Gender Talk #7: Clothing from a feminist perspective

February 7, 2021

Seminar on gender and gender equality – Gender Talk #7 with two topics: “dressing professionally” presented by MSc Doan Thi Ngoc – lecturer and Founder of Gender Talk and “building personal image ” presented by MSc Ho Trung Chanh – Acting Head of Tourism Department, FPT University took place on January 27, 2021 at Hoa Sen University (HSU).

Opening topic 1, “dressing professionally”, MSc Doan Thi Ngoc focused on three important points including: 100 years of feminist history through 10 women’s costumes in America; why it is important to dress professionally at work; Distinguish between business professional and business casual clothing styles for men and women.

MSc Doan Thi Ngoc – lecturer and Founder of Gender Talk presented the topic “dress professionally”.

According to MSc Ngoc, first, women’s clothing in America is also in the trend of the three waves of feminism in the world. Molly Greenberg’s 10 2017 illustrations of women’s office attire demonstrate how feminism has changed over the past 100 years. Women’s clothing has played an important role in every moment and is directly related to the role of women in society, events and events of social history around the world.

Before the first wave of feminism, women were still confined and limited in terms of rights, needs and clothing style, but since the third wave of feminism, women have increasingly asserted their position. social position, more financial independence, more knowledge, more human rights and needs expressed, more legal and social equality. And for that reason, women’s clothing also shows the status, freedom, comfort, and rights of women in their own style.

Especially since the 2000s, the new breeze of feminist clothing has brought legal changes to workplace attire. For example, in New York City, on December 21, 2015, the Human Rights Commission announced new guidelines prohibiting “implementing gender-based dress codes, uniforms, and grooming.” . This means not forcing women to wear high heels, unless both sexes must wear high heels, or forcing men to wear ties, unless both sexes must wear ties. So that means a new power game will begin: “Everyone has the right to dress what they like and not be judged or sexually harassed. Individuals can express themselves, be themselves, as long as they are suitable for the role, the context, the culture, at the right time, in the right place, and with the right person.

A large number of students attended Gender Talk #7 event.

Moving on to the second important point, Ms. Ngoc emphasized “Why is professional or appropriate dressing important in the office environment?”. Dressing seems easy but is actually very difficult because dressing beautifully is not necessarily appropriate. If it’s wrong, we’ll correct it. Simple is that. Dressing is important because it will make a first impression on the other person, and the first impression, according to research on social psychology, is very unforgettable, hard to fade and hard to erase. We often only have one chance to make a first impression with an employer or the other person. During the first 30 seconds, people will comment on five characteristics: economic status, education level, social status, sophistication, and level of success of an individual. At the same time, dressing professionally when recruiting, interning or going to work is also a way for us to “advertise our image or build a personal brand”. And sometimes, what’s inside is shown on the outside, clothes are the first thing people around us see when they greet us. Therefore, no one wants to lose points in the eyes of others.

In the final part of topic 1, “how to distinguish between business professional and business casual dress styles?”, Ms. Ngoc gave three simple points. Everyone has the right to dress what they like. But it’s important to dress appropriately, in the right role, in the right culture, in the right context, in the right place, in the right place, at the right time, with the right person, then that person is the “top”. If you make a mistake, correct it and find a way to correct it. If you do not know how to dress or are confused about how to dress when going to work, you should dress in a “conservative” style, or call the human resources department to ask about the regulations. dress, or go to that company or organization to observe how to dress. Each of us should be careful because we often don’t get a second chance to impress the other person.

MSc Ho Trung Chanh presented the topic “building personal image”.

Moving on to the second topic, “building personal image”, Mr. Chanh emphasized five important points including: 1. Appearance, 2. Knowledge, 3. Attitude and ethics, 4. Core values core, and 5. Distinctive characteristics. According to Mr. Chanh, building a good personal image takes a lot of time and is a process. HSU students should start right here and now-right here, right now.

Students often pay little attention to appearance, some wear sandals to school. You should build your image and personal brand, so you need to pay more attention to every action and way of dressing because everything you show off will be looked at, and if you can’t take care of yourself, then Who dares to give their work to you? Your behavior, gestures, attitude, and words are your “brand” in the eyes of others.

Besides appearance, knowledge needs to be accumulated over a long process. Learning theory is not enough, you need to practice and take action to practice skills. When you practice, you need to make a difference. Sometimes employers do not care about qualifications but care about skills first, for example, you learn to make bread, then invite you to make bread for us. If you can’t make bread, I can’t hire you. I can’t say I don’t know how to make bread, but my degree is excellent. A degree with excellent grades due to only doing homework in class is sometimes meaningless to employers. So learning theory must go hand in hand with practice to have real skills and be able to do it right away. To do this, students also need to participate in many team activities, participate in extracurricular activities, volunteer activities, attend workshops, talk shows, and seminars to learn more. Finally, each student needs to have something different from others, need to have talents, have their own interests and write them down on their CV and sometimes be recruited thanks to these talents.

Gender Talk #7 discussion session took place enthusiastically.

Finally, the discussion session was lively and exciting about gender equality and gender inequality through sexual harassment, victim blaming, women’s rights, judgment, and gender stereotypes. Men’s and women’s costumes. The audience raised about 10 questions and also discussed back and forth with the speakers and audience. The whole hall created an atmosphere of interaction, multi-dimensional views, fun and lots of laughter. Everyone said goodbye and left in anticipation of the next Gender Talk.

Students & audience’s feelings about Gender Talk #7

Nguyen Quynh Anh – Student of Faculty of Economics and International Affairs, HSU:  “After attending Gender Talk #7 by Ms. Doan Thi Ngoc and Mr. Ho Trung Chanh, an academic activity on Gender and Gender Equality of the Department of Liberal Education, I I felt very interesting about this seminar. With the enthusiasm and inspiration of Ms. Doan Thi Ngoc and Mr. Ho Trung Chanh, they left an impression on me about how to dress professionally and build a personal image. I learned that dressing professionally makes the first impression on the other person and will be the first image that other people or employers will see of you, and because dressing is also the way you advertise yourself, create a brand for yourself. At the same time, I also learned the difference between professional business dressing style and business casual dressing style, and how to dress appropriately in the office or in everyday life. And to build a good personal image, it takes a long time along with many other factors such as appearance, language, skills, abilities, and attitudes. The teachers and teachers’ sharing has helped me better understand how important dressing style and building personal image are. In addition, at the end of the seminar there were Q&A questions that helped me better understand, raise awareness and have a multi-dimensional view on Gender and Gender Equality along with how to dress professionally and build a personal image. better cause”.

Nguyen Tram Anh – HSU student of Social Work Class:  “I found Gender Talk #7 HSU very interesting and I gained a more multi-dimensional view on the issue of gender equality. With the first topic presented by Ms. Ngoc, she gave a very enthusiastic presentation on the topic of Professional Dressing through 3 contents: The first content she presented was 100 years of feminist history through 10 outfits of female. I think this is a very good content because before, I did not think that fashion and the history of fashion’s development could contain the history of feminism in the world as well as the process of women’s rights. equality of the weaker sex. With the second content, why dressing professionally is important, I gained a lot of knowledge that before I was very vague. I know that dressing professionally at work is very important because it creates the first impression, and the first impression is very unforgettable, hard to fade and hard to erase. Each of us usually only has one chance to make a first impression with the other person. Within 30 seconds, people will make 5 comments about us, which are about our economic status, education level, social status, level of sophistication and level of success. Within 4 minutes, people will “look at the face and see the image” and make assessments about: honesty, compassion, trustworthiness, intelligence, competence, humility, friendliness, confidence. And therefore, the way we dress is the way we are “Advertising or branding” ourselves. The third content gave me a lot of new knowledge, because before I didn’t know that when working in an office, there were so many dress codes, even for the smallest things like shoe height. , the length of the tie or the way the vest is knotted.

Mr. Chanh’s presentation also helped me realize the importance of building a personal image and brand and that I must pay more attention to my every action and way of dressing because currently, everyone Your behavior and gestures are your “brand” in the eyes of others.

In addition, I feel that the Q&A discussion part of the Gender Talk session is also very good and extremely practical, it touches on the close, everyday things that I and everyone else encounter. I am especially interested in the discussions about why women are judged more harshly than men in matters of dress, as well as the deeper reasons why our parents always remind us , controlling the children’s clothing, through which I also partly recognize gender inequality in the smallest things such as how to dress and behave because it seems that women always have to be discreet. , closed, careful and much more scrutinized than men.

I am really impressed with the question about whether women’s revealing and provocative clothing is the reason and source of their being sexually abused and harassed by men? I also have a lot of my own thoughts on this issue. In my opinion, the way a person in general and a woman in particular dress is their freedom, because it is their body and life, and as long as they do not have a negative impact on those around them. around, no one has the right to violate their right to choose their own style, just as no one has the right to touch another person’s body without permission. Women dressing sexy is just a way for them to beautify or express their ego. It does not mean they invite others to judge or violate their bodies. The fact that many women are violated by men is not because they dress too provocatively, making the man unable to control his desires, but the fault is because the man does not know how to control himself, and I I think it’s partly due to the inequality between men and women that makes men think that decent women must dress discreetly, revealing revealing means they are inviting and seducing men, so they think I have the right to violate another person’s body. Because if we say that revealing clothing is the reason for sexual abuse, then we probably have to hear about many cases of sexual abuse of homosexuals (lesbians) because they are also attracted to people. by women. But no, most sexual abuse cases have male perpetrators. So we have to ask, is the revealing clothes the reason? Or is the reason that men think they have the right to violate women?

Besides, I know about the exhibition “What were you wearing” of the Bundy Museum. This exhibition is very special because what it shows the audience are not works of art but the naked truth about sexual abuse. The “works” here are the clothes of people who have been sexually abused, both men and women of all ages, and according to what I observed, there are many and most of the clothes here. All of them are very discreet, very ordinary clothes, some are so tight that they do not reveal any part of the body other than the neck, there are even children’s pajamas, very elegant dresses. naive and innocent. And then, I asked myself: Is there anything provocative in these clothes? Can these clothes make a person lose control? And can it explain the fact that the perpetrator of sexual abuse is just “temporarily unable to control his instincts”? When I saw the images and information about this exhibition, I felt quite shocked and surprised, but at the same time I also realized that being sexually abused is not the victim’s fault, it is not the victim’s fault. It’s not because of the way they dress or behave, it’s about the inhumanity of the perpetrator, and we can’t blame the victim when how they dress is not the reason for someone else’s abuse. violate their human rights.

After hearing people discuss gender equality, I suddenly remembered that recently, there was a proposal that high school boys must also wear ao dai when going to school. And then there was a lot of controversy about whether that was a good thing. I have seen a lot of opinions that boys wearing ao dai is uncomfortable, cumbersome, and inconvenient because boys have to run, jump, and play while the weather is very hot. Not to mention, many people worry about budget issues when sewing an ao dai just to wear on the second day. However, if looked at from the opposite perspective, female students have preserved the tradition of wearing ao dai for quite a long time and it has become a part of school culture. There are also girls who like to have fun, like to run and jump. Many girls are willing to tie up their ao dai to participate in sports activities, so why can’t boys? Besides, many people believe that women’s personal hygiene is more “difficult” because of gender factors, but female students can still wear ao dai. I didn’t think much about this issue, however, after attending the Gender Talk session, I suddenly remembered this issue and realized that hidden deep in this controversy, there may be inequality in gender. gender. Because although wearing ao dai is probably a lot more inconvenient for girls due to physiological reasons every month, and they also have to bear a lot of clothing costs, they have kept this tradition for a long time and also praised the fact that high school girls wearing ao dai is a traditional beauty that needs to be preserved. But when someone proposed letting male students wear ao dai, which I feel is very good, very beautiful and a way to preserve our country’s traditions, there was such a big controversy, and many people , most of whom are male students, have given many reasons to justify why male students do not need to wear ao dai. And I asked myself why, when female students are forced to wear traditional ao dai every day, no one objects or gives such reasons? But it’s only when this is imposed on male students that people start arguing like this. Do the stronger sex always have more privileges than the weaker sex, even in the way they dress?

Gender Talk #7 left me not only with a lot of knowledge but also with many thoughts about life and gender inequality that I did not pay attention to before. I am very grateful to you and everyone in the organizing committee for creating such an enthusiastic, vibrant and useful discussion, helping us students have a more multi-dimensional view of life. I really hope to be able to attend the next Gender Talk on the topic of Vietnamese brides in Korea so that I can learn more new and more objective things.”

Pham Thi Kim Uyen – HSU student : “Today I want to send to the organizers a few things I like most at Gender Talk #7. After returning from Gender Talk #7, I felt very happy and felt very proud to be a student of Ms. Ngoc. She is the most modern-thinking lecturer I have ever met. I am really passionate about the most painful issue in society today, which is gender inequality. Until now, women have always been on the weaker side and people have always thought that women are both physically weak and weak in social position. As in the old days, women had to carry the burden of “three obediences, four virtues”, “publicity, speech and conduct”, always had to dress discreetly, and had to care too much about other people’s eyes looking at them. . Stemming from the inequality between men and women that exists in a male-dominated society, I realize that women suffer too much injustice when only considering the role of women without paying attention to their position. theirs in society. Up to now, they have always only seen the role of women as giving birth, taking care of children, doing housework, etc. but seem to have forgotten that deep within women there always exists such hidden strength. : ability, will and confidence can help society. Or judging a person by looking at their appearance, they always look at their hair, or the way they dress, or even their beauty to judge their personality and personality. Nowadays, people almost. Don’t use the word “weaker sex” to talk about women anymore, instead use the words “beauty” or even “iron woman”, because modern women are fighting, standing up to regain their dignity. equal for them. However, male-dominated thinking has been around for thousands of years, so completely eradicating that ideology is very difficult, so I am very grateful to speakers like Ms. Ngoc, she has brought a lot of lessons and knowledge. so that everyone at that Talk show, and especially the men in the audience, will also learn to appreciate the women around them more.

Next, I would like to talk about the topic that you also brought to me, which is how to dress appropriately. This is also an issue that I also need to learn a lot, and after going to your Talk show, I understand and know a lot more. For example, how to dress when going to school or the office. Go to the movies, go to the supermarket, go out in a reasonable way. And what I like best is when you mentioned that when you go to the office you can’t wear clogs that are more than three inches high and have to wear closed-toed shoes. I’ve never known about this issue, or how to tie a man’s tie. I really felt that spending time on the talk show that day was the right thing to do because I learned a lot from you and Mr. Chanh. 

I would like to continue talking about my feelings about Mr. Ho Trung Chanh’s part, that day he talked about the topic “who are you?”, how to discover yourself. Each of us should try to make ourselves different, just do what we like, try to study and work seriously to be able to build our own image. Personally, I really like it when I can know that every day I try, I become more confident, I become more daring, which is one of the ways to build my own image. Of course, each of us needs to learn theory to gain more knowledge and skills, but along with learning we also have to practice, which means we participate in extracurricular activities and volunteer activities. , go to talk shows… And a saying of Mr. Chanh that I really like is “Maybe a student who is good at studying is better than those who participate in a lot of extracurricular activities and talk shows” from which I learned a lesson. For yourself, try to be very active, don’t only get knowledge from theory but also get knowledge from action. Whatever language you learn, develop that language. Whatever talent you have, develop that talent. Whatever skill you have, develop that skill. Up until now, no one knows me because I haven’t built my image yet. I told myself to try really hard so that when Kim Uyen’s name is mentioned, everyone will know who I am. . Finally, I would like to sincerely thank Ms. Ngoc and Mr. Chanh for giving me useful knowledge and lessons. Thank you Ms. Ngoc for giving me so much fire and energy. I wish you lots of health and joy, and success in your career of growing people.”

Nguyen Thi My Hien – HSU student:  “After attending Gender Talk #7 – a very practical and useful academic activity for a student like me, because here I updated knowledge about Gender and Gender equality of the Department of Liberal Education and many other aspects. I find this Gender Talk topic very interesting. Through that, I gain a more multi-dimensional view of gender equality. The first content she presented was 100 years of feminist history through 10 women’s costumes. I think this is quite new and unique content because she used fashion history to share the development of dressing as well as the progress of women demanding equality.

With her second content “Why dressing professionally is important”, I was able to expand my understanding that before I was still very vague. I know that dressing professionally at work is very important because it creates the first impression on the other person when they first meet. However, the first impression is very difficult to fade and it gives us sympathy for the other person if we are meticulous in appearance, but if we are sloppy or not neat, then unfortunately that is a loss of sympathy and create a bad impression later. Within 30 seconds, people will make 5 comments about us, and those comments include: economic status, education level, social status, level of sophistication and level of success. Within 4 minutes, people will make judgments about: honesty, compassion, trustworthiness, intelligence, competence, humility, friendliness, confidence. And therefore, the way we dress is the way we “advertise or brand” ourselves. Finally, the third content is the content that gives me a lot of new knowledge, because before I did not know how to dress properly in places like the office environment. Thanks to her, I have been enlightened that I have to be meticulous from the smallest things like the height of the shoes, the length of the tie or the way the vest is tied.

Mr. Chanh’s presentation also helped me realize the importance of building a personal brand and image. That helps me realize that I have to pay more attention to how I dress, because right now, my every behavior and gesture is a brand in the eyes of others.

In addition, I felt that the Q&A discussion at the end of Gender Talk was very good and meaningful, the questions were very deep and close to us. Honestly, I find it very necessary in a talk show, very practical and gives each listener the opportunity to share their personal views. Everyone can discuss the everyday problems we encounter together. And the Gender Talk session has become a space for sharing and open discussion. I especially feel very interested in the discussions about why women are judged more harshly than men in matters of dress, as well as the deeper reasons why our parents Remind and control children’s clothing. Through that, I also realized some of the gender inequality, from the smallest things such as dress, behavior, attitude, manners, it seems that women always have to be discreet. , shy and must always “keep to themselves” in all situations, they must always be careful and can be scrutinized a lot by people around them.

Finally, Gender Talk #7 left me not only with a lot of knowledge but also with many thoughts about life and gender inequality that I had not thought about before. Because time didn’t allow, I had to sadly leave without being able to fully participate, I’m so sorry! Gender Talk is an academic activity that can be said to be very useful, practical and expands knowledge for Hoa Sen students and possibly many students from other schools. Gender Talk shares stories I have never heard and asked about. Gender Talk includes both academic knowledge and real-life stories. It can be said that this talk show is a place to inspire everyone, especially HSU students, to raise awareness about gender equality and promote a civilized, developed and sustainable society. I am very grateful to the teachers and everyone in the organizing committee for creating a “fiery” discussion as the MC said. Honestly, the talk show that day was also the first talk show I attended at Hoa Sen University. A very enthusiastic and exciting discussion, very useful, helped us have a multi-dimensional and deeper view in life. I really hope to be able to attend similar talk shows presented by Ms. Ngoc. I think other students also have the same expectations as me.”

Ho Ngoc Phuong Ly – HSU student majoring in Economics and Management : “My feelings about Gender Talk are fun, comfortable, meaningful and useful. Ms. Ngoc gave many extremely vivid images and examples so that I could clearly understand the problem. The teacher and teacher also created conditions for us to ask questions and answer them carefully. After the talk show, I learned how to dress professionally and why it is important, 100 histories of feminism explained through 10 women’s outfits, how to dress professionally at work, and how to How to dress professionally in business such as business professional and casual, etc. as well as how to impress employers or people around you with your first impression. All of the above knowledge and the discussion at the end have added a lot of practical knowledge for me to apply in life.

Huynh Mach Nha Ky studies in the Social Work class:  “After attending Gender Talk by teacher and teacher Ho Trung Chanh, I felt very interesting because this was the first talk show I attended. Thanks to the impressions left by this talk show, I am sure that I will continue to participate in the next talk shows to equip myself with knowledge as well as learn experiences and receive opinions from everyone. . When attending the Gender Talk session, I learned how to dress professionally at work, how to dress when going out at work, how to dress when shopping, and how to walk to be a person. Professional through her very specific way of conveying and describing. Thanks to attending Gender Talk, I have learned knowledge about professional fashion from which I will build a professional personal image. Thank you for inspiring me and sharing your useful experiences and knowledge with me. I sincerely thank you!”.

Giang Nha Linh : “Through the Gender Talk about how to dress professionally and how to build personal image, I found it extremely interesting and useful. Through the above talk show, I have understood how to dress appropriately for the situation, and how to coordinate clothes to be appreciated by others. Besides, I know more about the importance of building my own image. Everyone needs to change and improve from the smallest things and only from those accumulations can a good image be created. With the extremely detailed, profound and humorous presentation and explanation of the two teachers, it has also partly changed my perspective on how to dress. In the past, I thought that dressing any way was okay, it was mainly about my own ability and attitude. After the talk show, I thought differently. In fact, the way we dress and our image are just as important as the way we dress. other factors, because other people’s first impression of you is very difficult to fade and others will judge your appearance first. Therefore, through the Gender Talk session, I gained more experience and I think it is a very necessary part for me to later enter the working society.” 

Mr. Nguyen Van Thuan  – an audience member shared some thoughts about Gender Talk #7: “Interesting and realistic is the first feeling I noticed when I first attended Gender Talk #7. Topics to be discussed Presented are very practical and necessary not only for students but for anyone who wishes to improve themselves. Like dressing: Everyone thinks it’s simple, but it’s not simple if you want to become a professional, polite and beautiful person in the eyes of those around you. More importantly, the contents of gender, gender equality, or even human rights,… have been skillfully and naturally integrated into the presentations, shared stories, and even questions from the audience. I found that seemingly dry issues were successfully presented through these talks.”

Ly Thi Kim Phung: “Yesterday, January 27, 2021, I attended the Gender Talk session of Ms. Ngoc and Mr. Chanh. And after the exchange, I have the following comments and lessons: Regarding the topic of ‘Dress professionally’ by Ms. Ngoc: I feel she leads everyone with a gentle, humorous but sometimes harsh way of speaking. mentioned in strong matters. I learned how to use clothes properly in a professional working environment and this will help me improve myself and help me in my future work. Regarding the topic ‘Building a personal brand’ of Mr. Chanh: I also see that he has a humorous and fun way of talking. He gives specific examples of famous people so that everyone can understand what he is doing. What is it like to build an image for everyone and how important is it? Both topics aim to improve and develop each individual’s image to everyone, and that will create a good impression and a professional demeanor for us in the future. Both topics I feel are very useful and interesting. I hope both teachers will continue to conduct more discussions like this with many attractive and practical topics in life.”

Article: MSc Doan Thi Ngoc – lecturer of Faculty of Social Sciences – HSU
Photo: Vu Ngoc Manh