We're better than this.
In July 2017, Democratic women in Congress organized a protest against the enforcement of an “appropriate attire” dress code that was being used to keep reporters in sleeveless outfits out of certain parts of the Capitol building. Two dozen representatives wore shirts and dresses that showed their arms one sunny Friday, beseeching then-Speaker Paul Ryan to modernize the rules.
Kyrsten Sinema, at the time an Arizona congresswoman, didn’t pose for the cutesy photo op the Dems staged on the Capitol steps. Nor did she tweet about her “right to bare arms,” as many of her colleagues did. But few legislators stood to benefit from the loosened rules as much as she did. In her three terms in the House, Sinema became known for a signature style: bold colors, graphic patterns, glittery hoop earrings, and lots of flouncy sleeveless dresses befitting the climate of her home state. With a few notable exceptions (see: eccentric “hipster” Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut), women in Congress usually favor more conservative ensembles: solid neutrals, structured sheath dresses, and shapeless trousers. The evident joy Sinema took in dressing outside the Washington norm was a welcome departure from the dutiful businesswear that currently populates the Capitol. It was also appropriate for the image of a post-partisan, aisle-crossing “social butterfly” she strove to present.
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The response to Sinema’s showy new wardrobe has been colored by her bisexuality. Read any thread of tweets extolling her furry cover-ups or kitschy prints, and you’re bound to find references to the year “20biteen”—the natural successor to “20gayteen”—and salutes to Sinema’s recognizably queer style. Her pink coat with jeweled buttons prompted one bisexual Slate colleague to wonder about “the overlap between bisexuality and vintage clothing.” “I know it exists,” she said. “I’ve spent too much money on ModCloth to believe otherwise.”
There is a long history of femme queer women adopting the high-octane girlishness of past eras, particularly in the pin-up mode of the ’40s and ’50s, as a way of reclaiming power in femininity and standing out from the mainstream straight-lady styles of the day. With her old polka-dot dresses, her current turn toward the glam, and her undying commitment to statement glasses, Sinema places herself in the context of generations of bi women seeking queer visibility.
https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/01/kyrsten-sinema-fashion-boots.html
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