Naked, But For My Intellect

-- MinaNasseri - 09 Apr 2008 Final Draft.

Disclaimer: This essay is based on my personal experience as a woman in the workplace. I am not pointing fingers, at either sex. These are subjective observations and suggestions for personal change in my own life. Comments are both welcome and appreciated!

A Moment of Humiliation…

It was my proudest professional moment to date. I was the press secretary of a U.S. Senate campaign. Before me was a room full of leaders from the state’s Democratic Party and I was to convince them to support my candidate. I had worked out my plan of attack: I would walk up to each person, give him a firm handshake, and engage in an intelligent discussion of the campaign and the candidacy. Just then, a fellow staffer turned to me and said, wryly, “Mina, you’ll win that entire room over with those boots you got on.” My sense of accomplishment vanished instantly. I had forgotten what I was wearing-–a knee-length skirt with boots. I had forgotten what I was wearing because I had forgotten it mattered.

…Followed by a Moment of Introspection

That moment led me to ask myself why I wear clothes such as skirts and high heels in the workplace. The simple, superficial answer is because it looks good. I started playing dress-up with my mother’s clothes at age six; at 16, I would beg my parents to let me wear high heels. I have always loved beautiful clothes and wear them, in the workplace and out, for this reason.

The more complicated answer is that I feel better—sexier, more confident, empowered—when wearing a skirt and heels. I admit that such attire is physically uncomfortable. I cannot count the number of blisters I have gotten from wearing high heels or the number of times I had to adjust my skirt and worry about a run in my pantyhose. Yet I have come to accept the discomfort of this attire and have convinced myself that the pain is somehow “worth it.” The truth is, I gladly sacrifice my physical comfort for the sense of empowerment that comes with wearing a skirt or a pair of heels. I find that wearing such clothes in the workplace attracts attention and this attention, in turn, feeds my confidence.

With this realization in hand, I wonder if I would have preferred to have not been wearing a skirt and high heels during my aforementioned "moment of humiliation." I stood before a room of mostly men feeling prepared and confident to speak to each one. Did I feel prepared and confident in spite of my attire or because of it?

The Cost of Looking Good and Feeling Good

My decision to wear high-heeled shoes and skirts to work can, however, come at a cost to my image as a female professional. I consider myself an “accomplished” individual; I have never achieved something, academically or professionally, without having earned it. Yet my choice of business attire diverts attention from my accomplishments and capabilities to what I happen to be wearing. “You’ll win that entire room over with those boots you got on” transformed my history of education, three years of work experience, and my hard-earned qualifications into nothing more than the product of a fashion choice.

This focus on a woman’s fashion decisions, and its tendency to divert attention from her qualifications, exists in the legal profession as well. When 1L OCI was looming and the Career Services Office was giving interview tips, I overheard one of my peers discussing "advice" she had received. She had been told that female applicants ought to wear skirts to interviews. What purpose could wearing a skirt to an interview serve other than shifting the focus of the hiring process from the candidate’s credentials to her looks, on display through her attire?

Stilettos in the Modern Workplace: A Paradox?

Thorstein Veblen notes that a woman wears undeniably uncomfortable clothes so as to announce to society that she “does not and cannot habitually engage in useful work.” The uncomfortable nature of women’s dress, according to Veblen, demonstrates both their economic dependence on man and their husband’s “ability to pay.” So, it seems to me, a modern woman's wearing such attire to the workplace is a paradox. The modern working woman wants to announce her independence and equal status. But how can she stand for the notion that women are equal to men in the workplace when her attire says the opposite?

Though women, such as myself, no longer consider themselves dependent on a man, they have perhaps become dependent on something else entirely - a sense of empowerment attained through attire such as skirts and high heels. Granted, many women can perform to the best of their abilities and be just as efficient as their male counterparts even while donning a skirt and heels. However, I believe the way a woman is perceived and treated by her male colleagues is just as important as her job performance. Even if a woman can be wholly productive in the workplace while sporting stilettos, there is still the possibility that her success is attributed to the stilettos rather than her abilities. Therein lies the cost of a seemingly innocent fashion choice: a woman's true accomplishments are robbed from her when attributed only to the way she dresses.

One Small Step…

Recognizing that my business attire may have a bearing on my image as a female professional, I will make an effort to change my fashion choices. Demeaning remarks regarding my attire or inappropriate attention given to what I wear during an interview are a few of the unfortunate realities I face as a female professional. Rather than accept these realities as just one of the “indignities” I must endure as a woman in the workplace, I choose to change my choices for business attire. Today, I will start by wearing only pants to the workplace. Someday, with difficulty no doubt, I will abandon my high heels. In this way, I hope to stand confidently on my own, independent of attention gained through my clothes. “Naked,” but for my intellect.

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I hope it's ok to post a comment here. As a woman who also likes to wear heels and skirts, I'm somewhat troubled by your conclusion. To me, putting on pants in order to be respected seems to imply that the only way to get respect is to dress like a man - as if there is this male ideal to aspire to. I refuse to do that. I will not give up being a woman and deny my physical appearance to garner respect. That strikes me as counter-intuitive. The object should be to change people's biases against women, not for women to hide their bodies and pretend to be men. When you get rid of the heels and skirts and don the androgynous, shapeless suit that's exactly what you're saying "see, I don't have breasts, I don't have hips! I'm just like you!" Why should you allow society to change you, instead of changing society? I see an even bigger problem here - that you really think a woman's accomplishments can be taken away from her by one biting remark from a fool. That's simply not true - your corner office and your title go nowhere when confronted with a moron and the boss who promoted you doesn't suddenly think any less of you, either. And in any case, those Italian shoes men wear and the multi-layered suits are hardly comfortable, either. - KateVershov?

“What purpose could wearing a skirt to an interview serve other than shifting the focus of the hiring process from the candidate’s credentials to her looks, on display through her attire?”

It’s interesting to see that there are different interpretations on this topic, so I thought I would go off Kate’s comments a bit to provide yet another, somewhat different view. Wearing a skirt to an interview can say more than just that you want to look good by showing off your legs and that you want people to notice that. I view wearing a skirted suit to an interview rather than a pantsuit as a way of showing that you are serious about the job and are willing to be more uncomfortable (by wearing hosiery and often higher heels – but not too high), because it is important to you to let the interviewer know that you care enough to look your most professional. I look at someone who wears a pantsuit as someone who is shifting down on the relaxation totem pole a notch – not necessarily a good statement to make, if interviewers look at dress the same way I do. So I view wearing a skirted suit not so much as an instrument to shift focus to physical features but as an instrument that serves as a projection of and complement to one’s overall degree of seriousness, as long as the skirt is not too short or tight. Then, of course, the message is entirely different.

I agree with Kate -- men are uncomfortable in their ties, starched, button-down shirts, and hard-soled shoes as well, and it’s not very comfortable to be sweating because you have a suit jacket on. Yes, women’s skirted suits (or just skirts or dresses) include the wearing of heels and hose, and if we wear a skirt or dress we have to keep our legs together. But all together, I don’t think men necessarily get away with much more in the comfort department than we do. And when you compare what women were wearing in Veblen’s day to what we wear now, I think the message has changed significantly -- we wear clothing that doesn’t begin to interfere with our physiques and movement the way late 1800s clothing did (whale bone corsets – I can’t imagine), and our professional clothing is now very similar to men’s, with the exception of possibly trading out the pants for a skirt, and no obligatory tie. All in all, my take on today’s professional garb, whether a woman’s or man’s (and this may be a minority view), is that wearing a suit is a way to connect with the business world by showing that you are part of it, and if you wear a proper skirt with your jacket, you are giving that little bit extra. This is probably why it was suggested to your friend that she wear a skirt. Any other thoughts out there?

-Barb

Having been in similar situations, I completely understand where you are coming from, and I think that Kate's comment about your accomplishments not changing because of a fool's statement is interesting too. It is a hard line to draw because while it is true that your corner office and your title have not changed as a result of the comment, the comment is still demeaning in a way that does affect one's own perception of their accomplishments. The comment, perhaps without intending to, implies that she would knock them out with her boots, but could not have done so simply by doing her job well. The problem is that the comments are made too often and are too accepted. It is hard to change something when the system is inundated with it.

It is interesting to hear what people's perceptions on clothes are as well. I too like wearing heels and skirts, but I was really interested with your take on things Barb. I had never thought of the pant suit for women as being more casual/step down. (The most common argument I've heard is one similar to Mina's that the skirt/heels is seen more as sexy and less as serious...an argument I find demeaning and overly-simplistic to say the least). It is interesting though because if your argument is true the skirt is still serving a purpose in an interview/workplace, although a different one, but maybe that is another discussion! -- Jennifer Burke

Another comment...

Hey Mina. My first reaction is that you gave too much power away! If you felt like the s*it when you wore your boots, and when you got dressed that morning you felt it was appropriate then--barring any legitimate criticism of it's appropriateness-- wear it and rock it!

I just wanted to point out, that the skirt suit approach is generally thought of as the most conservative and formal dress for an interview. It is generally inappropriate to show any leg above the knee and most "tips" will suggest that you wear bland, boring conservative clothing so as not to draw attention from the content of an interview. I'm not an advocate of the skirt, just saying it may not be all about putting women in provocative clothing. Also, I thought this was interesting/helpful/worthy of critique dress-code guide. Missouri dress code Personally, I made a conscious choice not to hide my visible hand tattoo or avoid pant suits during interviews, because I knew I didn't want to work at a place that would rule me out for those factors.

The reality is, we live in a society where we are judged by our appearance. Dress codes exist and as professionals, we are held up to those norms. How much we allow that judgment to enter or intrude upon our sense of self-worth is a second step, left up to us. This reminds me of when J. Clarence Thomas expounds upon the harms of affirmative action, because his degree from Yale was constantly undermined. The likely truth is, his degree would have been scrutinized and undermined for any reason because he was black and smart. His degree is no less valid. You are a smart woman. Cheap digs at appearance are just an easy ploy to undermine your faculties. My guess is, if you were unprepared or incapable of handling the task at hand, you would have been shaking in your boots instead of standing in them confidently. -Mia

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MiaWhite - 15 Apr 2008