As the new session of Missouri’s House of Representatives convened, female representatives faced updated dress code requirements. Several House Democrats denounced the move as sexist and hypocritical.
Republican state Rep. Ann Kelley proposed an amendment that she believes will promote a more “formal and professional atmosphere”, one that would require women to wear jackets whether they be blazers or knit blazers.
Democratic Rep. Peter Meredith tweeted, “Yep, the caucus that lost their minds over the suggestion that they should wear masks during a pandemic to respect the safety of others is now spending its time focusing on the fine details of what women have to wear (specifically how to cover their arms) to show respect here”.
Several Democrats said that Republicans should not be dictating decisions for women, especially when there are more pressing matters to attend to. Rep. Raychel Proudie argued, “There are some very serious things that are in this rule package that I think we should be debating, but instead we are fighting, again, for a woman’s right to choose something, and this time [it’s] how she covers herself.”
Another Democratic, Rep. Ashley Aune, asked “Do you know what it feels like to have a bunch of men in this room, looking at your top, trying to decide whether it’s appropriate or not?”
Women hold only 46 of the 197 legislative seats in the Missouri House according to The Post-Dispatch.
Kelley was unapologetic. “How is encouraging professionalism wrong?… If there is ever a time to honor traditions and be professional it is on the House Chamber Floor in the Missouri House of Representatives; I will not apologize for standing up for these things.”
