THE DRESS CODE

As I was watching a BBC program I came across a piece of news that American school girls were unhappy with their dress code. They have started a movement through social media like twitter to wear dress in school as they wanted to. In US school uniforms are not in vogue but girls are prohibited to wear skirts too short or backless or cleavage showing dresses. They are punished if the dress code is breached, like they are sent back to their homes or wear a long shirt on top of their dress in the school. These girls are objecting saying what they wear is their matter. They are objecting to the proposition that what they wear may “disturb” some boys. They are saying that boys have the responsibility to have control over their emotions and instincts. Some girls showed themselves in the TV show wearing shorts and cleavage revealing clothes and said that these are not allowed in the school and if they wear it they will be punished. More so if the girl is amply endowed in chest and hip.

In 1930s when England’s first women’s cricket team visited Australia the regulation dress was a skirt which had to be not more than four inches from the heel. These days some women play tennis wearing skirts which are “babies of skirts” as my wife described them. And nobody seems to bother.

So what should be the dress code or should there be a dress code at all. The question is serious as it is a fundamental question which even ignites wars in places like Afghanistan and other Muslim dominated countries. There the proper dress code does not even allow women to reveal their faces. Many women are unhappy that this should be such and the social unrest among women and who support them have caused wars between more liberal and conservative sections of people. But the problem among women of Afghanistan and US school girls is not of fundamental difference but of degree. The main problem is whether women should wear whatever they like regardless of what men or even other women think that these may cause problem and help to kindle uncontrollable passions among men. The argument for the women is that it is not there matter that men are troubled by such and who misbehave in response to any kind of dress is their problem. In Islamic states the burden of societal responsibility in these matters are put squarely on the shoulders of women so much so that women are called evil. In other societies the response varies in degrees. In India (my city Kolkata) 20 years back heads would have turned if a woman wore tight jeans. Even now it is considered obscene (even by women) in most parts of India if a woman wears mini skirt in a city street. I think women are to a great degree justified in the argument of their right to choose whatever dress they want but is there a limit to it? Suppose some women come out in streets wearing nothing at all or wearing bikinis? Where should we stand then? Not every male or female are same and their degree of excitement and their control on that excitement is not same. Even within a single person degree of excitement changes at different times. I have found out that in some days when I am too busy with my occupations and problems that even an attractive naked woman would not have my attention whereas at other times a hint of cleavage would spur animal instincts in my mind. Not everyone is Sri Ramakrishna who could control his instincts to the degree such that even when an amply endowed young woman sat on his lap stark naked his mind did not budge from God! And the question does not encompass women only. I, in a moment of madness, posted a picture of mine eating my lunch with my upper half of the body without any clothing in Orkut profile and a woman told me that it was horrible because it showed my thick chest hair. She also said there is a place for everything. If I wore this dress in a beach nobody would have objected to but in a public place it was objectionable. I also read a report that in middle east people found it objectionable that south Indian men wore lungis in such a way that it was folded up to their knees. They found it obscene and some laws were created to ban it.

So clearly not every dress is acceptable everywhere. But what is the boundary line and who would set it? As I have said earlier it varies to extreme degrees between cultures and places and time. I would imagine the amazement and pique of a person from Europe from middle ages if he happens to see dresses worn by modern day men and women even in Asia.

I do not think whatever I wish I dress argument is justified. Apart from personal security the opinion of others matter when it is in public and when others are involved. You simply cannot ignore the emotions and opinion of others if you are to mix with them publicly, in any matter whatsoever.

So the right balance has to come out in context of a particular place, time and culture. You can go nude in some of the beaches but you have to be covered up to head if you are in Afghanistan or in Europe in times of inquisition. Also if I go out in a dhoti or with a pajama punjabi in streets of Los Angeles or Zurich there will be a few eyebrows raised.

So coming to the point I started with what should be the solution for the American school girls. To my mind the best solution is a school uniform although that might not be to the taste of a quite a lot of Americans. A school uniform with taking opinion of all concerned will stop punishments and grievances. It should be democratic for all concerned like the country itself.