Is masking the real you unethical?
December 15, 2013
By: Gina Yoryet Roman
As of lately I’ve been doing a lot of writing but not necessarily the type I want. I am taking this TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) which requires a lot of analyzing case studies and writing a response essay.
Today I bumped into this very interesting one that reminded me about a post a wrote on May 8, 2012, “It doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice,” by Deng Xiaoping's
Essay question:
In the professional world, people often "dress for success." They wear expensive suits and ties to give the impression that they are confident and powerful. High school and college students often dress to give the impression that they are "hip" or fashionable. When is it unethical to dress in a manner that masks the real you? Explain by using an example from your own experiences.
I have lived in Guadalajara Jalisco for the past 9.5 years and teach at the American School Foundation of Jalisco.
The American School is a public system in the United States, unlike here.
ASFG is for a very exclusive upper class group in which competition is a constant factor in everyone's mind.
I have always disliked this behavior because people are always pretending to be something they are not.
The middle (the working) class is always buying more than they can afford; clothes, trips, electronics, shoes, apartments, houses, fine dining, etc. They spend more than what they make and end up in huge debt.
‘According to 'Lingerie, iPads: Mexican kid-free couples fuel high-end boom,'
BY ALEXANDRA ALPER AND ELINOR COMLAY
MEXICO CITY, July 14 Sun Jul 14, 2013 7:59am EDT,
Mexico is a third world country with first class taste because everyone wants to fit it.
As for me, I did modeling work for about five or six years. Every time we got our makeup done, I had to tell the makeup artist to keep it very natural and to use a lot of makeup. The same thing with the outfits we got.
At the beginning it was very 'cool,' to experience the feeling of being praised, but as time progressed, I ended up feeling more empty and sad.
Deep down, all the girls concealed our real selves only to feel momentarily which in the end opened a wider gap of solitude.
Every event that we attended, there were always people who looked up to us and wanted to take pictures with us led to the thought that we were superior beings when in reality we were not. We were also invited to VIP events where we didn't have to pay anything just because all the men that we were invited by, wanted to be surrounded by thin and ‘beautiful’ girls.
In the end, I opted leaving that superficial job because it didn't befit the person I've always been. I have never liked to masquerade myself.
Now that I teach, I feel a lot more useful and self-fulfilled.
I like to go by Deng Xiaoping's principle, "It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white,
so long as it catches mice."
2 comments:
I would like to thank you for sharing this response… I am currently enrolled in the same TESOL course, my instructor is Sandra Fallon and I was given the same question… and it rubbed me the wrong way for some reason… I would love to share my response to the question in hopes to help others who search for help like I did. I found your response helpful while writing mine. Thank you.
My response….
“First, I believe we need to define what “unethical” means. I will be using the definition found on Dictionary.com which is defined as the following:
unethical: adjective
1. lacking moral principles; unwilling to adhere to proper rules of conduct.
2. not in accord with the standards of a profession.
When is it unethical to dress in a manner that masks the real you?
When someone knows the rules or dress codes and then still dresses out of conduct, their behavior would be unethical. For example, if someone such as a teacher were to show up to class in dirty and ripped jeans, a stained shirt, and unclean hair they would be presenting themselves unethically. They would also be representing themselves as if they do not care about their profession, themselves, or their students and coworkers. The teacher is to dress in a way that says something positive about themselves, their position, and their passion for their career.
In this sense, I can not think of a moment it would be ethical to dress in a manner that would mask the real you. Masking who you are seems unethical from the start. I do, however, believe that it is ethical to dress according to your situation and/or surroundings, just as long as you are not compromising professional standards, your beliefs, or your morals principles, even if the clothing choices may not necessarily represent your true style or personality one-hundred percent. For example, I may not wear a formal dress everyday, but it would be inappropriate to show up at a wedding without some sort of formal wear, since they are formal occasions. Therefore, just because you are dressing differently than normal does not necessarily mean it is unethical.
The only time I think that dressing to mask yourself becomes unethical is when you compromise your beliefs and morals principles. Such as a teenager in school that thinks she needs to dress inappropriately to fit in, feel popular, or perhaps get more attention. I think younger women are most affected by this in our current society because of all the pressure to have popularity, a sex appeal, and attention from the opposite sex at such a young age.
Also, It would be unethical to dress as a police officer and try to arrest someone when you are clearly not a police officer. Or it would be unethical to dress in a business suit going door to door trying to sell a product that would never be mailed just to get some money. By dressing in these uniforms or suits you are masking yourself in order to put off a certain vibe about yourself to gain trust or respect where it is not due, this is unethical. However, this does not mean that dressing nicely for a job interview or a job you hold is unethical, I believe that shows respect for the people you do business with and the people you work with.
Explain by using an example from your own experiences.
I can not think of a time that I, myself, was unethical in my clothing choice. Being a highly modest person I am always conscious of my clothing choices and do not believe that I have ever compromised my moral principles or beliefs because of my clothing. Therefore, I can not share from a first hand, personal experience.”
Thank you both for sharing your answers. It's been very helpful! :)
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