What does that even mean? How do you define "loud" on a dress code?

I think a business should be able to dictate a certain amount of formality, but that is about as far as it should go. "Business casual" should be observed if that is your business's policy, although how we define that is tricky at best. "No jeans" should mean no jeans, regardless to gender. Businesses overstep all the time, with things like telling men they have to be clean shaven, because it is more professional. Your facial hair or lack there of does not make you professional. Should men be allowed to show the same amount of chest hair as women show cleavage at work? I don't know how I feel about that. I want to say for the sake of equality they should, but open shirts on men carries different social connotations than on women.

It gets even more tricky when gender expression is considered. Often trans people avoid work environments with strict dress codes or they are forced to present themselves in a way that they do not feel comfortable with. This is troubling to say the least, but discrimination as well.

Also, yoga pants are workout attire. If a man can't wear basketball shorts in your work environment, a woman can't wear yoga pants. Just because you spent $100 on them doesn't make them formal. And leggings just aren't pants at all. I don't know where those two ideas came from, but they really bother me.

Edna69 · 2014-07-03T22:34:21+00:00

I served in the U.S. Marines and I can tell you that not even those uniforms are uniform. Cammies are about the only thing that are actually the same among genders.

Females can wear skirts if they choose instead of pants, they wear different dress shoes, they have different covers(hats), and their shirts are different. This applies to both the service and dress "uniforms".

Methodius_ · 2014-07-04T02:04:45+00:00

The last office job I worked had similar dress codes. Men were expected to wear dress pants, a belt, dress shoes and a dress shirt. We were not allowed to wear shorts (in fact, I watched someone get remanded for doing so in the summer). Meanwhile, women could wear skirts and have low-cut tops. It pissed me off, but I knew I couldn't do anything about it and couldn't afford to quit at the time.

It's stuff like this that gets me pissed off whenever I see some 15 year old girl crying sexism because of a school dress code. Because when you get into the workforce, you're going to have to deal with the same shit. And you'll still have it better than men most of the time. So shut the fuck up and cover your bra straps and ass cheeks.

AloysiusC · 2014-07-04T00:59:06+00:00

Concur. Dress code in the workplace fucking sucks.

Solution: work elsewhere.

unbannable9412 · 2014-07-04T04:42:28+00:00

As far as dress goes, formal and informal, currently women have considerably more options and freedom in that area than men do.

thescientist8371 · 2014-07-04T01:36:45+00:00

This is not a problem in the office I work in Seattle. I work for one of the biggest companies in the world and there is no de facto dress code. So long as you are reasonable, you can wear whatever you want. I've even seen managers in gym shorts and flip flops.

Martini1 · 2014-07-04T02:51:17+00:00

I worked in fast food that had a change in uniforms. Before this change, everyone had to tuck in their shirt. With the change, women no longer had to tuck in their shirts but men still did. When this was announced, I asked if men could wear the women outfits so they wouldn't have to tuck in their shirts and was promptly turned down.

It was just a tucking in of a shirt but it was the stupid things like this that made me glad I didn't have to work in that sort of environment again.

Gittiup · 2014-07-04T03:10:39+00:00

Absolutely. Where I live we just went through a heat wave, I'm expected to wear pants and shirts at work but would of loved to wear shorts. I should show up in a skirt.

Only five dudes in your group of 50 ? Poor you, keep your head down. Purely anecdotal of course but based on my experiences environments are more prone to dumb office bullshit based on that gender make up. It may be sexist of me to say it, but I prefer working with men based on my experience.

loddfavne · 2014-07-04T07:32:44+00:00

Wear a skirt. I think the male Swedish train-attendants got it right. The company forced them into wearing pants instead of shorts during hot summers. The women could wear skirts, though. Soon, every man began wearing skirts. The company didn't dare to do anything except say that they could wear shorts from then on. They were afraid of some sexual minority lawsuit.

theknowledgesayhu · 2014-07-04T22:07:31+00:00

Yep, although to be honest - I hate the whole idea of professional clothing. Its traditional crap & mostly unnecessary & useless in our current times. When people graduate from college they still wear 18-20th century hats & robes to celebrate. The whole workplace is trapped in old-fashioned idea's. People should be able to make themselves comfortable in as many ways as possible, they shouldnt be working most of the day away, etc etc.

I would be really pissed off with that kind of sexism, particularly if the clothing was making me warm & uncomfortable. Did you discuss it with the manager type people? And who makes you wear professional clothes to a picnic...

Anyway, i suggest you start dressing in semi-professional clothing & if anyone does complain then point out the rest of the office (women) to make your point.

MRSPArchiver · 2014-07-03T20:40:19+00:00

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Arakin · 2014-07-04T02:21:51+00:00

The girls at my private school laughed that their 'dress code' was anything they'd wear at home minus t-shirt and jeans, while the boys had to wear pants/shirt/tie or turtleneck and sweater, every day.

QuickBASIC · 2014-07-04T05:13:35+00:00

Yeah, I've had to wear dress shirts and ties, when women were basically wearing slightly fancy tee shirts distinguished from regular t-shirts only by lacking writing on them, being made of slightly nicer fabric, and being only slightly better stitched.

It's a bunch of shit.

RogueWedge · 2014-07-04T05:47:35+00:00

its a picnic, i wouldnt be wearing a suit

HPeroit · 2014-07-04T07:26:26+00:00

The point of contention I have with your post is you say what the women "were wearing" ans what the men were required to wear. Was everyone required to wear professional clothing or was it just the men? Did the women disobey the rules? If so, you probably could have too.

warspite88 · 2014-07-04T07:52:56+00:00

yup, its a joke. women have so many liberties in how they dress and men often have to wear suit and tie or relaxed casual but still a buttoned shirt. men might as well uniforms they have almost no style or fashion that matters, its all the same shit just different colors while women get almost infinate options. its a war on women

nebno6 · 2014-07-04T16:57:41+00:00

Yes this.

poloppoyop · 2014-07-04T17:05:45+00:00

Solution: wear skirts and tanktops.

ressurrectin · 2014-07-06T04:31:02+00:00

Do you have an HR department in your office? If so something you could try is petitioning them for a summer wear policy (baby steps). Good luck.

carbonnanotube · 2014-07-06T06:24:01+00:00

It is BS in a lot of circumstances, but from what I can tell the reason for this is that the definition of professional attire for males is significantly more strict than for women.

I would suspect it has something to do with the fashion industry being dominated by female clothing options and quite a bit of "creep" on the standards over the years.

If us males want to change this we need to do what women have successfully done and change the definition of what is appropriate in the workplace.

That being said you are looking at a culture level shift so it is not something that would happen quickly.

MRAmandatory · 2014-07-03T21:22:25+00:00

I think for the most part uniforms should be just that, uniform. Have all the men and all the women wearing the same thing.

An exception to this, as a Libertarian, I believe the employer can take certain liberties to increase their sales and profits. If the employees are working directly with the customers, trying to sell product on the floor, then I think women should be able to wear things that are more revealing. It's been proven that people are more likely to purchase goods from an attractive person, and if a female employee is able to secure more sales for the company by undoing a couple buttons, then I think that's perfectly fine.

Side note though, how the hell can you stand working somewhere with a 9:1 gender ratio like that? I'd be driven absolutely mad. I can imagine the rumors and gossip that float around the office are terrible.

TutkuGulzar · 2014-07-03T22:39:42+00:00

What the fuck is uncomfortable with shirts and trousers?

Title	Does anyone else think there is something wrong with how men and women are required to dress in the workplace?
Author	Huntelaar25
Upvotes	62
Comments	75
Date	July 3, 2014 8:39 PM UTC (12 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/mensrights/comments/29rrup/does-anyone-else-think-there-is-something-wrong-/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/does-anyone-else-think-there-is-something-wrong.1618963 https://theredarchive.com/post/1618963

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