DRESS CODES AND THEIR IMPACT ON MY SANITY

“Fashion is a way of communicating ideas, values, and aspirations through clothes. Through our attire, we announce who we are, what we care about, and where we belong—or aspire to belong—in society. Fashion is a means of transforming our sense of self and our sense of our place in society.

Dress codes are key pieces of evidence about both of these social functions of attire: communication and self-fashioning. “Dress code” has a double meaning: a code is a rule regulating action or behaviour, such as a law, but a code is also a rule or a formula for interpreting or deciphering a text. So, a dress code is a rule or law regulating how we dress and also a rule controlling the meaning of our attire.” 

From Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History, Richard Thompson Ford

In several colleges throughout India, there is a very rigid dress code. In this blog, I would like to explore both sides of the argument as to what function a dress code accomplishes in society and to examine that function and the necessity of it.

The supporters of a dress code generally argue that “It helps in maintaining a conducive atmosphere on the campus.” In 2014, the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University proposed a dress code for students in an effort to render medical college campuses “sex-less.” “Dress code is very important as we are concerned about the safety of the students who commute in public transport,” says Dr. Rani, former Principal of SNDB Vaishnav College. The Founder Chancellor of Sathyabama University, Dr. Jeppiaar, reasons it out, “A college is like a temple or a church where you come to study in a very decent way. Dress codes are important to maintain that decency.”

Many college authorities say that they impose a dress code to protect women from harassment and eve-teasing. Dr. Thangam Meganathan, Chairperson of Rajalakshmi Engineering College, says that in a heterogeneous classroom, there must be no vulgarity, obscenity or any distraction. “In a way, we are training our students to adhere to the dress code, and this will be helpful when they take up jobs in the IT industry or MNCs. Our youth seem to be at a loss when it comes to distinguishing between different types of outfits for different occasions.”

All of these statements support three main arguments. Firstly, the notion that a dress code is necessary for a college environment. Secondly, that a dress code as imposed by institutions protects women from harassment. Finally, a dress code prepares college students for their future in offices and industry.

People telling women to wear layers to conceal and reduce themselves so that they can be protected from harassment is a piece of advice given to them for decades. It relies on the narrative that people perceive the morals of a woman and anyone else who dares stray from social norms by looking at the way that they dress, and that their appearance informs others about the way they should be treated. This is perfectly reasonable advice, if not for the fact that people start facing harassment and assault in childhood. The underlying belief behind women being told to cover up is that women's bodies have always been seen as sexual objects and not living, breathing human beings. This belief is pervasive throughout society, even among the very people it harms. There is no greater tragedy than the humanity of women being tied to their sexual attractiveness and subservience. This belief is accepted as the norm when its power relies on the people who practice it and can be manipulated just like the minds of anyone who considers this the natural state of the world.

Focusing on the eternal characteristics of women (and anyone facing similar harassment based on prejudice) minimises the role of the perpetrator of violence and shifts the blame to the powerless victim. The objectification of women and victim-blaming culture also affects men, as it minimises the agency of the offenders and the active choice in their vile behaviour. Therefore, the physical and moral policing of dress codes is firmly rooted in a culture of misogyny and homophobia.

Another reason cited for the imposition of dress codes is that they will be expected in industry, whether in offices, hospitals, shops or anywhere else. College is seen as a stepping stone into getting a job, and not a place where experimentation and learning for the sake of interest are valued, especially in India. In the IT industry, and particularly MNCs, dress codes have long moved past full sarees and all-covering salwar kameez. In fact, most people in placement training wear formals - shirts and trousers. There is something to be said about the standards of professionalism having western and colonial roots. Where our culture and clothing are not taken seriously and treated with the same respect as other cultures, the very cultures that bereaved us. The dress codes, however, do not seek to address this equally. For example, while female professors are required to wear full sarees, the same demand is not put on male professors to wear our traditional dhotis and shirts. It seems comedic to entertain the idea of forcing men to conform to standards of respectability that women face every day. This seems more clearly to be yet another way to passively control people with the notion of respectability.

The expectation that conformity is the best way to succeed in institutions and industry is one that clearly benefits said workplace. Taking away one of the fundamental ways that people express themselves, and asking them to separate their interests and personality and box themselves into a “decent” and “presentable” facsimile of themselves, is not a place in which creativity thrives. In a world where most jobs require you to keep your head down, clock in and clock out and not ask too many questions, this mandate is unfortunately true to some extent.

Even in this case, where we are measuring employees by their ability to generate capital and not by the depth of their abilities and their ingenuity, flexibility and supporting the well-being of workers has been proven to have more positive effects than micromanaging them.

Most of the highest-rated institutes in India including the ones in Chennai, have no dress code, and it's certainly not affecting the quality of the students who graduate.

My conclusion is evident from the arguments that I make. A dress code is an anachronism that is derived from victim-blaming culture and the benefits that it claims to impart are minuscule.

Written By Robin

Edited By Purani R