Dress to Impress: Employer Regulation of Gay and Lesbian Appearance

• Published in: Social & legal studies Vol. 8; no. 4; pp. 509 - 529
• Main Author: Skidmore, P L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London SAGE Publications 01.12.1999; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Case studies; Clothes; Discourses; Employees; Employers; Employment; England; Federal Republic of Germany; Gender; Heterosexuality; Homosexuality; Homosexuals; Law; Legal system; Lesbianism; Organizations; Regulation; Self Presentation; Sex Role Identity; Sexuality; Sociology of law; Work Environment; Working conditions; Workplaces
• ISSN: 0964-6639; 1461-7390
• DOI: 10.1177/a010360

This article looks at the role of dress and appearance as a key signifier of gender and sexuality as mediated through the workplace. It explores the sex and sexuality of jobs and organisations, before considering ideas of gay and lesbian performances, noting the role of appearance/clothing in these strategies. Legal discourses which have historically targeted clothing as regulatory target are also problematised, questioning why clothing should be such a central theme. Modern legal discourses are also interrogated, questioning how legal systems can and should control employers' use of dress codes. Case studies from English and German law are used to examine how legal discourses also contribute to the heterosexual construction of the workplace. In conclusion it is argued that in addressing the conjunctions of clothing/work/sex/sexuality, without overplaying the role of law, there is nevertheless a need to explore its discursive function, and its role in erasing gay and lesbian experience.