It was the fake news story that refused to die: women (and men) are not permitted to wear sleeveless articles of clothing and open-toed shoes in the speaker's lobby. Even though this has been the policy since roughly the dawn of time and has been enforced by other speakers of the house, for some reason it became a "thing" as of late to compare the congressional dress code to the Handmaid's Tale and to accuse Speaker Paul Ryan of misogyny.
Despite how the "story" was thoroughly debunked within hours of its posting, it seemed curiously unable to go away. Comedian Chelsea Handler compared the dress code to "Abu Dhabi" a full four days later, garnering over three thousand retweets.
Paul Ryan enforcing dress code in Speaker’s Lobby in the U.S. Capitol that bans women from showing their shoulders. Welcome to Abu Dhabi.
— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) July 11, 2017
But now, rest assured, America's swift descent into Islamic radicalism and/or Christian dystopia via a ban on sleeveless garments has been stymied by Paul Ryan's announcement that the dress code will be "modernized" due to changing styles and societal acceptance of new types of business attire. Presumably, sleeveless dresses will now be allowed. Full details on the new changes will be available soon.
Ryan says speaker's lobby dress code will be 'modernized'
— Al Weaver (@alweaver22) July 13, 2017
I guess now there's no question that Speaker Ryan supports the right to "bare" arms.