Distracted by Arm Flab

I’ve been thinking about how we, as professional women, can look more…..professional.  I’m talking about upper arm flab. No kidding. I’ve been to several events lately where women in positions of respect and responsibility were wearing sleeveless dresses or shirts.  I found myself being pre-occupied with how much time perhaps they spent at the gym or how much time they SHOULD be spending at the gym because if they were spending much time there it certainly didn’t show.  

I wonder if other people have had the same thoughts? Has arm flab ever distracted you from paying attention to what someone was saying? How about a flamboyant suit?  I remember awhile back spending a lot of time in court. What was interesting was the difference between male attorneys and female attorneys. The men were terribly predictable in dark suits and ties. The women were all over the map. Some looked like they were trying very hard not to look like they were actually in court. Others looked like they were trying to draw attention to themselves with their wildly colorful choice of suits.  

I mentioned this to another attorney friend who is male. He got downright defensive over it because he felt like the women got special privileges that the men didn’t. But, I wondered if women realized that their choice of suit could distract from what they were actually saying.  Take the phrase, “your actions speak louder than your words” to a new level. How about, “your clothes speak louder than your words”?  I guess there is an argument to be made for wearing the boring dark, basic colored suit. People may pay more attention to what you are saying and less attention to what you are wearing though sometimes we women want to stand out and have people take notice.  

And then I wondered if I was being sexist because, of course, we are talking about professional women. If  I saw a professional man who had on a sleeveless shirt, or even a wild suit, would I think the same thing?  “Gee, maybe he should spend more time at the gym” or “I can tell he spends a lot of time at the gym. Maybe he should spend more time on his profession!” But, then I realized that professional men don’t wear sleeveless shirts.  Could you imagine a professional man wearing a tank top? How funny that would look!  Or maybe we just haven’t seen enough of them. 

What do you think about our double standards?  Are you for them?  Against them?