Dress code for women | ||
Written by Rachel | ||
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In class, women have to follow more or less the same
dress code guidelines as men.
However, I have sneaked in a couple of
differences... Tights and a boob shield (martial students only).
Monday night
uniform for women
•
White
cotton crew-neck T-shirt
•
Black
cotton
martial arts trousers
• School
badge sewn onto the T-shirt
• Flat footwear; preferably not
training/sports shoes
• Thin tights
• Boob shield
(optional)
• No jewellery
Sexist?
When a woman undertakes traditional forms of dance such as 'tango', she
wears a costume that is entirely different to that of the man. And would
she want to dress the same way as the man? No.
It would defeat the entire nature of the art.
If you were studying classical ballet, you'd be required to wear tights.
And so would a man!!
There'd be no discussion. Think of tai chi as being along the same lines.
They are an Asian aesthetic.
Modern ideas and modern values have their place, but it is also important to
respect traditional arts. Nothing in a traditional art was designed to
subjugate women.
Rather, the differences between the sexes are acknowledged, and often
celebrated.
Contradictory attitude
Many women choose to wear exceptionally tight fitting leggings which reveal
crotch and buttocks, leaving nothing to the imagination. Yet, these same
people refuse to wear tights. This makes very little actual sense. Clearly,
their objection to tights is 'political' in
nature rather than comfort, modesty or aesthetics. And as such, has no
place in a tai chi class.
Demeaning?
In the 1960's there was a very popular TV show called Star Trek in
which the female cast wore minidresses and thin black tights. Many modern
feminists have complained about the costume, regarding it as exploitative.
This is ironic, since the female costume was not suggested by the male
producer or costume designer, but by a young female cast member and embraced
wholeheartedly by all the female actresses. It was seen as empowering,
fashionable and forward-thinking:
In later years, especially as the women’s movement took hold in the
seventies, people began to ask me about my costume. Some thought it
“demeaning” for a woman in the command crew to be dressed so sexily. It
always surprised me because I never saw it that way. After all, the show was
created in the age of the miniskirt, and the crew women’s uniforms were very
comfortable. Contrary to what many may think today, no one really saw it as
demeaning back then. In fact, the miniskirt was a symbol of sexual
liberation. More to the point, though, in the twenty-third century, you are
respected for your abilities regardless of what you do or do not wear.
(Nichelle Nichols, Lt Uhura, Star Trek)
Asian aesthetics
If you're wondering why women studying an Asian martial art are being asked
to adopt Asian aesthetic standards, surely
the question answers itself?
Would somebody in a football team expect to play football wearing long
trousers? No. They'd adhere to the aesthetics associated with the game;
which would be short trousers...
History
When it comes to the dress code, you might want to bear in mind that Rachel
has designed the uniform with the purpose of encouraging specific
Asian attributes in women.
Rachel has studied clothing, style, hair, lingerie, hosiery, martial arts
and Asian culture extensively. She likes to read about the history of
clothing and the reasons behind specific fashions and styles.
5 excellences
Tai chi is considered to be highly refined; alongside painting, classical
literature, calligraphy & medicine.
Bare legs are not considered to be refined. In Asia, not wearing
hosiery is seen as being 'rough'.
Arrogance
In Asia, a woman who parades her bare legs is considered to be arrogant
because it assumes that her legs are so beautiful and utterly flawless that
they don't warrant hosiery. How many women can genuinely make such a
claim?
Dress like a girl and you will
fight like a girl
The absolute worst thing that a woman can do in combat is to emulate how a
man operates. Our muscle mass/fat distribution is different, and we're not
prey to testosterone and aggression.
You need to feel and function as a woman - hence
tights - a physical reminder that you're not a
man?
Why wear tights?
Asian women adopted the practice of wearing thin tights/stockings centuries ago.
How come?
Modesty,
leg health, protection, improved circulation and aesthetics.
Tights to serve to accentuate your femaleness...
Modesty
In Asia the saying is "Only a monkey shows it's feet". This means that a
'lady' does not reveal her bare legs and feet. You will see this with
most Asian women you encounter, even girls in shorts.
They usually wear hosiery; even in warm climates.
We (women) are training 'as
normal' with men of all sizes, which wouldn't happen in any other martial
art setting (as I understand!) so we have an opportunity not afforded other
martial women.
Equal opportunities...
(Julia, retired NHS Director)
Boob shield
Female tai chi students are encouraged to purchase a 'boob shield' when
they start the tai chi syllabus.
Students can be clumsy.
They will think twice about
punching your shield.
Are you sexist?
A lot of women nowadays are quite sexist about dress codes...
Picture this: a man in a suit wearing smart shoes? If he wears thin
socks in navy, grey or black they will probably look smart. Thick hiking
socks would look stupid. Red socks... Oh dear. White socks? No.
Bare feet? Uh, no. If a man had bare feet with smart shoes and suit
trousers, he'd probably be sent out to buy some socks.
Double standards
Now consider a woman at work. She is wearing a smart skirt and dress shoes.
Is she wearing hosiery? Often not. So, consider the male example.
What is the difference? Why is there a double standard?
Thick tights can look as bad as no tights and jazzy/patterned tights often
look inappropriate for work.
Asian equality
In Asia, men and women adhere to the same dress code standards; which
is why Asian women are widely known to be the best dressed female professionals
on the planet.
If a man is required to wear thin navy, grey or black socks, then a female
worker must also follow an equivalent code. Usually it is low
denier hosiery; either natural, light tan or black.
The denier is never above 15. The hosiery is never patterned.
A lady of tai chi
I seek to encourage tai chi ladies
to follow the dress code outlined above and look as smart as the male
students. Please make an effort.
Personal expression?
If you're looking for personal expression, you might
want to consider a yoga group rather than a martial arts class. Traditional
martial arts aren't a forum for vanity and
showing-off.
Martial arts are about quashing the ego. We focus upon the attacker,
not upon our own 'image' or appearance. Egotism just gets in the way...
Missing the point
When somebody starts tai chi,
they lack any sense of 'context'. What is
important? Why is it practiced? What dos it mean? What purpose does it
serve?
It is very common for modern women to make
judgements without criteria. There is simply no way for a new starter to
know what is important and what is not.
In fact, the only way they can make any sort of evaluation is to draw upon
personal experiences, memory and comparison with other things. None of these
will help the individual to determine what is what in a tai chi school.
Fixating on a minor issue and blowing it all of proportion is inane. If you
want to get off to a good start, just
follow instructions and commit to learning something new.
Workshop/boot camp
uniform for women
•
Cotton crew-neck T-shirt
•
Black
cotton
martial arts trousers
• Thin tights
• Boob shield (optional)
• No jewellery
Please note that 'leggings', yoga attire and T-shirts with pockets are not appropriate
attire for workshops.
I remember when Rachel explained that a
woman’s strength is in her legs, it made complete sense but I’d actually
never even thought of this before, this is where the muscle mass is, so
anything that makes you conscious of your legs can only be good, and like
you said, hosiery gives you great feedback on that muscle mass.
(Karen)
Can I just wear socks?
If you have some sort of medical
problem that prevents you from wearing tights or a mental health issue/hang-up about
tights, then wear socks. It isn't the
dress code though.
Trainer socks
Please don't ever wear trainer socks for tai chi. These are aesthetically
hideous. They are supposed to be invisible but typically they're quite
apparent and ugly.
If you want to learn something about 'aesthetics',
please consider reading Which Aesthetics Do You Mean? Ten Definitions
by Leonard Koren. It may help you to improve your grasp of design,
style, elegance, grace and purpose.
Further reading
•
Dress code
•
Dress code & ego
•
Female feet
• Hosiery
•
Female martial artist
•
Women in martial arts
More...
Page created 26 November 2007
Last updated
09 November 2023