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Umbrella and Parasol Bias
From "The Officer's Guide", 1951, under the heading "Taboos" (p. 244)
Umbrellas. There is a longstanding Army taboo against an officer in uniform carrying an umbrella.
Say What? Taboo?!!
When I cornered a retired Army officer and questioned him about this, his only response was a stiff "Umbrellas aren't in the uniform code."
That only made me suspect that there's some dark secret behind this military tradition.
When I asked "If you're walking with a British officer, and he's carrying an umbrella, can you get under it?", the answer was no. Go figure. Evidently, Army officers must rely on their hat covers and other rain gear, which makes me wonder about beach umbrellas and awnings as well....do they have to go out and stand in the rain rather than stay under cover?
I admittedly don't care for umbrellas myself. They never seem to cover enough, and only do any real good in pouring rain. A light rain? I'd rather get wet. And I've never used a parasol. That's the time when I'll actually resort to a hat to protect my permanently freckled face.
I have yet to have a single POV character carry one. The military people? No, they're not going to do that. And I can get away with it, claiming it's just a military taboo! ;o)
Parasols? Imogen probably should carry one, but she's a bit of a hoyden, and doesn't bother. Miralys? She's naturally brown-skinned, so it wouldn't make sense. Other girly-girls I've written? Gosh, I don't do too many of those.
So I suppose I must challenge myself to write a few more girly-girls to get the umbrellas and parasols into play. Hmmm....there must be a good prompt in there somewhere...
Umbrellas. There is a longstanding Army taboo against an officer in uniform carrying an umbrella.
Say What? Taboo?!!
When I cornered a retired Army officer and questioned him about this, his only response was a stiff "Umbrellas aren't in the uniform code."
That only made me suspect that there's some dark secret behind this military tradition.
When I asked "If you're walking with a British officer, and he's carrying an umbrella, can you get under it?", the answer was no. Go figure. Evidently, Army officers must rely on their hat covers and other rain gear, which makes me wonder about beach umbrellas and awnings as well....do they have to go out and stand in the rain rather than stay under cover?
I admittedly don't care for umbrellas myself. They never seem to cover enough, and only do any real good in pouring rain. A light rain? I'd rather get wet. And I've never used a parasol. That's the time when I'll actually resort to a hat to protect my permanently freckled face.
I have yet to have a single POV character carry one. The military people? No, they're not going to do that. And I can get away with it, claiming it's just a military taboo! ;o)
Parasols? Imogen probably should carry one, but she's a bit of a hoyden, and doesn't bother. Miralys? She's naturally brown-skinned, so it wouldn't make sense. Other girly-girls I've written? Gosh, I don't do too many of those.
So I suppose I must challenge myself to write a few more girly-girls to get the umbrellas and parasols into play. Hmmm....there must be a good prompt in there somewhere...
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I actualy have an umbrella, a compact one, and I have no idea where it is right now....
However, If I were to get a really cool, painted umbrella (I've seen some neat ones) and make a fashion statement.....mmmmm....and possibly have a sword inside it.....that might sway me ovver to the umbrella camp.
I doubt a parasol is in my future, though. Is yours an Asian painted one? Those are pretty.
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Still, it's hard to picture a person in uniform with an umbrella. It would look odd to me! Which is interesting, because I've never thought about it.
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(Chris G. below says naval officers weren't allowed to have them either.)
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I hate, HATE compact umbrellas though. All they do is basically keep the top of your head dry. As an undergrad, I got to keep a large golf-style umbrella that was left behind in a court room where I had my internship. And that is the type I carry to this day. I don't like getting wet.
Oh, and I LOVE hats too. As I have gotten older, I've begun to dislike the feel of the hot sun on my face. I have an assortment of staw hats that I wear in the summer months.
While my sister was living in Tuscon, I flirted with the idea of investing in a parasol.
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I've put an umbrella on my wish list, but I made it a big stick umbrella... ;o)
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They are useful to have for those impromptu sword fights. Yeah, sometimes I am as bad as the kids.
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Bad as the kids ::giggles::
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I don't recall it being a taboo - it was regulation.
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A more recent officer's guide may have changed it to a regulations.
Interesting that the women were, a difference which might have been extablished when the WAVEs showed up. (I don't know if I have that acronym correct.) This Army Guide covers the WACs briefly, but simply says that the same regulations apply to them. It doesn't say much about the customs, so I don't know whether it includes them into that section about taboos. It does not, however, show umbrellas with their uniforms.
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There are trade-offs, of course, one hand is tied up with the umbrella, and there could be wind/tree limb issues.
I remember reading in an old (80s) Dress for Success book that men weren't supposed to use umbrellas. Better to wear a hat and a raincoat and drag in a half gallon of water, but you look manly!
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I remember being young and thinking it not very manly to carry one, but luckily I'm now secure in my masculinity (OK, I'm really just to old to care) and have absolutely no problems carrying one. Preferably black.
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