Female members of the legislative press gallery pushed for their right to bare arms on Thursday.
No, not firearms, but those scandalous limbs hanging from even more salacious shoulders.
The matter of women’s bare arms flouncing through the halls of the legislature was the subject of much hand-wringing after sergeant-at-arms staff informed a female government staffer on Wednesday that her capped-sleeve shirt was inappropriate for the Speaker’s corridor as it did not constitute professional business attire.
On Thursday, in a show of solidarity and in protest of an outdated dress code, female reporters showed up at the legislature in, gasp, sleeveless or short-sleeved tops and dresses — and, if I might add, looked quite professional while doing so.
There was talk of taking a more satirical approach and turning up in handmaid’s frocks but they couldn’t be procured on short notice.
Two more women were asked to cover up on Thursday, prompting reporters to ask: Where in the rules does it state that bare arms are verboten?
As a photo of female reporters’ naked arms circulated on social media, Green Party house leader Sonia Furstenau tweeted that one of her staffers was asked to wear a slip under her dress because it was clinging to her legs as she walked.
“Heaven forbid people realize she has limbs under her skirt,” Furstenau said. “The women in this building are here to work, not dress for outdated rules.”
By the afternoon, Speaker Darryl Plecas doubled down on the archaic rules, emailing out a memo that states the dress code follows a “conservative contemporary approach” in which gender-neutral business attire requires layered clothing and covered shoulders.
Never mind that the dress code dates back to 1980, a time when less than 10 per cent of MLAs were female.
Plecas stated this is in line with other legislatures across Canada. However, one reporter pointed out that Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland has delivered speeches in the House of Commons while wearing sleeveless dresses. Former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama has never been afraid to show off her perfectly toned arms.
Canada’s first female prime minister, Kim Campbell, whipped up a Twitter storm last year when she blasted female broadcasters who sport sleeveless dresses on television, saying bare arms are “demeaning” and “undermine credibility and gravitas.”
She was roundly criticized as being out of touch.
With the issue gaining ever more media coverage as the day progressed, acting clerk Kate Ryan-Lloyd held a press conference, telling reporters that she has been directed to review the dress code and see if it requires modernizing.
Members of the press gallery and many female MLAs say it most certainly does.
With the female empowerment quote of the day, Furstenau said: “We’re not here to reinforce it’s a man’s world, we are here to change the world.”
Finance Minister Carole James, showing off a sleeveless blouse under her blue blazer, said it’s “ridiculous” that women’s attire is being policed in the hallways of the legislature.
She said women are disproportionately criticized based on their appearance and said in the past she has been asked why she doesn’t wear high heels (she wears flats because of medical issues with her ankles, she said, not that it needs any explanation).
School boards across B.C. have been grappling with the issue of dress codes that unfairly target female students. Chilliwack school trustee Darrell Furgason was admonished for saying this month that female students who wear inappropriate clothing are committing “a form of harassment for a teacher.”
It’s this line of reasoning that makes the parochial legislature dress code so problematic.
Women’s bodies are so sexualized that merely showing our arms or wearing a fitted skirt is a distraction to men who can’t help but gawk at our female form.
Let’s hope the legislative dress code is quickly brought into the 21st century so female reporters and legislature staff can focus on their work and not their outfits.
