📘 Part 3: Uniform

This episode's vocabulary

Pretence (noun) - a way of behaving that is intended to deceive people.

Uniformity (noun) - the quality or fact of being the same, or of not changing or being different in any way.

Equality (noun) - the right of different groups of people to have a similar social position and receive the same treatment.

Outsider (noun) - a person who is not involved with a particular group of people or organization or who does not live in a particular place.

(as) long as your arm (idiom) - very long.

Pretentious (adj.) - trying to appear or sound more important or clever than you are, especially in matters of art and literature.

Bizarre (adj.) - very strange and unusual.

To conform (verb) - to behave according to the usual standards of behaviour that are expected by a group or society.

Net positive (noun) - overall positive impact.

Command chain (noun) - the way that people with authority in an organization, especially in the military, are ranked, from the person with the most authority to the next one below, and so on.

Disruptive (adj.) - causing trouble and therefore stopping something from continuing as usual.

Uncodified (adj.) - not arranged into a formal written system.

Appropriacy (noun) - the extent to which something is suitable or proper in the circumstances.

Excessive (adj.) - too much.

Account for something (phrasal verb) - if you can account for something, you can explain it or give the necessary information about it.

To mark out something/someone (phrasal verb) - make something/someone stand out.

To adhere (verb) - to stick firmly.

With a fine-tooth comb (phrase) - if you go through something with a fine-tooth comb, you examine it in great detail and with great care.

Questions and Answers

M: Should students wear school uniforms?

R: No. This pretence of uniformity and equality is just something invented for parents and teachers, really. It's a relic of the past. And it didn't even work then for the reasons that I mentioned before when I was talking in part two.

M: What are the advantages and disadvantages of uniforms?

R: I suppose that there's one advantage. And that would be that there is some security in having students wearing the same thing, so you can spot outsiders who do not belong. But there are other ways to do that. As for the downsides, the list is as long as my arm. It's pretentious and unrealistic. And very few workplaces need a uniform. Like those in schools these days, for example. So I don't see the point in having them. They serve no purpose.

M: Do you think wearing a uniform in schools has a positive or negative effect on students?

R: It might, might be good for the ones that readily accept the bizarre system of rules and are happy to conform. But they would be doing that anyway, regardless of the clothes they had on. Otherwise, I wouldn't say it's a net positive, to be honest. People will always wear uniforms differently. And there are usually even better and different uniforms for people who meet certain criteria. So it's ultimately not even about equality.

M: Where are uniforms important?

R: I think in the military and the police forces, it's important to be able to readily identify who's in charge. And the emergency services might have a command chain as well. And they probably need to be recognized anyway. Some uniforms are also important for safety, like the ones which firefighters wear. So it's helpful in those contexts, for those purposes.

M: What clothes should people wear at work?

R: Oh, whatever they like, provided it's appropriate for the context. I mean, I can't imagine a pair of jeans being a big issue for most office workers to wear since they're minimally disruptive. The exceptions would be those I already mentioned for the reasons I said. But most of the time, it's not a big deal.

M: What do you think is the future of uniforms and dress codes?

R: Well, assuming there isn't some disaster that requires society to militarize, they'll probably go the way of the dinosaurs in most places. There might be certain uncodified rules about appropriacy. But you don't need a handbook for every little thing you wear. It's just excessive. I mean, especially in multicultural societies where you can't account for differences and dress so easily.

M: How do dress codes in the workplace impact employees?

R: I think that depends on where they work, really. I suppose it could mark out managers from general employees provided they wear a different dress. It could also prevent misunderstandings, assuming everyone adheres to the codes, though not everyone does 100%. I've heard a theory that it enforces a sort of social hierarchy. But I've yet to see any evidence of that.

M: Should companies enforce strict dress codes?

R: I don't see how they can, to be honest, unless they want to employ an army of lawyers to go over them with a fine-tooth comb. The more any organization squeezes in those terms, the more likely people are to slip up by accident, or just outright resist the glaring intrusion into something as personal as dress. It just doesn't seem practical in the long term, or at all.

M: And have uniforms changed over the years?

R: Possibly the material they use, but the underlying principle of them, no.