4 ms·
It is socially acceptable to be cold and to wear warmer clothing to compensate, especially for women. It is not socially acceptable to be sweaty and smelly, an
by mises 8y ago
It is socially acceptable to be cold and to wear warmer clothing to compensate, especially for women. It is not socially acceptable to be sweaty and smelly, and it is not acceptable for men to wear shorts (and often not even short shirts) in a business or formal setting.
The consequence of this is that it's better to err to the cooler side.
- mgamache 8y agoThat makes sense, but I can't help but note that the "sweaty and smelly" that would be less socially acceptable are (to me) more masculine traits. Could you argue that the business world (and academia) is already feminized? Compare the behavior you might see on a sports team (yelling and anger) vs what is acceptable in an office environment. I am not sure, but your comment makes me wonder.
- mises 8y agoI'd say in business/academia, men are to smell neutral, whereas women are more expected to smell perfumed. I don't know that I'd call that "feminized", I'd call it polite. Sports teams are more accepting of yelling, smelliness, etc. because a field is not an enclosed space. An office is an enclosed space where work is to happen, so bad smells and loud noises are bad form. At least, that's how I figure it.