If you are in education or even on TikTok, you already know this conversation is about “Teacher Bae.” If neither of those categories applies to you, the long and short of it is that a teacher with a conventionally attractive physique has gone viral for wearing clothes considered to be too “flattering.” Now the internet is debating how teachers should, and more importantly, shouldn’t dress.

To ground the conversation, let’s start with Ms. Williams, known online as “Teacher Bae.” Her outfits range from typical clothing you would see any teacher wear to tight t-shirts and tulip skirts with matching heels. Aside from the heels, she is not wearing anything I’ve never seen teachers wear. The fact that she is well-endowed physically makes her stand out more, but her outfit alone would never violate the dress code of any school I have been part of, and clearly it doesn’t at hers. I do think that in her case, the combination of her body, heels, and online self-promotion makes people view her unfavorably.

I am not here to tell you Ms. Williams was wrong. Her TikTok is linked above and you can judge for yourself. Honestly, as a man, I feel weird even weighing in. However, what I will do is throw out some helpful guidelines that I think can help teachers make their own decisions:

• Is this the kind of outfit that a large percentage of people will say is inappropriate?
  • Look we can’t go around basing are fashion choices on the opinions of tradwives and the Amish. But I feel like people can determine if many people in their daily life would have an issue with their outfit.
• Is this outfit even practical for what my daily responsibilities are?
  • If you are wearing something that literally makes it difficult to do your job thats the first sign you are doing too much. I very rarely see teachers wear tall heels. And I would love to see them break up a fight or chase after a kid doing so. I have seen many teachers come to school in tall heels and be barefoot by lunch. Me personally, I dont see the point in that.
• Would I want my child’s teacher to wear this?
  • This one is pretty simple for teachers who are also parents.
• Is this how I interviewed for the job?
  • Does your outfit match the level of professionalism you showed in the interview? If it doesn’t, then why?
• Am I seeking attention?
  • Teachers, especially female teachers should not be forced to choose between being comfortable and the male gaze. But also its important to remember you don’t have to look good for anybody in the classroom.

In my opinion, if my outfit becomes a national conversation, I’ve lost. That seems entirely avoidable. But this is one of those questions with a sliding spectrum and no clear right answer. What do you think?