Re: 鈥淔orget dress code; find a worthy cause,鈥� letter, April 3.
For the past week, I have been reading some truly ridiculous letters regarding the recently amended dress code at the B.C. legislature.
Do the defenders of women鈥檚 sleeves and sensible cardigans bemoan the scandalous displays of lady鈥檚 ankles and bare throats that have become socially acceptable in the past 100 years?
Honestly, to equate a sleeveless blouse with, as one letter-writer puts it, 鈥渕en parading around in muscle shirts, tight jeans and running shoes鈥� is absolute hogwash.
Just as we have moved on from hoop skirts and corsets, can we not agree that showing one鈥檚 arms and (goodness me) even some shoulder is not unprofessional in any way, and if the argument against such forms of (un)dress is that it will cause a distraction and unwanted attention in the workplace, I find that to be insulting and demeaning to those sensitive buttercups whom the letter-writers purport to protect from all that exposed flesh.
Please stop being a 鈥渂ig girl鈥檚 blouse鈥� about it and embrace these changes. We have.
A simple Google image search produces quite a few examples of 鈥渦nprofessional women鈥� such as Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, journalist Andrea Mitchell and former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, all doing their jobs quite well, thank you very much, while wearing (gasp!) sleeveless or cap-sleeved dresses.
Julie Baetz
Victoria
