The Thing About Uniforms and Female Identity

So what is considered the definition of "uniforms"? According to the Oxford Dictionary definition of the noun "uniform", we get: The distinctive clothing worn by members of the same organization or body or by children attending certain schools

Essentially, we are talking about clothing that represents your team, your company, or your cause. I chose to talk about cause, because I would like to put a little emphasis on a popular keyword "feminism". In this article, I would like to explore the different times uniforms are used to represent female empowerment, and perhaps, inspire us to never forget what equality means.

I will start by speaking on the topic about the suffragettes. They are those who have pushed for "votes for women" and furthered equality for women, in the male dominated world of the past. Of course, there is much to debate on how far this equality has come, but I'm more interested in the topic of how they used their fashion to represent these radical women. The well known "suffragette colours" are purple (representing loyalty and dignity), white (representing purity), and green (representing hope), which you could think of as the team colours if you will. Interestingly, as the suffragettes wanted to avoid the notion that they were brutish, they often chose to dress well, using the aforementioned colours in the many accessories they adorn, such as hats, sashes, ribbons, pins, and more. In some sense, you could gather a thought that these women were wearing an agreed uniform (as recommended by the Women's Social and Political Union), to represent them as equal, and worthy of the vote.

To read more on the fashion of suffragettes, click on the link below:

https://www.stylist.co.uk/fashion/suffragette-movement-fashion-clothes-what-did-the-suffragettes-wear/188043

On a less political perspective, we could also look at the transformation of the types of uniforms/ work clothing, that women have styled themselves through the ages. It is interesting to note, that as women were given better equality and freedom, the clothing that are available to them became less restricting, and allowed them greater choices to express themselves. In the article as illustrated in the link below, we could learn more about the evolution of female suits within the last 100 years:

https://onlinemba.unc.edu/blog/Feminist-History-in-Womens-Work-Suits/

Although my short blog entry barely touches on the topics of female representation ,and style evolutions for female empowerment, I hope we could all appreciate how far we have come in bettering equality for women, and that this article has inspired you to see what you could do to further equality for women in the workforce.