Male Nurse's Uniform = A Dress

[Stu]

Another story from Sweden:

Male nurse dons dress in shorts shortage rage.

A male Swedish nurse has donned a dress to protest the lack of shorts at a hospital in southern Sweden, saying he had to fight the small battles for gender equality in the workplace.

Mattias Karlsvärd, 42, said he had complained about the lack of shorts in the staff uniform three years ago, but been told by the Skaraborg hospital that there were no funds to update the uniform.

"Women are allowed to dress lightly for the summer, but men have to dress as usual," Karlsvärd told The Local.

Then the story of the skirt-wearing train drivers in Stockholm reached his ears, he decided it was time to get his pins out too to protest the unequal treatment.

"'If they can do it, so can I!' I said, and then I put on the dress," Karlsvärd said.

"It's not really that important for me to wear shorts, but if you have a gender equality policy you should take it seriously."

http://www.thelocal.se/48572/20130618/

Stu

[RichardA]

I think there is a code of ethics here, if I went into a hospital I would not expect to see trained staff in shorts, it a bit like your bank manager in jeans and it all boils down to professionalism.
Sorry that's the way I see it.

[Stu]

Richard - I am pretty conservative on such matters and I do agree with your point about shorts. They don't look professional. I am a university teacher here in Sweden and, while I don't wear a tie for work (that would be frowned upon here), I do wear smart trousers and a proper shirt.

When it comes to uniforms, I think the whole ethos of what a uniform is for should come into play. In the case of nursing, it must be comfortable, hygeinic and it must readily identify whom is who. In my view, the uniform should therefore identify the job of the wearer rather than the individual inside it. Consequently, I see no objection to staff having the freedom to choose which ever garment from the uniform range is the most comfortabl without necessarily being constrained by gender taboos which have been arbitrarily determined by nothing more than tradition.

Stu

[Caultron]

In the US, hospital uniforms seem to be a thing of the past. All the medical staff just wear scrubs, and they seem to have the flexibility to buy whatever style they want.

Shorts might be a bit surprising at first but people here in Arizona wear shorts everywhere else so why not?

The guy in this article looks like he's going commando in a lab coat, and that'd certainly be more upsetting to me than if he were wearing shorts. It'd look better tailored, and with a matching cloth belt.

[Zorba]

BAH! So called "professionalism" is how well you do your job - NOT how well you conform to an arbitrary dress code.

[RichardA]

I agree that a dress code does not make you a more proficient, but we all should “dress to impress” if not we are all on a very slippery slope to anarchy.

[Caultron]

So, like, fashion anarchy, that's a bad thing?

A surprising opinion on this board...

[Grok]

Seems like we could have "fashion anarchy" outside of work and its dress codes.

[Caultron]

Limited anarchy? Isn't that, like, a contradiction in terms?

I have to admit, though, that if I went to see a doctor and he was wearing a speedo or a neglige, I'd be pretty surprised.

But then again, he might just be an eccentric genius. They have those, you know...

(Just playing along, BTW. No hostility intended.)

[STEVIE]

Apologies for being a tad late on commenting on this one, but better late than never as "they" say.
Richard, a "bank manager in jeans", given recent history, would you trust one whatever the garb?
Caultron, I kind of like the idea of all hospital workers in scrubs, they're damn near genderless anyway and as long as the wearer is competent I wouldn't care about their sartorial choice. However, the mental image of House, (Hugh Laurie), in a negligee is not at all, edifying.
If we follow the "dress codes" which are imposed in our jobs with no question, are we not just as well giving up now?
We spend a large portion of our lives at work, should we not be able to dress our "way" to do that job?
It's really simple, if you can do the work better, or at least, as effectively, in a skirt, that should be your right. If you can't, for any reason, wear the "uniform".
Steve.

[crfriend]

[..]a "bank manager in jeans", given recent history, would you trust one whatever the garb?

It depends on whether one is talking about retail (deposit-based) bankers or investment (gamblers) bankers. It's the later that drove the world economy off the cliff; make 'em all walk the plank.

[...] the mental image of House, (Hugh Laurie), in a negligee is not at all, edifying.

Ewww. It'll be weeks before I can purge that.

If we follow the "dress codes" which are imposed in our jobs with no question, are we not just as well giving up now?

I'm back in trousers full-time at work, the environment having gone completely poisonous and I'll be unemployed soon so asymmetric things are, so, yes, I've given up. However, not totally; I'm back in the mode where there is a very bright and sharp line between work and personal space.

We spend a large portion of our lives at work, should we not be able to dress our "way" to do that job?

The problem is that there are a lot of narrow-minded people out there, and quite a lot of them are in positions of responsibility and power (most often the latter) that can make one's life a living Hell -- and there is usually no (legal) recourse possible. I do not know for certain whether my skirts are part of my downfall at work, and there's no way to find out, but I suspect it rattled somebody who has unlimited power over my position. And so I'm finished.

[Grok]

With a bad economy one is motivated to cling to whatever job one has. So I suspect that skirts will find a place in one's personal life long before work.

[Grok]

It will be a long, slow evolution away from Trousers Tyranny.

[STEVIE]

In my last post, I must admit to being too glib, on some points.
I had a personal experience of "retail" bank management when I was unemployed and they were trying to "recruit" me.
I'd never seen such a cynical approach to the customer in all my 30 or so years as a direct seller. I was not impressed.
I really do count my blessings, at the moment, that I am able to wear what I want, when I want at work.
I can only make the most of it, for as long as it lasts, that may not be as long as I envisaged.
I have also said, on many occasions, that we have to pay attention to "wider communities".
That means, neighbours, friends, employers and anyone else you'd like to mention.
I still think that I do my own job better in a skirt than trousers though.
Steve.