Sexism is normally associated with people persecuting women. Not because sexism does not happen to men – but because historically it was women who had to fight against the oppression they faced in a patriarchal society. But it seems that when at sea it is the men who are the victims of sexism, suffering with an oppressive and out dated dress code.

Now when you start cruising you just have to accept that dress codes are there. For the most part dress codes are pretty flexible, they are certainly far removed from the stereotype that men must wear their tuxedo and women must wear their ball gown. But as a nod to the golden age of cruising the majority of cruise lines have something called formal night. Where for one night they embrace the nostalgic grandeur of cruising and people break out the bow ties and the sequins.

If you are a woman on formal night then pretty much anything goes! As long as you are clean and presentable then you will be permitted entrance to the dining room. As such you will see women in ball gowns, cocktail dresses, summer dresses and separates. Whilst you will see a lot of women wearing sequins and glitter, for the most part, you will not see many women in a ball gown.

Meanwhile the poor men are told that to gain entrance to the dining room they must be wearing trousers and a suit jacket. On some lines they are even told that they have to wear a tie! Trussed up like penguins forced to watch their counterparts swan around wearing whatever they like. The rules are simple, comply or do not enter the dining room or indeed even some of the bars around the vessel.

The longer I have cruised the more fond I have become of formal night, it is fun once a week to dress up and embrace the swanky side of ship life. But what I cannot reconcile myself with is just how unfair it is to the men. How are we letting the industry be so blatantly sexist? It is ridiculous to say that the men must be in full formal attire while some of the women look like they are off to Asda to do the weekly food shop. I have said it before and I will say it again slacks and a glittery t-shirt is not formal attire…

This is what I propose! If the cruise line is wishing to keep formal nights then we need to make the rules stricter for the women. It is 2024, we cannot tell women that they need to wear a cocktail dress or a ball gown. But we can tell them that if they wish to wear trousers then they need to be in a full suit like the men, at least that way the dress code will be equal. Forcing men to comply with a whole host of regulations whilst the women go free is ludicrous.

Or alternatively we could just bin formal night all together…But I think some traditionalists are very attached to the concept.