Under There!

The Richmond Fire Department has a new under-dress code. The department has been under fire for treating women unfairly; seems an atmosphere of harassment and discrimination has been present for a long time.

The Richmond firefighters get changed in a common area:

So, because their undergarments are then exposed, we felt that it was appropriate to establish a minimum standard for those undergarments

says city spokeman Ted Townsend. So - if we are all made to look the same, there will be less discrimination? Rather than celebrate diversity we aim for uniformity.

I remember reading a biography of a Chinese girl who grew up during Cultural Revolution and experiences contact with Westerns. She describes how embarassed she was because she didn't know what to do with her hair, her clothes, having always worn the uniform and the standard braids. And reading in "Red Azelea" by Anchee Min about the repression of romance and love.

The uniform of the Cultural Revolution - was it not also meant to visibly remove any distinction of class, gender or upbringing?

Do we achieve equality through convergence, by covering visible markers? Have women really achieved equality in the work place if the only way to climb the ladder is by integrating male behaviour patterns? I remember research, I think in the Harvard Business Report, about desired qualities for management candidates. Remarkably male, the authors said for many of the qualities.

"Being male", said Sandra, "one of the criteria for a Liberal leadership hopeful. How about the wish to serve?"

We are all different, each one of us. Celebrating the differences, accepting them and embracing them, is what makes us grow closer. Not through the forced removal of unwanted features to enforce a fearful truce.

There is unrest in the forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas

The trouble with the maples
(And they're quite convinced they're right)
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light
But the oaks can't help their feelings
If they like the way they're made
And they wonder why the maples
Can't be happy in their shade

There is trouble in the forest
And the creatures all have fled
As the maples scream 'Oppression!'
And the oaks just shake their heads

So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights
'The oaks are just too greedy
We will make them give us light'
Now there's no more oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal

By hatchet, axe and saw
-- Rush, "The Trees"

I think I need to volunteer with the Fire Department and thoroughly investigate and observe. Especially Under There.

On an evening such as this
It's hard to tell if I exist
If I pack the car and leave this town
You'll notice that I'm not around
I could hide out under there
I just made you say "underwear"
I could leave but I'll just stay
All my stuff's here anyway

Like a dream you try to remember
But it's gone
Then you try to scream
But it only comes out as a yawn
When you try to see the world
Beyond your front door
Take your time is the way I rhyme gonna make you smile
When you realize that a guy my size might take a while
Just to try to figure out what all this is for

Pinch me
Try to figure out what all this is for
Pinch me
Try to see the world beyond your front door
Pinch me
Try to figure out what all this is for

-- Barenakedladies, "Pinch Me"