The press box is no everyday office. Neither is the clubhouse, which, strangely, is a workplace for the media. The job is strange. So it's understandable that personal rules for attire tend to be quite different from the rules clearly issued to anyone in a normal office.
MLB issued a dress code policy on Tuesday that has caused an abundance of discussion, mostly healthy, a lot of it humorous, particularly on Twitter.
As a woman, I like my sundresses and skirts during the baseball work season. I check the hemlines, though I'm sure I've gone against the now regulated number of inches above the knee. But when I make my choices, I'm conscious of many things. Not that this is meaningful to everyone (probably not to men), but as a rule, women usually try to stick with the rule that if it's shorter on the bottom, cover up more on top.
Do women in offices wear micro minis? Sure. But MLB appears to be on a crackdown. HGH and skirts on the shorter side are getting some major attention.
There could be some tricky moments for me and other women in the industry. Is this sleeveless top in the policy? Do I need to get a ruler out for this skirt? That's an attempt at humor, but I'm sure it won't be that tough.
If you've walked into any office, women are wearing sleeveless shirts. So to say those are unprofessional is inaccurate.
There's more, though. The policy isn't simply a 'woman's attire' crackdown. Male baseball writers are being giving what might be regarded as even tougher standards. So many of them dress casual to the point of being the object of good-natured jokes from colleagues. We never imagined they were going to get reprimanded for the hideous Hawaaian shirts and sandals. But the policy states those sandals are a health hazard. Not a bad point. Our eye health is also improved. More humor!
The policy is new and inspiring many jokes, so it's going to take some time to see how successful it is.
The policy leaves a few questions, none of them attired related.
The casualness of the press box allows for many things, wardrobe might be part of it. But will MLB crack down on vulgar language in the press box? Because that language is decidedly not office-like and inappropriate. How about the sexual language male writers freely exhibit around their female colleagues? That too wouldn't be allowed in an office. Neither would male writers commenting on their colleagues bodies or the bodies of any woman in a disrespectful manner. So if male writers have a problem with women wearing a sleevless top, perhaps they could dial down the sexual vulgar language. You know, because they're concerned about appropriate press box behavior.
Then there's the issue of players making sexual comments and offensive advances when women enter the clubhouse. Perhaps MLB could show some real concern with that. Because that problem continues.
Maybe this is the moment when women in the industry stop accepting many things. We accept rude language around us, toward us, and about other women (won't share how many ugly discussions about Erin Andrews I've heard) in the press box and horrible treatment from players. We do our job and remember the industry we're in. This is not an office. This is not an office. Well, maybe it should be.
The next time a male colleague makes vulgar unprofessional remarks in the press box or players shout sexual advances across the clubhouse, perhaps we don't ignore that. We remind them to be professional. And appropriate.
MLB could mandate that.
