Missouri Legislators Establish A Tighter State House Dress Rule For Women: As part of a new set of regulations, lawmakers in the Missouri House of Representatives this week tightened the dress code for women, requiring them to cover their shoulders with a jacket like a blazer, cardigan, or knit blazer.
Some Democrats were outraged by the move, which was put forth by Republican state Rep. Ann Kelley because the clothing code for men was left alone.
Men must wear a jacket, shirt, and tie to the Missouri House of Representatives. Women were expected to wear “dresses, skirts, or trousers worn with a jacket or sweater and acceptable dress shoes or boots,” according to the former dress code.
The amendment, according to Kelley, “cleans up some of the terminologies… by mimicking the language in the gentleman’s dress code,” as she stated in a House floor speech.
Men must don a jacket, a shirt, and a tie, am I right? Additionally, they would be immediately gaveled down if they entered this building without a tie. They would be immediately gaveled down if they entered without a jacket. We are therefore really interested in equality, Kelley remarked on Wednesday during the floor discussion.
According to the state House website, there are 116 men and 43 women serving in the Missouri House, where women hold fewer than a third of the seats.
For all those bemoaning "men telling women what to wear" in the #Missouri State House: note that it was a woman–Rep. Ann Kelley, R-Lamar–who proposed the dress code. She is Exhibit A of a footsoldier of the patriarchy https://t.co/xIqntzi9Ir
— Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) January 12, 2023
The rules package was later ratified by the GOP-controlled legislature in a 105-51 vote, but not without opposition and discussion from House Democrats. The dress code change was approved in a voice vote.
Do you know how it feels to have several men in the room scrutinize your top to decide whether it is proper or not? Ashley Aune, a Democrat, and state representative declared on the House floor.
After Democratic state representative Raychel Proudie opposed the potential impact that requiring blazers could have on pregnant women, Republicans changed their amendment to include cardigans.
“I don’t think I’m competent to say what’s suitable or not appropriate for women,” said Democratic state Rep. Peter Merideth in response to a question from his colleagues on the floor. “I think that is a pretty dangerous road for us all to travel down,” he said.
“Y’all had a conniption fit the past two years when we discussed possibly using masks to protect one another in case of a pandemic.
The government has no right to dictate what you must cover your face with. I’m aware that certain nations demand women to cover their faces, but in this case, Merideth said, “it’s okay because we’re simply talking about how many layers they need to wear over their shoulders.
Reporters and lawmakers in the US Congress had to wear dresses or blouses with sleeves in order to enter the House chamber up until 2017.
When a handful of female legislators from both parties voiced concerns about their “freedom to bare arms,” Speaker Paul Ryan’s office eventually acknowledged that the dress code “may stand to be a bit modernized.” The US Senate later changed its procedures as well, according to The New York Times.
The change, according to Aune, shows that Republicans in the state aren’t paying attention to “serious concerns,” she told CNN Friday afternoon.
She added on “CNN Newsroom” that “House Republicans are doubling down on regulating women” since they “approved the abortion restriction in 2019 that went into force this summer after the Dobbs decision came down, fully curtailing a woman’s ability to choose in this state.”
It seems crazy to me. It seems to be saying that the Missouri GOP and the Republican Party don’t have our best interests at heart and aren’t paying attention to crucial matters.
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