Please, My Sisters, Stop The Insanity

I read Amy Joyce's column in the Washington Post every week. I also log on for her Tuesday chats. She gives good advice about the workplace and dealing with co-workers (I need help with that, we all know) and she's just generally fun and cool. It doesn't hurt that we're both late 20-somethings from Western PA. Anyway, the one question I see every week that drives me nuts is "I'm looking for a job, should I tell my current boss?" Let's think about that for a second. You want to interview elsewhere for whatever reason. Do you really think it would be smart to tell your boss that you want to leave your job? What the hell, people? The idiot factor is so high in the applicant pool, it amazes me that I don't have a kick-ass job right now. To seem head-and-shoulders above the rest of the drones really isn't that difficult to pull off.

That regular irritation aside, this morning I was faced with a frustration with my gender that pisses me off like few other topics. A woman wrote in thanking Amy for encouraging her to keep sending her resume out there, that eventually someone will call for an interview, just keep at it. Apparently the woman got an interview, it's all set for tomorrow - and then she asks this, "And is a pants suit OK in an interview for females? I know it's come up, but can't remember the verdict."

Is it OK to wear a pantsuit to an interview... if you're a woman. OK, deep breaths, Melissa. Perhaps this woman just stepped out of her magical mystery time machine from the '50s when women always wore skirts and dresses in every work-related situation - that is, if they were permitted to work outside the home. Maybe she just came from a culture where women aren't allowed to wear pants. The more likely situation is that she's my age. She's an American woman who still harbors the idea that a skirt suit is more appropriate business apparel than pants. What the hell, people??? This is a progressive generation. We are a forward-thinking populace. Why are there women, sisters of mine, who believe without even realizing it that they are expected to wear skirts in the workplace. That somehow, they will be more respected in a skirt than in pants. That maybe wearing pants is a way to let men know that you want to be just like them... and we can't have men thinking you're too tough, now can we? Oh no.

Women, ladies, sisters, listen to me now. I need you to hear me - if you want to wear a skirt, wear one. If you want to wear pants, wear them. Wear your hair up or down. Wear flats or heels. Wear whatever color your best suit is. But stop - stop - relying on apparel guidelines from 1953. Welcome to 2006.