Armor Against Harassment: Book Discusses the Political Role of Clothes at Work – Marie Claire Magazine

Fight the alarm by drinking a generous dose of coffee and having the courage to face the streets. Gradually, the pandemic melts in the face of the vaccine and frees us up for routine personal work. For women, like almost everything else, this has different consequences than for men. They need to worry about their wardrobe again. And here we are not talking about style. But about the choice of items that serve as protection against harassment and sexual harassment.

According to the study “Women’s Perceptions of Safety in Urban Movement,” conducted between July and August by the institutes Patrícia Galvão and Locomotiva, 8 out of 10 respondents have already experienced violence while traveling around the city. And to avoid harassment in public, 83% of them avoid using certain types of clothing or accessories.

Working with style consultants for over six years, Thais Farage she says 100% of her clients have already reported changing their clothes before going to work for fear of harassment on the road and at work. “We think clothing is nonsense, but it has become a very convenient place to get rid of prejudice, including male chauvinism. That is why the combination of women and work clothes is more politics than fashion, ”it says.

She just released it along with a gender lawyer, Myra cotta, Women, Clothes, Work: Addressing Gender Inequality (Editora Paralela, R $ 54.90), which explores why women’s relationships with corporate clothing are so complex.

After all, why do we always feel imperfect with what we wear?

The publication deconstructs the false neutrality of sober colors and straight cuts (they are associated with socially constructed codes of the male universe, and then neutral for whom?), The relationship between clothing and motherhood, and devotes a separate chapter to sexual harassment. “We are always responsible for the violence that we endure, and clothes pass through this place, because this is what our body wears. And women exist, first of all, as a body. It is he who is always at the center of our existence. We suffer it was from him as a result of the analysis of ill-treatment, ”says Mayra.

If at work wearing a suit of a certain shape and shade gives us the feeling that we are stronger and will be respected, because between the lines we imitate the body of a cisgender man, on the street this strategy is repeated as a way to protect ourselves from unwanted interactions and unauthorized touch – and with the same effective result in a corporate environment: no. This is because it’s not about the clothes, it never happened. “What was she wearing” is a recurring question when a case of sexual harassment or rape arises.

To justify the abuse of the size or shape of the fabric, it is necessary to twice embarrass the victim. Mayra Kotta explains that any gender-based violence, especially sexual violence, has nothing to do with desire, with attraction. “They are associated with the exercise of power. That way, the stalking doesn’t depend on how you dress, ”she says.

In a patriarchal society, in which male gender and heterosexuality are considered superior compared to other genders and sexual orientations, the work environment and the street are considered their space.

And if clothing was used from the beginning to communicate hierarchies, the use of items that have over time been associated with the concept of femininity, such as ruffles, bright colors and cutouts that reveal more skin, puts those who wear them in a space of vulnerability. …

Office clothes before coming to the office

“Sweatshirt.” This is the nickname that solutions developer Natalia BurakovaThe 35-year-old man beat his colleagues after he began to come to the company in loose clothing. “I took the parts and changed there, because I took three metro lines and a train, it was impossible to assemble them. I thought, “What if I have to run from someone? »It was not necessary to dress, the dress code was flexible, but the idea that I should be more formal so as not to be exposed to questionable looks was in the air. I felt they were treating me differently, ”she says.

When I chose a skirt, it was always paired with dark tights and shorts underneath. “Tactics” began to be used after Natalya was sexually harassed in the subway. “I got up and was surprised to notice that the guy in front of me had a cell phone on his lap with the screen facing down. Then I noticed that whenever the car stopped, this man would hide his cell phone. by the skirt. That’s when I realized that he was trying to photograph! My reaction was to pretend that I was going to go downstairs and stick to the door, ”Natalya recalls.

She adds: “I already felt like I was being forced on public transport, even when I was wearing my loosest clothes. For me, harassment is more than just an opportunity to lend a hand. Abuse is also something that makes you uncomfortable when I stare at mine. splitting, “he says.

Teacher Cecilia Garcia MarconThe 32-year-old man has also been sexually harassed several times while crossing the town of Campinas, where he lives, to move from one job to another. Once on the bus she was attacked with an elastic band under the neckline of her dress. Clothing, always comfortable for training, was used as an “opportunity” for the persecution.

“Two college students sat on a bench in front of me. One of them spat a piece of rubber and hit me right in the chest. When I was on the phone, I hadn’t noticed anything before, I just felt a disgusting thing fall. I took the paper, took it out, threw it into the trash can and went to sit away from them, ”he says.

She also fell victim to harassment in the São Paulo metro as she returned from a professional meeting. The man climbed under her skirt and stroked her. Cecilia reacted immediately: “Armed with deadly hatred, I lifted my heel with all my strength and felt myself kicked where it hurt. Then I saw a guy crawling out of the car. “

Unlike Natalia, the experience did not make Cecilia change her clothes to go to work. “It has always been very clear to me that I am not mistaken. People either expect you to ignore it as if it’s a simple thing, or that you will react. The second time I reacted because it was almost instinctive, but there is a great fear of this escalation of violence. When you talk about what you’ve been through, everyone is trying to find a solution to what the victim has done. And in fact there is no such answer, what should prevail is the right to live on the street in peace, ”he said. is talking.

Thais Faraj says she hears a lot from her clients about this concern, not only about how best to go to work and create a certain image, but also about how to avoid violence on the way home – employment in parts: “I understand and Respect the person who chooses to change because they fear persecution. Clothing is a vehicle for oppression and gender inequality, as well as a vehicle for conversation and change. Therefore, it is more important for me that this client of mine thinks about the subject and that it becomes an agenda for us to think together about how to solve it. “

She continues: “For me this book has been instrumental in upsetting the fashion industry, which has always been overwhelming in its guides, ideal standards and ideal standards. In addition to page 2 “.

Mayra Cotta adds: “We can politicize any part of our life. And this unusual idea, both in academia and in more formal political circles, that clothing is a less important issue is a mistake, the result of imposing masculinity on uniform. think about spaces of power from a masculine point of view. Since clothing is a territory closely associated with women, it is also left behind in political discussions. We need to think about ways, it’s urgent. “