Johnson-Walker 1

Fayth Johnson-Walker

Lindsey Slanker

ENG 1201.J01: English Composition II

07 Sept 2019

What Makes Someone Professional?

SECTION I:

Professionalism really strikes me. Growing up, the only people I thought had a great job

was the people in suits or the males in yellow reflector jackets and steel boots. I was recenting

attending an internship with Clothes That Work and my peers and I were taught about ̈ proper

dress ̈ for the workplace. I felt like it was an outstanding class, but something caused me to think

on a wider spectrum: does me being African American and a female change what I am allowed

to wear? This topic can be very controversial if you ask the correct questions. In my Creative

Writing class the thought of what professionalism looks like based off race was again brought

up. I want to explore more about this topic because it pin points different types of discrimination

the average citizen ignores. I was once told that because I wore light blue jeans and a leather

jacket to an interview it made me less likely to receive the job I applied for. It bothered me

because I was underestimated and placed on a platform where the expectations for me were the

same as everyone else's around me. I want to explore why does the casual dressing determines

one's work effic.

SECTION II:

My emotions for this topic widens. In a way, this is good because it allows me to argue

and understand all ends of the conversation. I do feel like there are things you should not wear in

certain environments, like shorts, tank tops, short dresses, and more. Before I started researching
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and finding people's opinions on this topic, I thought that it was only one opinion: that doing

more is better than less. This means that always wearing suits is better than jeans, wearing a

blouse is better than a T-Shirt, and ̈appropriate ̈ heels is better than gym shoes. However, this

only changes one's appearance, not their ability to conduct well in their work environment. I do

believe that most people allow societal expectations get in the way of what is accepted. Due to

societal expectations it's hard to persuade an individual on what they could wear because it is

already planned out for them. I already knew that your attitude and personality plays into your

level of professionalism and how serious a boss may take you. On the other hand, I feel my

apparel does not define this.

SECTION III:

I plan to learn more about the history of professionalism and where it originated from. I

would love to explore the reasoning on why it was created and who created the pants and suit

theory. My process is to look up the definition, the roots, what was the first professional look,

what race it applied to most, and more.

- What race is seen to be most professional? Why?

- What gender is most likely to be seen as a professional in the workplace? Why?