Another S/O the ball: Woman SM's & uniforms

SoftSpot

Do you think women who are the SM should have to wear their uniform to their unit's ball?

 

Yes. No special dressing allowed just because you have a vagina.

kyrgyzstan

Of course! I'm not even down for the changing after the ceremony before the dancing. The boys don't change.

Of course, if I get in, I'm wearing that thing every chance I get. Weddings, etc.

Beachy730

Yes, I absolutely think they should have to wear it.  However, if they have the option not to wear it, then men should have that option as well.  

iluvmytxrgr

Everyone should have to wear their uniform.  My vag didn't get me special treatment while on duty.  It shouldn't get me special treatment durring a formal event. 

meltoine

Lace&Josh:

 

Yes. No special dressing allowed just because you have a vagina. 

Agreed.  

shan87

I know for our ball a lot of the female officers in H's squad didn't go because they didn't want to wear their mess dress.

Part of me feels bad because the female mess dress/blues are not very flattering (at least for AF). But I think what it stands for, and the pride one gets from wearing it -- should outweigh the actual look. I don't have to do sh!t to wear a ball gown, except shell out some $. KWIM?

mrsredrox

meltoine:

Lace&Josh:

 

Yes. No special dressing allowed just because you have a vagina. 

Agreed.  

 

Yup! 

kyrgyzstan

shan87:

I know for our ball a lot of the female officers in H's squad didn't go because they didn't want to wear their mess dress.

Part of me feels bad because the female mess dress/blues are not very flattering (at least for AF). But I think what it stands for, and the pride one gets from wearing it -- should outweigh the actual look. I don't have to do sh!t to wear a ball gown, except shell out some $. KWIM?

Ojo wore hers in my wedding, and I thought she looked great! But I totally agree on the pride aspect.  

Sibil

Well, the female uniforms are pretty hideous.  My friends don't feel at all attractive in theirs, and I can understand wanting to look good at a formal event.  The guys are all considered hot in mess dress, but the women are frumpy.  It's kind of a big mental discrepancy.

That said, them's the breaks.  No special vag treatment.  I'm just sympathetic to the whines  

tjenbell

One of the things I miss most about being in the military is my uniform (stupid, I know, but I earned that unform!). When I was in, I always wished I could wear a ball gown to formal events, but now I miss wearing the uniform to events. And yes, I agree -- everyone should have to wear their uniform, regardless of gender.

Amaristella

At past events I've seen females in DH's classes wear theirs. Most of them omit the hideous (optional) tiara and they look just fine. The dark yellow cummerbund looks no better on the women than it does on the men, but that's a trouble that they all share.

 

SoftSpot

I'm glad that there are at least 9 women who have the same (sane) opinion on this as I do. I know far too many SM's IRL that think they should be exempt.

Dancer6978

As an active-duty Air Force officer, I couldn't give two hoots about it. There is waaaay too much opinion over something that is trivial.  And FWIW, I work at the tri-service base (there's only one -- figure it out), and all service women were officially allowed to wear gowns at this year's Navy ball, no matter the service or rank.  We did it last year, too.  It was great, I have zero regret, and I am no less committed to the military because I did it.  :P

SoftSpot

Dancer6978:

As an active-duty Air Force officer, I couldn't give two hoots about it. There is waaaay too much opinion over something that is trivial.  And FWIW, I work at the tri-service base (there's only one -- figure it out), and all service women were officially allowed to wear gowns at this year's Navy ball, no matter the service or rank.  We did it last year, too.  It was great, I have zero regret, and I am no less committed to the military because I did it.  :P

I don't think anyone said it makes a woman less committed, but why the special privileges? I just don't get it. 

kyrgyzstan

Dancer6978:

As an active-duty Air Force officer, I couldn't give two hoots about it. There is waaaay too much opinion over something that is trivial.  And FWIW, I work at the tri-service base (there's only one -- figure it out), and all service women were officially allowed to wear gowns at this year's Navy ball, no matter the service or rank.  We did it last year, too.  It was great, I have zero regret, and I am no less committed to the military because I did it.  :P

So did the guys get to wear tuxes? Every time I've seen female Marines change after the ceremony part of the ball, the males have grumbled about it. I would prefer not to give guys a reason to see their female counterparts even more differently than they already do. If I get in, I don't want to give my Marines any reason to see me as more privileged or special than they are based only on sex. RHIP, maybe, but S[ex]HIP? No thanks.  

MrsOjoButtons

Camouflage is far less flattering than mess dress, but I still wear it when it's expected because the point isn't to look attractive, but to make us uniform. I understood when I enlisted that I'd have to wear a uniform, so I have no problem doing so.

BLT20051

For me it depends. The ball we're going to next weekend I was told not to come in uniform by my command because it's a change of command/senior leader conference that my husband is attending. That particular event, I will be his wife, not an NCO. Otherwise, yes, I'd wear it.

 

ETA - And yes for our balls, guys can wear tuxes if their command excuses them from their uniform. 

Audette

I actually don't really care.  It's not something I've spent much time thinking about.  Obviously, if the command puts out directives on what should be worn, servicemembers should follow that.  As a guest at a ball, it helps me figure out who the servicemembers are, but other than that, I don't see a lot of difference between it.

 

But, I've had no desire, intent, or experience in wearing such a uniform, so my opinion really shouldn't matter much, anyways...

Dancer6978

The military is inherently unfair, my friends.  You have men going into combat-focused career fields who can't meet the higher level of PT standards that those specific AFSCs/MOSs require; you have women who do meet those standards but aren't allowed into combat (officially, that is).  You have folks who are legally married but cannot receive spousal pay rates because of the DOMA (but that's another can of worms). I think it's more productive to turn my energy to issues like that than to worry about mess dress.  I honestly have no idea why it was officially sanctioned for women to wear gowns.  If men have a problem with it, they need to speak up and push it through the normal chain-of-command channels.  Do I expect to be able to wear a civilian gown just because I'm a woman? Not at all. Not saying it's fair; however, I'm not going to the IG over it.