Femininity is Power
Exploring femininity’s role in the professional workplace
By Laine Bottemiller, Online Assistant Editor
Illustrated by Emma Mu, Contributing Illustrator and Designer
What’s your power suit? As a humanities studying, thrift shopping and indie music listening girl, mine is a pair of Levi’s and an oversized sweater. Whether wearing a crop top, a blazer, a lab coat or a construction vest, clothing is a chance to communicate identity.
While women now have the opportunity to wear whatever they want, that freedom wasn’t always there. From the suffragettes to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, women have explored different styles of clothing, pushing boundaries and challenging expectations of how a woman should look. The choice to abide by these expectations or defy them makes each decision about clothing meaningful.
In the mid-1800s, women started “wearing the pants” for the first time. Suffragettes donned bloomers, loose pants gathered at the ankle under shorter skirts. Infiltrating traditionally male clothing styles signified women’s chance to claim men’s rights for themselves. Susan B. Anthony described how shorter skirts finally allowed women to compete with men in industrial areas (Chrisman-Campbell, 2019).
“Women can never compete successfully with men in the various industrial avocations, in long skirts,” Anthony said. “No one knows their bondage save the few of us who have known the freedom of short skirts” (Chrisman-Campbell, 2019).
The freedom of bloomers and short skirts did not outweigh the costs of violating expectations; women trying out bloomers faced humiliation and risked their reputations. Suffragists ultimately decided to abandon the bloomers, sacrificing their freedom of movement. Choosing to appear feminine, palatable and harmless and abiding by these expectations was necessary to create respect and momentum for the suffragette movement (Chrisman-Campbell, 2019).
Come World War I, women moved into jobs traditionally held by men and were left empty in the war (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019). Many of these new jobs required uniforms, sometimes including trousers (Monet, 2022). Women wore pants as they moved into these professional environments, and the same pattern developed during World War II. From 1940 to 1945, the female workforce expanded by 50% (Sweet, 2021). Despite women being capable enough to fill these empty positions, the view that being a woman represented weakness persisted. In 1948, the Supreme Court upheld a Michigan law banning women from working in certain fields, like bartending, citing the need to protect morals (Hershbein, 2005).
Nan Kempner, a New York City socialite, proved she was comfortable defying standards in the 1960s when she tried to enter a restaurant wearing a Saint Laurent tunic and pants. After being barred from entry for wearing pants, Kempner promptly removed them and wore the tunic as a minidress, unafraid to disrupt any expectations of appropriateness (Horwell, 2005).
“I put a lot of napkins in my lap and didn't dare bend over,” Kempner said, recounting the event.
In 1964, women started to opt for mini skirts. Though controversial for being “obscene” and tied to sexual empowerment, the mini skirt became a sign of confidence and a symbol of female liberation (Ramos, n.d.). Women embraced disruptive fashion choices, using them to further women’s rights and freedom. By the end of the 1970s, women claimed their freedom in fashion, and wearing pants was as much of an option as any skirt.
By the 1980s, the fashion industry reevaluated where femininity fit in the workplace. Armani’s line of tailored and shoulder-padded suits quickly made a decision; it didn’t. The suits gave women authority but disguised their gender to do so (Komar, 2016).
Women’s aggressive workplace clothing was subsiding in the 1990s, according to designer Marc Jacobs (Komar, 2016). “The ‘80s was Nancy Reagan and ‘Dynasty,’ huge shoulders, nasty little suits, dress for success, hard-edge, hard-core, mean, aggressive clothes,” Jacobs said at one of his fashion shows in 1992. “Let’s be a little softer, a little gentler now.”
No longer needing to prove themselves in the corporate world, women’s clothing became softer and more romantic. Slouchy, wide-legged pants and flowy poet’s shirts rose through workplace fashion (Rourke, 1992). Femininity was no longer a distraction or weakness, but instead up to the discretion of each woman.
While not always perfectly reflected in workplaces, women today can embrace or disregard femininity. Decisions about clothing in workplaces haven't always been completely free from criticism; however, now, these decisions are opportunities to define what capable means. For her confirmation to the House of Representatives, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez selected a crisp white suit, a red lip and gold hoops. The all-white ensemble honored suffragettes paving their own way in politics, and her bold red lip was a homage to Latina culture (Pasola, 2020). Ocasio-Cortez used fashion to make a statement about representation.
“Next time someone tells Bronx girls to take off their hoops, they can just say they’re dressing like a Congresswoman,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted (Ocasio-Cortez, 2019).
In a video about her skincare and makeup routine for “Vogue,” Ocasio-Cortez explained exactly where femininity belongs in the workplace. Choices about fashion and beauty aren’t frivolous, rather they are a part of everyday life, Ocasio-Cortez said.
“The reason why I think it’s so important to share these things is that, first of all, femininity has power, and in politics, there is so much criticism and nitpicking about how women and femme people present ourselves,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
As history has proved, femininity is meaningful and powerful. Femininity extends beyond a fashion choice; femininity means redefining expectations, promoting equality and embracing representation.
Sources:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez [@AOC]. (2019, January 3). I wore all-white today to honor the women who paved the path before me, and for all the women yet to come. From suffragettes to Shirley Chisholm, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the mothers of the movement. ⬇️. [Tweet]. Twitter.
Pasola, K. (2020, August 26). Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez explained her red lipstick choices. Cosmopolitan.com.
Chrisman, K. (2019, June 12). When American Suffragists Tried to 'Wear the Pants'. The Atlantic.
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2019, March 6). When did women start wearing pants? Encyclopedia Britannica.
Sweet, J. (2021, October 25). History of Women in the Workplace. Stacker.
Hershbein, B. (2005, January 1). Milestones in Working Women’s Legal History. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 14.
Ramos, V. (2022, March 1). The History Behind This Iconic Mini Skirt Protest - Madame Blue. Madame Blue
Horwell, V. (2005, July 25). Nan Kempner | US news. The Guardian.
Ruffner, Z. (2020, August 21). Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Self-Love, Fighting the Power, and Her Signature Red Lip. Vogue.
Monet, D. (2022, April 10). Women's Fashion During WWI: 1914–1920. Bellatory.
Rourke, M. (1992, November 13). Slouching Into the '90s: Say goodbye to power suits and shoulder pads. The new style is all about the soft, relaxed dressing. Los Angeles Times.