Clothing is a prominent medium of which people use to express themselves. This rings true even for politicians – Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is often seen flaunting wide-sleeve tank tops, while our own Gov. Mike Parson (R-MO) is habitually known to sport jeans. 

Political figures are often not policed on their attire because we trust them to serve their constituents regardless of their clothing choices, while also trusting them to know the distinction of what’s appropriate to wear and what isn’t. This isn’t to say that dress codes are inherently useless, they too are an important factor of establishing decorum in the workplace. The problem is rooted in the fact that it’s simply too easy to pick them apart for discrepancies; and more often than not, most strict or out-of-date policies pertain to women’s attire. 

The Missouri House of Representatives is the newest and biggest entity to prove this stance, adopting a dress code solely aimed at women in the House. Rep. Ann Kelley (R-MO) introduced the amendment on Jan. 5, saying it cleans up language in current House rules so that the dress code for women mirrors the men’s. “You would think that all you would have to do is say ‘dress professionally’ and women could handle it,” Kelley argued during the floor debate. 

The new House measure reads: “Proper attire for women shall be business attire, including jackets worn with dresses, skirts, or slacks, and dress shoes or boots. For the purposes of this rule, ‘jacket’ shall include blazers, cardigans, and knit blazers.” The previous men’s dress code remains unchanged. 

Men in the Missouri House were already required to wear a jacket, shirt and a tie under the previous dress code. Women were required to wear “dresses or skirts or slacks worn with a blazer or sweater and appropriate dress shoes or boots.” A second layer of clothing was not required. Now, women’s shoulders must be covered under the new measure. 

There are no known public instances of the previous dress code ever disrupting official business. Rep. Ashley Aune (D-MO) ascertains, “I’ve seen a lot of lack of decorum in this room in my two years here and not once has that lack of decorum spurred from someone’s blazer or lack thereof. There are a lot of ways we could break decorum in this room. But a woman, what she’s wearing, that is ridiculous.”

Ironically enough, Rep. Kelley’s effort to maintain decorum in the House is producing an adverse outcome. While critical issues run rampant throughout the nation, we are stuck yet again fighting for a woman’s right to choose what she does with her own body. 

Unnecessary policing of women’s bodies prevails from the workplace to the halls of government, seemingly unnoticed by the masses as if it is normal; just the way things are. Hear me when I say that women notice, and we are tired. Rep. Aune expressed this sentiment perfectly on the House floor by stating, “Do you know what it feels like to have a bunch of men in this room looking at your top trying to determine if it’s appropriate or not?”

The only notion that will come as a result of the House’s new dress code is a focus shift from congresswomen doing their jobs to what they are wearing. This is not “upholding decorum.” Instead, Missouri has provided yet another example of a pro-life state overstepping women’s boundaries.