Beginning Next Week, Burqas Will No Longer Be Optional
In Missouri's Legislature, bare arms are acceptable for men, but not for women. Yeah, I know; WHAT double standard?
Not many Americans realize this, but parts of Middle America are regressing to the days when women were considered the property of men and treated as such. I know; most of us probably thought that in the 21st century, we would’ve moved past such sexist bullshit. Not in Missouri, though, where the 17th century is alive and well and the state legislature is once again mandating gendered dress codes.
Just when you might’ve been forgiven for thinking that adults could be trusted to know how to dress when the legislature is in session, Republicans decided to reign in the temptresses in their midst. Ya just can trust those little hussies, can ya??
Missouri House Republicans' decision on Wednesday to tighten the dress code for women legislators has sparked criticism and outrage on social media, with many questioning why no similar rules were imposed on men.
The new measure, prohibiting women legislators from having bare arms while in the chamber and initially calling for blazers to be mandatory, was spurred by Missouri's Republican Representative Ann Kelley during the House's opening session.
Remember, this is 2023, not 1923 when banning women from showing bare arms might not have raised eyebrows. Now, though, it’s easy to read that and have two quick reactions:
Are a women’s bare arms really going to be enough to distract men from attending to the business of the people of Missouri? Why stop at arms? Why not ban bare ankles? Or require burqas to remove any potential temptation?
Why is it acceptable for men to show their bare arms but not for women to do the same? Are the bare arms of men inherently less sexualized than those of women? This raises the important question of “WTF??”
The proposed changes reportedly originated in last year's session, when several lawmakers complained that some of their female colleagues weren't dressed at the required standard. The update was immediately bashed by Missouri House Democrats, who questioned whether changes to the chamber's dress code were really that high on the list of priorities…..
The dress code for women lawmakers now states that "proper attire for women shall be business attire, including jackets worn with dresses, skirts, or slacks, and dress shoes or boots."….
"Reminds me of parochial school rules for girls in the 60's: no teased hair, no bare arms, no white blouses (boys might see your training bra) & no skirt hems above the knee. Geez," commented journalist and author Jill Geisler.
Surprisingly (or not, depending on your perspective), it was a Republican woman who was behind the double standard. It was an example of what can be seen so often when it comes to this sort of thing- women agreeably doing the work of participating in their own oppression.
But why? Why would Ann Kelley push a dress code with such a clear double standard? And why does a dress code in the legislature even have to be a priority? It’s not as if all other issues facing the Show-Me State have been resolved, so wasting time and energy on a dress code seems superfluous and pointless.
The GOP used to at least pretend to be about things that mattered. Now they don’t even feign attention to the things that got them elected. Once they’re in office, it’s all culture war issues all the time (see Greetings From The Outrage-Industrial Complex). That may not be quite as true in state legislatures, but it’s still part and parcel of their Prime Directive.
Republicans, even their elected women, are still about a White male agenda, even though they might tell us otherwise. But, once they’re in office, they revert to type.
The current dress for men is pretty straightforward, requiring only that “proper attire for gentlemen shall be business attire, including coat, tie, dress trousers, and dress shoes or boots.”
Hmm…no mention of codpiece, so when a man accidentally has a massive erection on the House floor, what does he do? Call his intern?
"When we talk about how legislative institutions are gendered, dress codes and decisions are a valuable proxy," tweeted Kelly Dittmar, director of research at the Center for American Women and Politics. "Recall that it took electing more women to Congress to push back rules against women wearing pants (upholding dated norms of femininity)."
I’m always surprised at how often it happens that when women are oppressed, they’re involved in perpetuating their own oppression. That’s not to blame women, merely to state that they’re too often wrapped up in the system that holds them down. It seems nonsensical and counterintuitive, but it’s happened consistently throughout history.
And it was a woman who put forward the new dress code for women in the Missouri legislature. So why would she perpetuate a double standard? I can’t begin to guess, and she’s not talking about the elephant in the room.
Indeed, why not say, “dress professionally?” Why not assume that the men and women in the Missouri legislature are mature, professional adults who understand the concept of dressing professionally and leave it at that? Why is Rep. Kelley proceeding from the assumption that women are temptresses who will dress like Elvira and distract men from the serious business of legislating?
Of course, if you’re going to travel down that path, why not stop with incremental steps and take it to the logical extreme? Why not require female legislators to wear burqas while conducting the business of the people of Missouri? At least that way, they won’t be distracting men and introducing impure thoughts into their pea brains.
And while we’re at it, why don’t we stop assuming that women are responsible for the behavior and thoughts of men? How about we allow women to make their own decisions about what they wear and assume that men can keep their thoughts and hands (and their Johnsons) to themselves?
And if the men have a problem with that, I have to assume the Missouri legislature has a mechanism for dealing with that. Whatever that process may be, men should be held responsible for behaving like mature, responsible, and professional adults. If they can’t do that, they have no business being in the legislature.
It’s time for Republicans to assume that everyone understands that it’s “essential” to dress professionally, act like adults…and get on with the business at hand.
