What UCT vice-chancellor’s ‘sexy dress’ tells us about the cultural dynamism of SA

Durban-based GP Karin Morrow has come under fire for policing University of Cape Town (UCT) vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng’s choice of dress during a recent event in which the university’s new staff were officially introduced.

Morrow’s initial tweet – which currently has more than 500 replies – dubbed the plunging neckline of Phakeng’s dress inappropriate attire for an academic evening.

https://twitter.com/rinmor/status/1064575122181447681

https://twitter.com/rinmor/status/1064086580485328896

https://twitter.com/rinmor/status/1061505992670826497

According to her followers and those familiar with her online utterances, Morrow has a history of policing women’s appearances. Black women in particular.

Policing? Looks like an observation to me.

— Stabrowski (@stabestweet) November 20, 2018

http://twitter.com/GoldenSuprise/status/1064767837993164800

A quick scroll through Morrow’s timeline, however, shows that she complains about everything under the guise of moral indignation – from the slaughter of goats for cultural rituals to the gender dysphoria of 13-year-olds.

Moral indignation

— Mphahlele (@SirMawaza) November 20, 2018

Through it all, her favourite topic to complain about is Durban and how filthy and crime-ridden she thinks it has become, second only to UCT’s VC, who is subject to a large chunk of Morrow’s vitriol.

In between it all, she makes time to rip the ANC government and other political figures to shreds.

https://twitter.com/rinmor/status/1064229105892278272

https://twitter.com/rinmor/status/1063851720256704512

https://twitter.com/rinmor/status/1063400878009450496

https://twitter.com/rinmor/status/1063291937183211520

It is this same moral indignation that possessed Morrow to complain about an innocuous dress that was literally the least inappropriate thing worn at the event in question.

Various other guests in attendance also wore very casual and somewhat revealing items that some may also have deemed inappropriate in the context of a formal event.

And this women has the guts to call out the VC when there a people here rocking off the shoulder dresses and short summer dresses at the even… the fuckery is real pic.twitter.com/frRoVV1Dx9

— 🍃MaDumakude🍃 (@Siduduzile20) November 20, 2018

You forgot gladiator sandals right there

— 💜Military Wife OT7💜 (@nokwarh_mapre) November 20, 2018

While there were a few who took the opportunity to lambaste the VC along with Morrow, the majority of Twitter users in the conversation saw absolutely nothing wrong with what the VC had on, as well as the small tattoo that was visible on her arm in the photo taken by Morrow.

LOUDER!!!!

— Dynamite Diepkloof Dude 🇿🇦🇬🇧 (@Jabs1Time) November 20, 2018

Those in Morrow’s corner even spurred her on when she chose to make fun of another woman’s breasts.

hey I like boobies but I don't see any I even zoomed in

— The Liberal Brain (@ToAmused) November 19, 2018

When asked what her gripe with the dress was, Morrow insisted that she “loved” the dress but felt it was not for the occasion, as the event called for “decorum, appropriateness for position and occasion, etc.”

https://twitter.com/rinmor/status/1064739659232804865

As shown in the staff image above and based purely on the attire of the people in the group photo, the event was not of the pomp and circumstance Morrow insisted it was.

Even if it had been, Phakeng’s dress still would not have been “inappropriate” for the event.

The last sentence "how a dress code impacts job performance".The dislike of Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng as VC of UCT is growing, even saw some tweets where top ranking is anticipated to fall by virtue of being VC😢

— Dominion (@TebSebekedi) November 20, 2018

If one is arguing for decorum to be upheld, it should be noted that culture is dynamic and not static. Over the years, cultures throughout the globe have been known to change by varying degrees to exist in accordance with the times.

Dress codes and the appropriateness of attire are dictated by culture and belief systems and are, therefore, something subject to change.

And who’s to say that Morrow’s consideration of what is culturally appropriate would apply to an African woman in Africa if dress code were the main consideration?

If things never changed, imagine what horrible times we’d all be living in?

Stuck in arranged marriages according to what classes and races we belong to … Not being allowed to vote, wear trousers or practise medicine because we were born women … Walking around bare-breasted and covered in animal hyde to gather what the hunters brought home.

via GIPHY

Granted, not all belief systems and cultural customs and observations are horrible occurrences that warrant change, but the policing of women’s bodies is certainly something that needs to be left in the past – especially in a nation that is home to one of the most acclaimed constitutions in the world … in a nation that makes it possible for a black woman to become the vice-chancellor of an institution that is almost 200 years old and wear whatever she wants to wear while breaking barriers.

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