‘You'll Get Good Tips Tonight’: An Analysis of Gendered Appearance Codes in the Australian Service Sector

Abstract

In some occupations, employers impose gendered appearance requirements on their employees. In this paper we present the findings of a small sample of Australian service industry workers subject to such requirements. We analyse these empirical findings to evaluate competing proposals in the literature for how to combat the material and other harms entailed by gendered appearance codes. We argue that the findings suggest that in the Australian context, these codes and the anachronistic norms that underpin them should be resisted across multiple fronts, including in employment and anti-discrimination law reform but also other sites of gender normalisation such as the media, schools and other institutions.

Keywords: gender, dress codes, feminist analysis

JEL Classification: K19, K39, K49