Absolutely wild to see people mad about Sinema flawlessly pulling off a green wig, but it brings up an important question that I've been thinking about a lot lately.

Who gets to decide what is and is not "professional"?

The concept of professionalism has been weaponized against minoritized groups for a very long time now. Many many times, people label things as unprofessional when it's actually just a totally normal expression of someone's identity who is not a white man.

Black hair is a great but freaking sad example of this. Black people have just been trying to have the hair that grows out of their heads and care for it/wear it in styles that are conducive to its health, and white people tell them it's "unprofessional".

Another example I've recently been fighting in my own mind is the notion that any sort of emotion or effusiveness shown by women is "unprofessional". Actually, showing emotion is healthy and the unique way we encourage each other is a strength!

But we've been dictated to and told how to behave so that our identities are crushed out of us and we fit in the white male mold of "professionalism".

It's not good. It's not helpful. It stops people from being their best selves.

So I say the wig is professional. If the senator feels good in it and does her job for her constituents while wearing a mint green wig, they're lucky to have her.

I can think of a lot of things senators do on this website that are actually unprofessional. Let's focus on that.

And next time you feel something is unprofessional, really think about why for a bit. It might be! But consider that it could also be a nice expression of your real self.