Emerging unconscious biases from wearing a Sari

I reached out to a turquoise sari with hints of orange. The sensation of the material against the skin feels soft, and transparent. Examining the patterns on the fabric was intricately created through a skilled process known as Bandhani. The term Bandhani is originated from the Sanskrit, which means to bind or to tie. (Yoshiko, W. 2002). Sheer lightness and transparency of this Sari is made from chiffon, a French term, which literally means ‘cloth’ or ‘rag’. Its lustrous appearance is derived from Silk, which makes it expensive because of its limited availability and cost of production.  The sari moves with eloquence, it is constantly on stage whose presence must be remembered. In the same token, the way the sari feels on the body, profoundly affects a women’s experience of the garment. The graceful folds of the pleats fan out between the legs elegantly whilst walking. The chiffon sari moulds beautifully around the body and when it is over the shoulder, much of it cascades off the arm exploiting the slippering potential of the fabric. An inquisitive sense unearths from individuals as I enter the class at university. After lunch, I move across to another room to prepare for teaching and I was unable to enter the room. I enquire at the from desk of the university as to why my ID card would let me enter the room. The gentleman at the front desk started asking all sorts of questions such as, “are you new here?”, Did you use your key card over the barrier?”, “what room are you teaching in?”, “do you have some proof you are in this room?”. The last question made me feel that I was not taken seriously as a staff member and probably that he had not seen anyone wear a sari. At that point I had to present a poster with the workshop details along with the room number. Could there have been a hint of implicit bias in this scenario? The answer is yes, especially as the biases is on appearance – it can be easy to make snap judgements based upon the appearance of an individual. Either way, it has given me ammunition to wear the sari more often at university.