What Does It Mean to “Dress Like a Woman”?

via The Guardian

Amidst Trump’s slew of scandals and highly contentious policies, it isn’t hard to believe that he is said to “[like] the women who work for him ‘to dress like women'”. Still, the infuriated online community rallied together to fight back, proving to him and his team that such remarks about women are bigoted, uninformed and completely unacceptable.

What does it even mean to #DressLikeAWoman?

In the 21st century, this is what it means:

I’m #DressLikeAWoman in this photo!
When are you going to start acting #ActLikeAPresident, #Trump?! pic.twitter.com/mCehDR9cz9

— Humanity💙v.Trump🚫 (@BlueHumanity) February 3, 2017

.@realDonaldTrump #DressLikeAWoman … is this what you had in mind? 🤔🤔🤔 pic.twitter.com/9JvoGUpWRZ

— emma (@emmacrowell_) February 3, 2017

#DressLikeAWoman Marry a woman while ur both dressed like women! pic.twitter.com/YxucRXtfQH

— Cameron Esposito (@cameronesposito) February 3, 2017

tell me again to #DressLikeAWoman pic.twitter.com/D2U1g0VZaZ

— sanctuary citizen (@fogandpinetrees) February 3, 2017

The message women all over the country want to get across is simple. While progress is still underway, women all over the world have been breaking glass ceilings at the workplace. In most countries, women are free to pursue jobs and rise the ranks as men have. Cultural and traditional practices are constantly undergoing refinement, and through social media platforms, more women are speaking up for themselves. There are no longer unequal restrictions between genders, and similarly, the dissolution of barriers can be seen in universal suffrage, education and birth control. There is definitely more to be done, but we’ve come a long way.

So urging women to dress femininely is not only invalidating years of hard work and progress, but also sending a message to girls that the way you dress determines your worth and respect from others. Women shouldn’t have to don stereotypically feminine attire to be respected or be qualified as feminine. Whether or not one chooses to subscribe to normative dress codes shouldn’t undermine their hard work or character. Standard requirements like looking professional, neatly-groomed and office-appropriate are the norm, and are viewed as reasonable expectations. But anything else, is just being mistaken that women dress for approval. (We don’t.)

(P.S. everything said above can be applied to men as well.)