
Having recently changed my About.me background image, http://about.me/FTLangela. I decided to canvass several friends on the appropriateness of the picture. Does it send the wrong signal? Does it make me less professional? Will I lose credibility by showing this picture on my blog as opposed to a dating site? Will some lunatic stalk me?
I was simply trying to create an attractive and pleasant experience for my viewers. Creating a website is not an easy task despite the existence of wonderful themes; and mine is still not perfect.
Despite not practicing medicine anymore, or being religious, those pesky unwritten rules continue to guide my behavior. After retiring from medicine, it took a couple of years before I realized I could just be me.
So I now release myself from any decorum that is not aligned with who I am. To not do so would violate another golden rule of mine: It’s none of my business what other’s think of me. So why should I care?
However, that last question lingered, stirring deep thoughts revolving around dress codes for men and women. A man in a suit is appropriately dressed for anything except possibly the beach; a woman is not as fortunate. We have to manage our clothes like a business. It’s really all about appearance. People do judge a book by its cover! Fortunately, that is no longer my problem.
And thanks to Sheryl Sandberg’s new book, Lean In, I can rant about the pressure and unfairness of dress codes for professional women.