Introduction
"Put your best foot forward". This saying has been around for many of years but in todays day and age the follow up question on everyone's mind is "What is that foot wearing?" Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, Yves Saint Laurent, or Lavin, all designers that literally allow you to put your best foot forward. In a lucrative position such as being a lawyer in the courtroom, perception is everything. You are constantly being observed by the jurors, the judge, and even other attorneys, so being at your best is imperative. This being said, women in a male dominated field such as being a lawyer in the courtroom have to set a standard that will make them be noticed and taken seriously. But can't you do that in Calvin Klein or a non name brand? In my research I want to unveil the sexist standard that is put on women in terms of their appearance in the courtroom. By interviewing female law students and using "Beyond a reasonable doubt: One size does not fit all when it comes to courtroom attire for women" by Maureen A Howard I hope to show that there is an unrealistic expectation of how a woman has to dress in order to be perceived as confident and taken seriously in all aspects when in a court room. I will further solidify this statement in showing the correlation between how a current female law student think she has to dress and what research has already discovered. In addition I will also show through the similarity of a current female law students views and current published research, how fashion choice can impact the credibility of a female lawyer in the courtroom. In doing so I will ask the question, in the courtroom is it more important to be true to yourself or to address the opinions of other courtroom officials such as, jurors, judges, other attorneys, etc. discovering how courtroom assumptions on women's fashion choice affect the female lawyer herself and the presumptions made in the court room?
Literature Review
Using "Beyond a reasonable doubt: One size does not fit all when it comes to courtroom attire for women" by Maureen A Howard I hope to show that there is an unrealistic expectation of how a woman have to dress in order to be perceived as confident and taken seriously in all aspects when in a court room.
Howard talks about how there are different types of female lawyers. Each type of lawyer has to understand herself and her attire, in understanding herself and committing to it, the lawyer also has to understand that that means she has been typed. In being typed it implies when doing one thing you cannot do the other, committing to one type is at the discretion of the attorney but the lawyer has an audience and has to appease them. I becomes a moral dilemma between staying to oneself and their chosen style and addressing and submitting to the reality that you are judged on your appearance.
Summarise the article
Methods
By using the opinions of the future female lawyers to address these questions, it will hopefully open the eyes of these attorneys and allow for them to make a difference and possible change their habits. The double standard place upon women in power, especially those in chosen supposed male dominated fields, is ultimately holding back women's potential in the hopes of reaching true equality in all aspects including the work force. Women to this day are still paid 77 cents on the dollar in comparison to a man, with the addition of that lesser salary, they additionally have to focus on the sexism that is associated with fashion choices and how a woman is perceived based upon their appearance. Women are at a clear disadvantage. This analysis will hopefully allow for the clarity and justify the need for change that is necessary in order to create equality, at least in the terms of clothing and staying true to your own style, for women in the courtroom.
How data was collected
Interview protocol
Questions asked
Analysis of research source
Category's of Analysis:
Analysis of the lawyers/ law students own clothing, hair, accessories, body type
in the courtroom and in leisure time
(may also look at how ethnicity plays into how a woman should dress)
What a female law student perceives the role of a female lawyer should be in the court room
Do you think a woman who is "put together, has it together"
Is a woman who wears more expensive clothes "Worth" more
or
Dose more attention to appearance mean less attention to work and ethic
A lawyer's relationship to the case
Is it something they are passionate about
Is the judge preferential to a certain dress... should that affect how the lawyer dresses
Is the case something that needs to be looked at in a certain light
is it an abuse case
is it a case that concerns at trial
Look at what law student thinks in terms of how she should dress
from ones own experience have they experienced anything similar to the situations discussed
how has it effected the person
if you could wear what you wanted would you
Data Analysis
Kacey: a lot of the women I see down here are kind of big so they wear what I call church suits[N31]
Kacey: they're kind of outdated and not really form fitting
Kacey: but back home I see more modern looking suits although occasionally you see lawyers wearing the inappropriate sexy professional clothes[N32]
[N32]Defines her different classifications of dress that she has observed a female wear
Interviewer: What does that tell you about them from first impression ?
Kacey: well
Kacey: first impression is everything
Kacey: especially in the court room
Interviewer: What do you mean by that
The participant distinguishes between a woman and a lawyer …Are they not the same thing, is the same thing defined in terms of men?
Kacey: so if you have high heels shiny nails nice hair it automatically makes people think less of you
Interviewer: Oh really? why do you think that is?
Acknowledges an issue effecting society and in a way comes across as ok with it yet disappointed at the same time
Participant provides a topic of discourse for the legal community
Interviewer: Can you give me an example? Do have a personal story or know of an instance where the "sexism" or a "boy's club" was apparent?
Kacey: Sure
Kacey: an a older white gentleman about 20-30 yrs my senior would often look straight at my breasts or legs while I was speaking to him
Kacey: or would make comments about the "ladies's room" and how I got there because of my smile or my looks[N36]
This story is about her seeing people identify with her sexuality and how if she dresses a certain way it gives males permission to dismiss her
Her presences is about her sexuality not her brain mind body
Interviewer: Do you think that your fashion choices may have been a factor in those instances ?
Kacey: absolutely
Interviewer: How so?
Kacey: At the time I was in college and had the pink fingernails and the tighter clothes and I think that was it[N37]
Participant identifies with one of the category’s that she was in the past (inappropriate) refers back to comment 22 in how her appearance made her once be looked at in a certain way and not taken seriously
She began to notice she wanted to be taken seriously
Discussion
what the paper is saying how it reflects in respects to the analysis of the transcript
Conclusion
References
Alias, K. (2013, November 19). Womens Fashion in the courtroom [E-mail interview].
Howard, M. A. (2009/10). Beyond a reasonable doubt: One size does not fit all when it comes to courtroom attire for women. Heinonline Law Journal Library. Retrieved from http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/gonlr45
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