If you love and support any form of self-expression, you know that uniforms are annoying. But did you also know that they can be especially frustrated for disabled individuals? A woman in North Carolina is speaking out because she says that uniforms are ableist. She understands firsthand how difficult it is to find accessible clothing to wear as a uniform for work or school. Now, she’s sharing her personal experience so that others may understand.
Sarah (@sarahtoddhammer) posts videos on TikTok related to her disabilities and fashion. She says in a recent video, “A lack of accessible clothing makes uniform rules impractical for many disabled people.” Personally, Sarah said that it’s a struggle for her to get dressed every day due to her disability. She can’t physically move her right hand, and her left hand is weak. She also can’t move her hands above her head. As a result, she said it’s difficult to use buttons, zippers, and anything that might need to be tucked in.
Sarah’s high school required uniforms. She explains that they had to wear skirts with zippers on the side and built-in shorts. They also had to tuck in their shirts. Unfortunately, Sarah wasn’t able to fully dress herself. She said, “My mom would have to help me tuck my shirt into the skirt and then zip it up for me.” She had to wear a blazer in the winter months, and she wasn’t able to get inside the blazer by herself. Sarah did mention that she was able to get an accommodation from the school, so she didn’t have to wear the blazer. However, she said they were “very picky about what I wore instead of the blazer.”
Sarah said that teachers and staff were constantly on her case about what she wore. This was the case even if it was as mundane as a school-branded shirt. She went as far as to get her occupational therapist to write a note to the school so they could understand what Sarah was facing. The uniform drama didn’t end there for Sarah, though. She faced other struggles throughout her time at school, such as when she joined a program and had to wear khaki pants. Since she couldn’t undo the zipper on the pants, she would spend the day hoping she wouldn’t need to use the bathroom. Sarah explained that she was “never comfortable” when wearing her uniforms.
Sarah says, “My mood would have actually been improved if I was wearing something that was accessible to me. We need more accessible school and work clothing.” Luckily, commenters agreed and completely understood Sarah. One person commented, “It’s insane how unwilling people are to work with disabled people on accessibility.” Another commented on the subject of uniforms, “Hot take but I think the majority of uniforms and dresscodes are about control and not about ‘respecting’ whatever environment you’re in.”
Another commenter had adverse opinions about uniforms. She said, “A lot of uniforms also don’t have a range of plus sizes, and yes, kids come in fat sizes too and that’s okay. I fully understand the idea, but uniforms just don’t work for so many people.” Sarah replied to this, “Another great point! It’s quite limiting!!” I’m thankful that Sarah shed some light on this, as somebody who doesn’t really prefer the idea of uniforms.
