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Lesbian wearing suit for interviews?
Hey guys,
I was wondering what your thoughts are on women wearing men's suits for med school interviews. Or job interviews or research interviews, what have you. I am not feminine and I do not feel comfortable wearing skirts, heels, or things that accentuate my chest or waist/hips. However, I am not on the extreme end of the spectrum inhabited by ultra-masculine bull ****s. I would consider myself to have an androgynous look, meaning I pass for a young boy. My question is if it would be appropriate to wear a men's suit to an interview. Of course, I mean one that is well tailored, fitted, not the boxy thing that does not fit and looks like you stole it from your dad's closet. How the actual suit would look is not really important, I'm just wondering if the mere notion of a woman wearing a men's suit would be so scandalous that it could end up getting you rejected. If a clean, respectful, suited individual who looks like a boy sat down and you only found she was a girl when she spoke, would that be "Oh, ok." Or "Wha? A girl! Outrageous!" lol I have tried women's suits before but I have not found one I would wear. I am not trying to make a "statement". I am just wondering if I can be both comfortable and accepted. If in the end it would be either the suit or an admit, the suit would go. Thanks in advance for any responses. |
what about something like hillary clinton wears? It isn't too feminine.
I don't think you'll have a problem as long as it is fitted correctly. |
Have you seen how a pantsuit looks on you? I am not a fan of skirts myself, so I find them way more comfortable.
Also, I think you can wear flats to an interview as long as they are work-appropriate (dark, plain, leather or patent). You don't have to wear heels to interviews. :) As for men's suits, I don't really know how adcoms would react to it. Can't speak on that. But if it fits you well I don't see why not. |
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I guess, in the end, I have a favorable opinion of people who managed to get onto the adcom in the first place, and I don't think such a backwards notion of rejecting suits on women would gain much traction in their deliberations. I also don't think you'll ever be absolutely certain it's perfectly safe. Maybe you still want to wait and hear from actual adcom members though... |
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A shame? Probably. Illegal? No. You could have an interviewer who just doesn't like you, which could lead to a waitlist/rejection. The application process has many subjective parts (screening/interviewer/committee), hence why schools are so secretive about it. |
Lot's of women wear pantsuits, though I've only seen a few that wore suits with ties. I personally hate ties, but if I don't think that it's a problem if that's what you would feel most professional in.
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You feeling comfortable and professional is far more important than whether your suit came from the women's or men's section. I think that a properly tailored suit will be fine.
Adcoms are not fashion experts. |
To be safe, you should go with something like this:
http://www.history.org/history/museu...shionable1.jpg Best, C |
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The thing with a Hilary suit is that it's still a woman's suit. I don't know what it is about men's suits that's special. I like the crisp-ness, the tie, how you look sharp and well put together. For me, there's a difference between a man's suit and a manly suit. What Hilary was wearing, it's like a woman who's manly, not a man who's...womanly? No, that's not it at all. It's like, a woman who has long hair and is womanly and does the woman things, but just happens to wear flannel and baggy jeans, instead of a woman who looks, acts, dresses like a man. Short hair, no makeup, short nails, big watch etc. Like this: http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/lNp6bRUI_SE/0.jpg I dunno, am I trans? Dude, this was just supposed to be a simple question, not make me question my identity... lol :laugh: Basically, I guess the new revised question would be: How would adcoms react if your outward appearance does not reflect your biological gender? |
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My advice would be to suck it up and wear something somewhat feminine for your interviews. In an ideal world, you could wear whatever you want, but many people are subconsciously prejudice and may take offense to a woman wearing a man's suit. This will only be for a few instances, and you will avoid any potential disadvantages you may face.
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No one will clearly out right reject you because they feel what you were wearing was inappropriate from their own personal views. But you would be surprised how much psychology is involved in the interview process, why would you even take the chance? Just bite the bullet this one time and once you get in you can wear men's suites as much as you want.
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I saw plenty of women in pants suits. Get a mans pants suit. Wear a button down shirt with it, just dont wear the tie. I saw this on more than one occasion. The tie itself is going a little bit far I think, and you probably wont come across as too casual without it as a biological female lol. Personally, I see no problem in other situations with the tie+mans suit, but medical school admissions committees tend to be old white and conservative, and although you wouldnt want to mask your identity/change who you are just to get into a school (because then whats the point, you want a school that wants you as you are) but you dont want them to completely dismiss you without hearing you first.
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Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD |
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I plan on wearing a suit (womens), but like others have pointed out, itf*cking sucks, but ADCOMs may look at you as your patients would look at you :( I disagree with others, I think, dress in what you are comfortable in. Because, from experience, people can tell when you are dressed uncomfortably and it can mess up the rest of your interview. |
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I basically look like this: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XO5h6nGI1l...paio+liang.jpg Probably not that cute though...:p |
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I don't think it's wise for a girl to wear a man's suit. Clothes are made to be sex-specific. Any man wearing a woman's jacket will look "off" (e.g. weird shoulder/waist proportions). Likewise, men's suits will look unnatural on a girl. Besides proportions, it's easy to tell whether a jacket or pants are mens or womens. You may be able to pass as a boy, but you don't want your interviewers to be confused. If your name is a girl's name, don't contradict that image by wearing men's clothing.
I'm sure there are options for women in your situation, though. |
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Oh wow... Yeah you did say a little boy, but to me, when I see a caucasian woman who looks like a "little boy" I think more pixie versus my asian female friends who have that "little tom boy" look down. If you are trying to go with the adrogenous look, certainly get a similar suit. You may even be able to have one customed. Remember there are pros and cons. But I guess the way I look at it, would you want to go to a school that would accept you for you anyway? |
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You could probably find a good women's pant suit that isn't particularly feminine and wear a tie with it if you wanted. Something like this maybe?: http://www.bluefly.com/Tahari-ASL-bl...501/detail.fly
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I am all in favor of wearing whatever fits you well and feels good to you. However, I think a lot of women's pantsuits nowadays do have a more "masculine" look to them, so to be on the safe side, I'd look at both options when you're shopping for clothes. You don't want your clothing detracting from how awesome of an applicant you are, even if it means not looking yourself for a few hours.
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I don't think anyone will be able to tell a difference between a woman's pantsuit and a man's suit, especially if you're planning on getting it well tailored. As one of the posters above me said, it's only the proportions that differ (i.e. drop, lapel width, etc). All of that is thrown out with the assumption that you're getting it tailored.
Just one heads up to look for, make sure to have the break of the pants (i.e. the slight bend that occurs right above the shoe) tailored for flats. Just remember that it's usually cut for a dress shoe (i.e. captoe) so it's designed to cover some of the laces. That cut would look ridiculous with a flat since it'll be too long. Good luck |
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Like someone else said, don't make waves. Could you get in wearing men's clothing to an interview?...probably, if your stats are ok and you are personable. But why risk it at this point. Medicine is, on a whole, a rather conservative bunch of people. I remember one of my interviewers was like a deacon at his church or something. I would say play the game, do what you need to do to get in, then just do whatever you are most comfortable with after that.
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Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. |
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That's why I'm asking now, if I should even get one, because I'm going back this summer. |
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Now tweak that scenario a bit for my case. I guarantee you there are plenty of pre-meds who experience some degree of gender ambiguity. |
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That said, in professional situations one does not simply flip societal norms the bird. And there's a huge difference. I am a dude, and if I wear women's clothing it'll look very strange. But if your friend wears men's clothing for a day at a time (per interview), nobody will notice anything off. In all sincerity, is it that uncomfortable for him? |
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I'm also a lesbian that prefers to wear men's clothes and had the same dilemma when I interviewed. I was concerned about the conservative mood, so I opted to go with a woman's suit. I wore it with a sweater underneath to avoid the tie dilemma. A classmate (who interviewed with me) and I have since had a good chuckle recalling how awkward I looked. But I got in, so all is well.
If I had to do it over, I would have worn a men's suit. I think I would have been more comfortable. I had been concerned about the conservative climate, but I think I was more worried than anyone else was. For what it's worth, I now wear all men's clothes (including ties sometimes) in clinical situations. No one has cared so far. I can't tell you it wouldn't matter in some places, but I don't think anyone would care at my school. |
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