Mama,
This is an assignment I just did. I wanted to share it with you. It is apart of my communications lesson or ethics and behaviors. I thought it couldn't be more perfect. SubhanAllah that it was specifically about dress and attire....
In the professional world, people often "dress for success." They wear expensive suits and ties to give the impression that they are confident and powerful. High school and college students often dress to give the impression that they are "hip" or fashionable. When is it unethical to dress in a manner that masks the real you? Explain by using an example from your own experiences.
I think it is ethical to dress according to your situation and surroundings, so long as you are not compromising your core beliefs and morals. I do not think that you can mask who you are if these are truly the environments you wish to be in. Such as in the professional world, if that is where you are striving to be, and you want to look the part, then that is who you are choosing to be. If that is your definition of success, then you should strive for that.
The only time I think dressing differently becomes unethical is when you compromise your beliefs and morals. Such as a teenager in school may think she needs to dress more inappropriately to fit in, or perhaps get more attention. I think younger women are most affected by this in our current society because of all the pressure to have popularity and attention from the opposite sex.
This is why I myself have chosen to dress the way I do today. I have converted to my faith, so I have personally adopted a modest way of dressing I was not raised with. I never masked my real self, as I believed this is the person I wanted to be; modest, pious, and recognized as a believer of my faith. Most importantly, the way I dress is in accordance to what I believe is a commandment of my Creator. My mother would argue that this is not who I really am because she never saw me as this type of person. But as I have become an adult, I have learned this is who and what I want to be. I want to live my life according to what I believe is right and this is what I believe to be the correct way of life.
<3
I would like to thank you for sharing this response... I am currently enrolled in the same TESOL course and found that this question rubbed me the wrong way, I'm not exactly sure why, but it did... I would love to share my response to the question in hopes to help others who search for help like I did. I found your response helpful while writing mine. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteMy response....
"First, I believe we need to define what “unethical” means. I will be using the definition found on Dictionary.com which is defined as the following:
unethical: adjective
1. lacking moral principles; unwilling to adhere to proper rules of conduct.
2. not in accord with the standards of a profession.
When is it unethical to dress in a manner that masks the real you?
When someone knows the rules or dress codes and then still dresses out of conduct, their behavior would be unethical. For example, if someone such as a teacher were to show up to class in dirty and ripped jeans, a stained shirt, and unclean hair they would be presenting themselves unethically. They would also be representing themselves as if they do not care about their profession, themselves, or their students and coworkers. The teacher is to dress in a way that says something positive about themselves, their career, and their passion for their career.
In this sense, I can not think of a moment it would be ethical to dress in a manner that would mask the real you. Masking who you are seems unethical from the start. I do, however, believe that it is ethical to dress according to your situation and/or surroundings, just as long as you are not compromising professional standards, yourself, your beliefs, or your morals principles, even if the clothing choices may not necessarily represent your true style or personality one-hundred percent. For example, I may not wear a formal dress everyday, but it would be inappropriate to show up at a wedding without some sort of formal wear, since they are formal occasions. Just because you are dressing differently than normal does not necessarily mean it is unethical.
The only time I think that dressing to mask yourself becomes unethical is when you compromise your beliefs and morals principles. Such as a teenager in school that thinks she needs to dress inappropriately to fit in, feel popular, or perhaps get more attention. I think younger women are most affected by this in our current society because of all the pressure to have popularity, a sex appeal, and attention from the opposite sex at such a young age.
Also, It would be unethical to dress as a police officer and try to arrest someone when you are clearly not a police officer. Or it would be unethical to dress in a business suit going door to door trying to sell a product that would never be mailed just to get some money. By dressing in these uniforms or suits you are masking yourself in order to put off a certain vibe about yourself to gain trust or respect where it is not due, this is unethical. This does not mean that dressing nicely for a job interview or a job you hold is unethical, I believe that shows respect for the people you do business with and the people you work with.
Explain by using an example from your own experiences.
I can not think of a time that I, myself, was unethical in my clothing choice. Being a highly modest person I am always conscious of my clothing choices and do not believe that I have ever compromised my moral principles or beliefs because of my clothing. Therefore, I can not share from a first hand, personal experience."