Receptionist in 'unprofessional' clothes. Am conflicted

[bagelbaby]

Love to hear your opinions as I'm conflicted.
Just dropped my car off for a service(decent car dealership- think free coffee, papers etc).
Was greeted by a young woman wearing heels so high she could hardly walk, a short extremely tight shirt and a shirt so tight it gaped showing her underwear.
It was all in black, so some thought about professional wear at work.
But it didn't feel right to me. I don't want to body shame. She has the right to wear what she wants.
But it just felt 'off'
I first hoped that the male dominated environment hadn't told her to wear it and then again I hoped she didn't feel that it was exactly what she should wear at work and had no choice.
I call myself a feminist and am finding myself conflicted.
I found myself looking at the heels and then spotting the bra. I thought 'Jeez if I'm doing this, then I guess this young woman is getting similar and worse all day from men?'
Love to hear your views

[FlowerPot1234]

I found myself looking at the heels and then spotting the bra. I thought 'Jeez if I'm doing this, then I guess this young woman is getting similar and worse all day from men?'

I'm a feminist but I don't feel conflicted. The thing is, women who dress like this knows exactly that her bra is on show, knows she is showing cleavage, knows her skirt is tiny etc - she knows what she is doing and she knows the effect she is hoping to create in others. She probably is getting similar and worse all day from men, but since she knows it, I feel no sympathy for her whatsoever.

Do I think it's unprofessional? Absolutely. Would I wince if I saw it? Yes. Would I ever want anybody dressed like that working for me? No.

[BlindYeo]

That's an interesting question deydo. I do think temperature would have a huge amount to do with what I wore. So I'd be very well covered in the cold but wearing extremely skimpy clothing in summer and probably even topless on a very hot day. Hell, maybe I'd be a naturist. So in answer to your question I think no, in warm weather I'd be far less modest (presuming the all-female society has not set any rules of its own).

I would wear tight clothing if flappy material would be an impediment to an activity. So I think the thing I would be least likely to ever wear would be a long skirt, as these are very impractical.

I do think that even without male influence, I would want to wear adornments sometimes. In the way that kids make daisy chains and put them on. Clothing also has an artistic element for me so I think people would still want to experiment with colour, texture and so on.

I also think there is something aesthetically pleasing (as opposed to sexually pleasing) about the human form, male or female, and can imagine I would sometimes still like the look of clothing on myself or others which is tailored and follows and flatters the human form.

[drspouse]

I would still want a good supportive bra.

[bagelbaby]

I'm amazed that my post has generated such interesting debate- thank you.
I think overall I felt that the young woman felt what she was wearing was professional. I was not mentally telling her to 'cover up' as another poster suggested
I have been reading all your replies. I must confess I feel a bit anxious at posting further. I'm not used to such robust replies and have a tendency to take things personally - not ideal on such a forum I know!

[GuardianLions]

bagel When I read through threads, the sort of 'grabbing the wrong and of the stick and then use it to beat others down with'' comments get filtered out in my mind and the more gentle ones stick and move things forward. I also think your op hit a nerve for some people. They are so anxious about the brutal (I hate this term) 'slut shaming' that forms a huge part of misogyny, patriarchy and men's day to day power and control over women- think Saudi, that they can't entertain that a woman's appearance of freedom to dress as she pleases, might actually be the other side of the coin of patriarchy.

[GuardianLions]

So please don't take it personally - it's not you... I didn't take what you said to mean 'cover up woman'. It is interesting to discuss those conflicted feelings - because more often than not, they expose something when you examine them.

[FlowerPot1234]

bagelbaby I agree with GuardianLions when they said please don't take this personally.

The issue of women wearing revealing clothes which are inappropriate to certain contexts always riles some people who cannot reconcile criticism of this with being a feminist. I can reconcile it, as can many others, but some women can't, and their only recourse is to attack anybody who criticises a woman for the way she dresses (as I would criticise a man by the way, it has nothing to do with their sex!) as attacking women's right to wear clothes, slut-shaming etc etc.

This will change, and I hope so soon. Threads such as yours, and events in the news, are raising the question of why some women do dress in appropriately, do dress like "sluts", do dress in a way that is unprofessional and inappropriate, and calling that out is not anti-women, it's purely in my language, "for god's sake, you are creating an impression through your attire, you are representing a company, you are here to do business/sit on reception, wear appropriate clothes and stop acting like an air head who goes through life basing their value is only through how much cleavage they can show."

Don't let others stomping down on any vague or actual criticism of others stop you from feeling the discomfort your felt. You are not wrong nor being anti-feminist for feeling it.

[curryforbreakfast]

It's not remotely anti-feminist to expect women to dress appropriately for work. Feminism is basically about equality, about treating women and men the same. We don't want to see men at work with their underwear on show either, in inappropriate clothing.
Of course it is a lot more nuanced than that but the essential point holds.