Blog 23

The way one dresses has a lot to do with the first impressions they make on others which is based on what stereotypes people hold. The reason that women lawyers and politicians are so scrutinized for their dress is because these fields have such an ingrained sense of powerful styling that are associated with them that is very male dominated such as "the power suit". In order for females to make their mark in these fields they had to dress in such a way to represent themselves as being as powerful as their male counterparts as the perception of ones power is very important in the law and political world. When females started out in these fields in growing numbers they had to dress in masculine styles of clothing in order to help their chances of being seen as powerful before they would have the chance to prove their power and competence. As females gained numbers in these fields they were able to recognize how their style of dress was affecting their sense of self in a negative manner because they were being forced to conform to the masculine ways that dominated thier profession so they started to dress in more feminine ways. This change in style of dressing was important for the women because it helped to assert their gender into these fields while at the same time down playing the association with power and masculine styles of dress.