While females in the country are recognized as having equal legal rights to men, Japan is known for their sexist rules against women in their country.
From mandatory high heels to a recent ban on eyeglasses, Japanese women are pushing back against restrictive dress codes in the working environment.
As per a recent report, Japanese female employees have been asked to wear contact lenses instead of eyeglasses so to match the “beauty” standard set for the women at workplaces. The women, however, won’t stay silent on this development and will fight against the ban.
“Don’t tell us what to wear,” Japanese women frustrated by the strict workplace dress codes took to Twitter to voice their displeasure.
Some of the media reports stated that some companies had banned the eyewear for women for various reasons. Some retail chains stated that eyeglasses give a “cold impression” to female shop assistants. Other reasons cited included safety for airline workers and being able to clearly see makeup for beauty industry workers.
While there was also a media report which stated that men are allowed to wear sunglasses at work.
Voice Against Glasses Ban are as follows:
#メガネ禁止 (Ban on Eyeglasses) is trending. It’s about workplaces where women are made to wear contacts for better appearance. This reminds me of #KuToo movement against “obligatory high heels”. No more item-by-item debates. Let’s go comprehensive with #Dont_Tell_Us_What_To_Wear
— Yuuki (@ore_english) November 6, 2019
Glasses ban?! ? yet another way for the archaic patriarchy to continue… female four – eyes of the world, unite!
— V. Marriah Kennedy (@VMarriah) November 8, 2019
However, It is not clear whether the ban was based on company policies or instead reflected what was socially accepted practice in those workplaces.