12 Aug 2007, ST
To test how far a woman should go in exposing her cleavage in the workplace, I embarked on a 'social experiment' last week
By Sumiko Tan
I'M NOT what you'd call repressed or a prude, but I do think a woman should not show off her cleavage when she's at work.
It's distracting to male colleagues, offensive to fellow females, and it just makes you appear unprofessional.
But let me clarify that by cleavage I mean those heaving, in-your-face Gong Li ones as seen in the recent Zhang Yimou film, Curse Of The Golden Flower.
If it's just a sliver of a valley caused by the bunching up of the intermammary sulcus (which I found out is the anatomical term for the area between the breasts), well, it happens to the best of us.
The reason I'm writing about this is the media flap caused by Hillary Clinton's cleavage.
Last month, Washington Post fashion writer Robin Givhan wrote a column about how Mrs Clinton had appeared in the Senate wearing a rose-coloured blazer over a black top.
'The neckline sat low on her chest and had a subtle V-shape... There wasn't an unseemly amount of cleavage showing, but there it was. Undeniable,' she said.
Givhan went on to discuss Mrs Clinton's style choices over the years (nothing remotely sexy), and wondered if the show of cleavage was the presidential hopeful's 'request to be engaged in a particular way'.
She concluded: 'To display cleavage in a setting that does not involve cocktails and hors d'oeuvres is a provocation.'
Not surprisingly, howls of protest followed. Readers said it was insulting to Mrs Clinton to be discussing her breasts; women were outraged by how females were once again being objectified (do body parts of male politicians wearing tight pants ever get scrutinised?)
It all made interesting reading and got me wondering: How far should a woman go in exposing her cleavage in the workplace?
I DID a straw poll of men and women in my office.
Of the six women I asked, all said that what Mrs Clinton wore was perfectly acceptable at work.
'The flash of cleavage strikes me as more of a genuine wardrobe malfunction - or lack of a decent stylist - than any sudden deliberate move to show a softer, more feminine side of Mrs Clinton... unless she was giving an early V for Victory signal for her electoral campaign,' one quipped.
On what should be permissible in the office, two felt that women should always dress modestly, while four said that exposing a hint of cleavage was fine.
'Accidental' exposure - like when a woman stoops down to pick up something - can be 'quite sexy and alluring', said one.
Another could live with a colleague exposing 'the start of the valley or one-sixth of the cup'.
Yet another was more generous: 'Exposing half the breast is not appropriate for the office but a quarter is about right.'
The fourth woman pointed out that 'how much' is relative: 'If the cleavage is mountainous then the woman should put it away as it could look vulgar. If she has peaks only the size of Bukit Timah Hill, I think it's okay.'
But all six were adamant that it was professional suicide to deliberately flaunt your chest and gain a reputation as Office Cleavage Queen.
'Such women are just pandering to the male ego and allowing men to be in a superior position to judge them based on their looks and nothing else,' said one.
Another noted: 'It's really uncomfortable if you are at a meeting and a fellow female flaunts her assets.
'You notice all the men's eyes swivel to the heaving embonpoint, then quickly swivel away, then sneak back again. It alters the whole tone of a meeting and shifts the focus from the business at hand. It becomes all about the bust and the lust - the real powerpoint.'
The six men I polled were perhaps understandably more generous in what they deemed permissible.
Five said a little titillation was harmless.
'Of course all we men want to see cleavage but in a way that will not embarrass us, and more critically, the woman concerned,' one said.
'So I think a woman, if she is daring enough, should just titillate a bit, maybe a button undone on a blouse and definitely not with bra showing.'
Said another: 'A little peek is good, not in a lecherous way, but because it makes her more feminine. It's feminine power dressing and everyone listens to a woman who's not afraid to show off her femininity.
'But if the female worker starts pouring out her assets and it goes to the extent that male workers start thinking of the Grand Canyon or of innovative pen-holders, then the line has definitely been crossed.'
IN THE name of social experiment, I decided to show cleavage at the office last Tuesday to see if people reacted differently to me.
Now, this was not an easy assignment because a) I'm not generally prone to flashing my cleavage b) I'm a woman of, alas, suboptimal cleavage c) my desk faces the full blast of the air-conditioner and I could catch a cold.
But, ah well, anything for you, dear reader.
So I donned a spangly gold spaghetti top with a V neckline that plunged 15cm from the hollow of my collar bone.
With help from a Maximizer bra (it worked!), I achieved a reasonable cleavage, though nothing va-va-voom.
It's a look I'd wear on a holiday but definitely not the sort of neckline I'd display at work. It did feel a little draughty though, so I wore a cardigan (unbuttoned) over it.
Before I set off, I got my mother's okay. She said I looked 'all right' but added for good measure: 'Sometimes, covered-up is more sexy.'
Female colleagues noticed I looked different, although none mentioned my chest directly.
One said: 'Oh, what a nice blouse you're wearing.' Another: 'You look like you're going clubbing tonight.' A third: 'Your top looks very Eighties.' But I wondered what they were really thinking.
The men? Maybe male journalists are a blase breed but no one batted an eyelid. Which was good, of course, although admittedly a teeny bit bruising to my ego.
Then I went to get lunch at Junction 8 in Bishan, and let's just say the men there who stared made no effort not to.
Showing off cleavage, I realised, made me feel both empowered and embarrassed.
I felt empowered with men. If just a little thing like this can command their attention, how silly and weak men must really be, I thought.
With women, I felt embarrassed and apologetic. I'm just not into one-upmanship, anatomical or in other areas, and a beautiful cleavage is indeed a weapon a woman can thrust to her advantage when around men, at work and at play.
But the biggest lesson I got from the experiment was this: It's just too emotionally tiring to be playing games in the office. Worse, it distracts you from the real reason you go there - to put in an honest day's work for the pay you get.
I was glad when Tuesday ended and I could go back to my more modest work clothes.
As my mother said, covered-up can be sexy, too.
It's all about how confident and happy you feel inside, and how you project that outside. Really.
To test how far a woman should go in exposing her cleavage in the workplace, I embarked on a 'social experiment' last week
By Sumiko Tan
I'M NOT what you'd call repressed or a prude, but I do think a woman should not show off her cleavage when she's at work.
It's distracting to male colleagues, offensive to fellow females, and it just makes you appear unprofessional.
But let me clarify that by cleavage I mean those heaving, in-your-face Gong Li ones as seen in the recent Zhang Yimou film, Curse Of The Golden Flower.
If it's just a sliver of a valley caused by the bunching up of the intermammary sulcus (which I found out is the anatomical term for the area between the breasts), well, it happens to the best of us.
The reason I'm writing about this is the media flap caused by Hillary Clinton's cleavage.
Last month, Washington Post fashion writer Robin Givhan wrote a column about how Mrs Clinton had appeared in the Senate wearing a rose-coloured blazer over a black top.
'The neckline sat low on her chest and had a subtle V-shape... There wasn't an unseemly amount of cleavage showing, but there it was. Undeniable,' she said.
Givhan went on to discuss Mrs Clinton's style choices over the years (nothing remotely sexy), and wondered if the show of cleavage was the presidential hopeful's 'request to be engaged in a particular way'.
She concluded: 'To display cleavage in a setting that does not involve cocktails and hors d'oeuvres is a provocation.'
Not surprisingly, howls of protest followed. Readers said it was insulting to Mrs Clinton to be discussing her breasts; women were outraged by how females were once again being objectified (do body parts of male politicians wearing tight pants ever get scrutinised?)
It all made interesting reading and got me wondering: How far should a woman go in exposing her cleavage in the workplace?
I DID a straw poll of men and women in my office.
Of the six women I asked, all said that what Mrs Clinton wore was perfectly acceptable at work.
'The flash of cleavage strikes me as more of a genuine wardrobe malfunction - or lack of a decent stylist - than any sudden deliberate move to show a softer, more feminine side of Mrs Clinton... unless she was giving an early V for Victory signal for her electoral campaign,' one quipped.
On what should be permissible in the office, two felt that women should always dress modestly, while four said that exposing a hint of cleavage was fine.
'Accidental' exposure - like when a woman stoops down to pick up something - can be 'quite sexy and alluring', said one.
Another could live with a colleague exposing 'the start of the valley or one-sixth of the cup'.
Yet another was more generous: 'Exposing half the breast is not appropriate for the office but a quarter is about right.'
The fourth woman pointed out that 'how much' is relative: 'If the cleavage is mountainous then the woman should put it away as it could look vulgar. If she has peaks only the size of Bukit Timah Hill, I think it's okay.'
But all six were adamant that it was professional suicide to deliberately flaunt your chest and gain a reputation as Office Cleavage Queen.
'Such women are just pandering to the male ego and allowing men to be in a superior position to judge them based on their looks and nothing else,' said one.
Another noted: 'It's really uncomfortable if you are at a meeting and a fellow female flaunts her assets.
'You notice all the men's eyes swivel to the heaving embonpoint, then quickly swivel away, then sneak back again. It alters the whole tone of a meeting and shifts the focus from the business at hand. It becomes all about the bust and the lust - the real powerpoint.'
The six men I polled were perhaps understandably more generous in what they deemed permissible.
Five said a little titillation was harmless.
'Of course all we men want to see cleavage but in a way that will not embarrass us, and more critically, the woman concerned,' one said.
'So I think a woman, if she is daring enough, should just titillate a bit, maybe a button undone on a blouse and definitely not with bra showing.'
Said another: 'A little peek is good, not in a lecherous way, but because it makes her more feminine. It's feminine power dressing and everyone listens to a woman who's not afraid to show off her femininity.
'But if the female worker starts pouring out her assets and it goes to the extent that male workers start thinking of the Grand Canyon or of innovative pen-holders, then the line has definitely been crossed.'
IN THE name of social experiment, I decided to show cleavage at the office last Tuesday to see if people reacted differently to me.
Now, this was not an easy assignment because a) I'm not generally prone to flashing my cleavage b) I'm a woman of, alas, suboptimal cleavage c) my desk faces the full blast of the air-conditioner and I could catch a cold.
But, ah well, anything for you, dear reader.
So I donned a spangly gold spaghetti top with a V neckline that plunged 15cm from the hollow of my collar bone.
With help from a Maximizer bra (it worked!), I achieved a reasonable cleavage, though nothing va-va-voom.
It's a look I'd wear on a holiday but definitely not the sort of neckline I'd display at work. It did feel a little draughty though, so I wore a cardigan (unbuttoned) over it.
Before I set off, I got my mother's okay. She said I looked 'all right' but added for good measure: 'Sometimes, covered-up is more sexy.'
Female colleagues noticed I looked different, although none mentioned my chest directly.
One said: 'Oh, what a nice blouse you're wearing.' Another: 'You look like you're going clubbing tonight.' A third: 'Your top looks very Eighties.' But I wondered what they were really thinking.
The men? Maybe male journalists are a blase breed but no one batted an eyelid. Which was good, of course, although admittedly a teeny bit bruising to my ego.
Then I went to get lunch at Junction 8 in Bishan, and let's just say the men there who stared made no effort not to.
Showing off cleavage, I realised, made me feel both empowered and embarrassed.
I felt empowered with men. If just a little thing like this can command their attention, how silly and weak men must really be, I thought.
With women, I felt embarrassed and apologetic. I'm just not into one-upmanship, anatomical or in other areas, and a beautiful cleavage is indeed a weapon a woman can thrust to her advantage when around men, at work and at play.
But the biggest lesson I got from the experiment was this: It's just too emotionally tiring to be playing games in the office. Worse, it distracts you from the real reason you go there - to put in an honest day's work for the pay you get.
I was glad when Tuesday ended and I could go back to my more modest work clothes.
As my mother said, covered-up can be sexy, too.
It's all about how confident and happy you feel inside, and how you project that outside. Really.
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