riddle@ut-sally.UUCP (09/11/83)
(This is a reply I sent to thanh@rlgvax.UUCP over a recent item he posted
to net.women.only with the subject line "leg/armpit hair must be shaved if
shown at work". I am posting it to net.women because I don't want to
violate net.women.only. In fact, I think that this topic really transcends
both groups.)
To: thanh@rlgvax.UUCP
Subject: This isn't hate mail, but...
References: <1136@rlgvax.UUCP>
...did it ever occur to you that there are people to whom an "office
environment" is unpleasant precisely b e c a u s e it forces everyone
into an identical mold?
I am a man who finds suits and ties uncomfortable, impractical and
repugnant, particularly in the warm climate enjoyed by much of the U.S.
People's expectations that I dress in such a monkey suit to fit t h e i r
idea of how one should dress in an office make me mad.
Similarly, the idea that a woman who preferred not to shave her legs
or armpits would be pressured into doing so by her co-workers or superiors
strikes me as a despicable, if petty, infringement on her personal matters.
I happen to detest the pancake makeup and perfume worn by most women
in a typical office environment, just as you seem to detest hairy legs
and armpits. Why should your standards of beauty be forced on women office-
workers when mine aren't?
I say, let those who want to sweat and be stifled in their suits or be
plastered and scraped by their makeup and razors do so; but don't make it a
requirement that the rest of us do the same just to conform to your sense of
propriety.
(By the way: if I have flamed a bit, please don't take it as hate mail.
If you can express your opinion, so can I. No personal offense is intended.)
-- Prentiss Riddle
{ihnp4,ut-ngp}!ut-sally!riddle
riddle@ut-sally.{UUCP,ARPA}
davidl@tekid.UUCP (David Levadie) (09/13/83)
Take heart, Prentiss. In my basement I am concocting an aerosol spray which can be dispersed into the ventilating system of office buildings, which will cause neckties to immediately shrink to 1/10 of their former size. I feel that I should also produce a feminine analog, in order to avoid charges of sexism. I considered trying to turn perfume into cyanide gas but it might take out some Innocent Bystanders. Any suggestions? (Besides psychotherapy.)
shebs@utah-cs.UUCP (Stanley Shebs) (09/14/83)
That was a good suggestion, to make neckties shrink (there's a similar concept in D&D, only it was shrinking necklaces - but then all women don't wear both necklaces and makeup). Perhaps the gas could make the makeup turn into itching powder, poison ivy oil, or maybe some kind of contact poison... Actually, I've found a good inverse relation between the trustworthiness of a person and how much that person dresses up at work. It also lets you know who's bucking for management. Wearing patched-up climbing shorts, stan the lep hacker utah-cs!shebs
speaker@umcp-cs.UUCP (09/18/83)
An inverse relationship between how much a person dresses up for work and how trustworthy they are? A good indicator of who's bucking for managment? I've found that those bucking for managment take on the characteristics of their managers. Whatever the boss likes, his understudy will like. The real posturing boot-lickers don't stand out with the latest Pierre Cardin fasions. They use the attitudes of their bosses as mandates to further their own ends. Clothes aren't the measure of the man (or should that be person?) and I should hope that any manager knows this. -- - Speaker speaker@umcp-cs speaker.umcp-cs@UDel-Relay This must be hell...all I can see are flames... towering flames!