If the uniform is reasonable, then it is reasonable to expect everyone to wear a uniform. If the uniform is not reasonable, then the story is different. I already mentioned the example of women being expected to wear bikinis, and my claim is that there needs to be a one-piece option. It can be the same suit, same color, but in a one piece version, and it will still look like a uniform.
Here is my story. When I was a beach lifeguard back in the 80s, they had us wearing the old nylon suits even though lycra had been around for awhile. ("We've had the suits for decades -- why change?") The men's suits were red and were a reasonable cut. The women's, however, were those old dowdy suits with the flap and the shoulder straps that fell off (I trust some of you remember those). Still, I gamely wore mine. Then a friend of mine told me that the suit was see-through when it was wet. Gee, none of the men I was lifeguarding with mentioned that... hunh. Shortly afterward, I finally met one of the (very few) other women guards. I mentioned the suit, and she laughed and said, "Yeah, they tried to get me to wear that -- but there was no way! I went out and bought my own red suit!" Needless to say, I did the same thing, and no one said a word.
Again, my point is that the suit has to be reasonable, or if not, options need to be offered.
This makes sense to me too. For instance, in the Track and Field Worlds, runners wear different variations of their country's uniform--some women wear briefs, some shorts, etc. I don't have a problem with people any age wearing whatever "suits" them (pardon the pun), but I do think there should be some flexibility in uniform choice.
If the uniform is reasonable, then it is reasonable to expect everyone to wear a uniform. If the uniform is not reasonable, then the story is different. I already mentioned the example of women being expected to wear bikinis, and my claim is that there needs to be a one-piece option. It can be the same suit, same color, but in a one piece version, and it will still look like a uniform.
Here is my story. When I was a beach lifeguard back in the 80s, they had us wearing the old nylon suits even though lycra had been around for awhile. ("We've had the suits for decades -- why change?") The men's suits were red and were a reasonable cut. The women's, however, were those old dowdy suits with the flap and the shoulder straps that fell off (I trust some of you remember those). Still, I gamely wore mine. Then a friend of mine told me that the suit was see-through when it was wet. Gee, none of the men I was lifeguarding with mentioned that... hunh. Shortly afterward, I finally met one of the (very few) other women guards. I mentioned the suit, and she laughed and said, "Yeah, they tried to get me to wear that -- but there was no way! I went out and bought my own red suit!" Needless to say, I did the same thing, and no one said a word.
Again, my point is that the suit has to be reasonable, or if not, options need to be offered.
This makes sense to me too. For instance, in the Track and Field Worlds, runners wear different variations of their country's uniform--some women wear briefs, some shorts, etc. I don't have a problem with people any age wearing whatever "suits" them (pardon the pun), but I do think there should be some flexibility in uniform choice.
