W27 – SPRING 2022
DRESS CODE WHILE TRAVELLING ABROAD: MEXICO CITY EDITION A Cross-Cultural Anecdote of Fashion & Feminism between New York & Mexico City By Dana Flores (AMC, ‘22)
Travel has returned! As members of a global community, it’s imperative to know what to wear and how to wear it when traveling for safety, appropriateness and cultural awareness. I learned this the hard way so you don’t have to: I grew up between Chicago and Mexico City, navigating the stark contrast between the cozy nook of American liberalism and freedom of wardrobe expression, and the watchful gaze of my Catholic conservative family in Mexico. They were always quick to remind me that my midriff was showing, urging me to put on a sweater before heading downtown, always protected by the presence of my male cousins.
Perfect for a trip to the bodega or for a coffee run in the East Village. When I stepped out of my room, my dad looked at me, “Ay Dana,” he said. “What?” I responded, somewhat defensive. I knew exactly where this was going. “You can’t go like that. You’re not in New York anymore. Realize who you are and where you are.” Translation: Realize that you are a woman living in Mexico City. As a woman, I stood out. I was a target regardless of what I was wearing. In Mexico, for the most part it’s
Mexico City implemented “Viajemos Seguras” (Let’s Travel Safely), a program assigning three train cars at the front of the train exclusively for women and minors under 12 years old. “In the women’s car, you enter and get to where you’re going. In the mixed train cars, you feel how you’re being objectified despite what you’re wearing. It’s as if they’re looking at you and thinking ‘Is she fuckable? Nice to look at?” For safety, as Ortiz says, it’s better to not draw attention to yourself. However, the rules for dress differ depending where you’re traveling to. “On the metro line that leads to Ciudad Universitaria, (the main campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico) there are many young women who experiment with fashion. It’s safer, they feel more free to do so,” says Ortiz.
Needless to say, the codes of dress and behavior of one city are certainly not the rules of another.
My father was quick to remind me of this upon arriving at my family’s In New York, on my home in Mexico City. I was Women and Children’s section of Mexico City metro station commute to my university, getting ready to go to a café Photo by Jaime Emilio O’Hea IG: @jaimemiliohea I probably wouldn’t think around the block: This was my push for independence. Finally, better to go unnoticed, especially twice about how I was dressed that at 23 years old, it felt revolutionary as a woman. “I dress to not be day regarding my safety. Phrases like for me, a woman, to walk down the perceived,” says Lilith Ortiz, a 25 year feminicide and sexual assault are not street on my own without a man to old production designer living in a as top-of-mind on a daily basis. keep me company and provide a veil northern neighborhood of Mexico More than 65% of women who of protection from male onlookers. City. use the Mexico City metro report I wore a black long-sleeve crop top She uses public transportation and having been victims of sexual assault, and black high-waisted cotton pants. experienced the shift in 2008 when although the total number isn’t A seemingly innocuous, casual outfit. the National Institute of Women of accounted for because of the process
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