Sociocultural Approaches to Linguistics

Abstract

In early December 2006, I found myself in conversation with Marianne (a core member of the Sapphic Stompers, introduced in Section 1.1.1). We were talking about Christmas events at our respective workplaces, telling one another about the parties that had been planned. As she told me about what was scheduled at her workplace, she stated that she was often uncomfortable at such events because she never knew what to wear. She described the other women in her firm as wearing party dresses and high heels, whereas she would never be comfortable in such attire. She presented the dress and heels combination as an expected uniform for such events, and herself as standing out as different in her trousers and shirts. It was apparent that Marianne did not expect this to be much of a revelation to me; indeed, I shared her experience and offered examples of similar situations that I had found myself in.