Too Much Tannen?
As much as I agree with Tannen’s claim that women are always scrutinized at any given moment, I do disagree with the fact that we have to care about how we are perceived. I don’t understand why people find it so hard to not let it affect them. Everyone has a life and about a few thousand things going on at once, I’m pretty sure they don’t have the time or energy to care about how you dress or the way you do your hair. I have never really cared about how I dress unless it was for an important occasion like a party (birthday party or huge Indian extended family party) because that is a setting where people put in time and effort to plan so that everyone has a good time. Dressing well will show them that I appreciate and care about their effort.
Additionally, I do understand the importance of clothing and hair in workplaces. Most workplaces will have a dress code that makes you look more professional, and if you truly want to work there, you will want to dress the part. For example, if you want to be a surgeon, you will probably want to wear scrubs and it is better if you do wear scrubs so that you can be identified easily in an urgent situation. If not, then you would’ve decided that profession isn’t the one you want. Tannen is not expressing that males are marked too, if a man walks into office in a hoodie and sweatpants, that will definitely noticed and will affect how they are seen at work. It may even result in them getting fired because they didn't want to wear something "that says nothing about [them]."
In conclusion, women are free to where whatever they want, and if they don't wear something appropriate, their consequences are the same as those of men. Tannen is reflecting her own insecurities and putting them out in the name of all women, which is not ok.
So, there is only one thing I think women are seriously discriminated on: pant pockets. To show this, I have provided memes for your entertainment :)
Hi Veeksha,
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you when you say women should not have to care about how their clothes lead them to be perceived in a certain way. I think it varies depending on each person’s experience. I can relate to this - personally, I have had a hard time with not caring because growing up, I used to get insulted for the way I dressed. At a young age, you are too innocent to know not to care about how others perceive you, so it greatly affected me. Growing up however, you learn that you should not care if others judge you as long as you are happy, which is exactly your point. Thank you for inspiring us to be our true selves regardless of others’ opinions! :)
- Amritha
P.S. love the meme XD
Wow Veeksha! I really like how you gave the example of a workplace setting, somewhere where caring about clothing is important, while still arguing against Tannen's claim about having to "care about how we're perceived". I've also been found guilty of not really caring about others perceptions of me even for an important occasion, since as a kid I was told that I cared too much, which lead a lack of confidence. Nice job!
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