Today I was at work and as I passed many of my cisgender female colleagues something strange hit me. It occurred to me that if I were to walk into work wearing makeup I’m sure I would get sent home.
We still have such horrible stereotypes ingrained within our society and this ‘perfect’ view of what a man should be and what a woman should be. I don’t fit into either of those categories. It just doesn’t make sense to me.
That isn’t the issue for me though. I frequently meet with clients as part of my job and there is an expectation in regard to the way I dress. It got me thinking that our whole dress code system has become absolutely ludicrous.
It degrades everyone.
Why do guys have to wear ties when women can simply wear a T-shirt?
Why are some women expected to wear heels and makeup?
Why can’t a guy wear makeup?
Why can’t a guy wear a dress?
There is such a stigma surrounding clothing and we need to break the barriers down. Ties are always an interesting one. From my experience the majority of cisgender males don’t like them, yet wear them. Every time you see a guy from work enter a pub he loosens it or takes it off. They aren’t comfortable. Just because King Louis XIII of France liked them and made people wear them, does not mean we need them today. We have discarded many 17th century items of clothing and surely it is time to do away with the tie.
It just cannot be sensible to tie things arounds one’s neck.
So why don’t we lose the ties, lose the heels, lose the stigma and let everyone wear makeup if they want to!
Jodie's LGBTQ+ football blog 