Snippets

I spent the week at a teaching orientation, and our breaks were full of fascinating discourse on feminism and fashion in the classroom. Several female-identified folks and I have talked about the advice given to femme people who teach, that we have to be very careful about maintaining authority, that we have to be hyper-aware and vigilant about our dress. One woman shared her plans to "dress down" or to wear intentionally "unflattering" clothing and hairstyles to avoid incurring the unwanted sexual attention from her students. Another woman shared her confusion at the advice given, since she is going from her home, where she is the in-control mother of twin boys to a classroom setting where, suddenly, she was told, her authority was null and void when she donned a skirt.

Frankly, I've never taught as Femme before. I identified as Butch for ten years, and had a shaved head or a faux hawk all the other times I've taught before. Since I have been on fellowship the past two years as my identity shifted and I embraced the Femme side that had always already been there suppressed, I had actually only ever thought that dressing up would, if anything, increase the respect I got from my students because of the professionalism of my dress. It is important to note that I come from a secondary teaching background. I am certified to teach (and have) grades 7-12, and we spend a great deal of time studying and implementing classroom management. I am confident in my authority regardless of what I'm wearing. I know that a good, experienced teacher commands respect no matter what they look like (that's not to discount the potential for oppressive language and/or attempts at insubordination from some students), however this discussion does interest me.

It's also important to note (and this was, indeed, part of our discussion) that the other women I was speaking to are conventionally attractive, thin, cis, and white. (NB: I am also white, as you may have noticed from my photos, though I don't identify as cis, I identify as genderqueer). We discussed the differences between the fat woman's body and the thin woman's body, and how differently we have been treated in the past by colleagues and professors, and, potentially, students. I've had students make comments to me, but, if anything, I think my weight helps add to my authority. I seem more imposing and, in some way, more adult. I literally take up more space, and, compared to my colleagues in this discussion, I have less fear of physical assault from my students. That's not to say I have no fear about a student assaulting me for some reason, but not as much as a smaller woman who feels she might be more easily disempowered physically.

In the past, I wore khaki pants and polo shirts to teach in, or dress pants and button-down shirts, vests, and other butch attire. I identified much more as a masculine person then, which is part of the reason I see my gender as non-binary. I had a shaved head, and I don't think students quite knew how to read me. I've always been a confident and enthusiastic teacher, and I think that, more than wardrobe choice, goes a long way toward being respected by your students.

I also think that the sexist attitudes of women being less-respected when they dress femme in the classroom than their male colleagues will persist unless we challenge them. So many people asked if they should wear heels and makeup during our orientation. Should they part their hair on the left or the right. Studies show, one woman insisted, that parting your hair on the left was considered more academic. And of course putting your hair in an updo was more formal. Advice like "be yourself" isn't always helpful when one has never been a teacher before. It takes some time to find your comfort in the classroom, but students' respect for you has to be founded in the way you act, and the way you treat them, not on your wardrobe choices. I always dress more formally during the first week to set the tone, and I do think that clothing is rhetorical. I obviously believe that we send messages (whether they are the ones we want to send or not) with our sartorial choices, but I think we need not fret too much. What's most important is the person wearing the clothes.

What do you wear to teach? Do you think your students treat you differently based on what you are wearing?