In adjective form, uniform is defined as “remaining the same in all cases and at all times; unchanging in form or character.” In noun form, uniform is defined as “the distinctive clothing worn by members of the same organization or body or by children attending certain schools.”
I have always understood these to be connected. The point of a uniform — be it school, military, or company — is that it is always the same. Uniforms make the wearers easy to identify as part of a collective while also being, as Lilly Moscovitz puts it in the Princess Diaries, “equalizers.”
This is why I was surprised to learn that Virgin Atlantic has announced, as part of its new gender-identity policies, “a new uniform code for all” that “removes the requirement for people to wear gendered uniforms” and “gives individuals the freedom to wear a uniform that best represents them.” Isn’t the point that they represent the company, not that the company represents them?
This campaign is not a pursuit of sameness or normality, but the desire to stand out — to be recognized as different and special. If that’s the point, why have a uniform at all?