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As of Thursday morning, a new dress code is in place at the city’s recreation centres. 

Or, if you like, a new un-dress code. 

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Starting Jan. 12, people will specifically be allowed to wear sports bras, tank tops and cropped tops that expose their mid-riffs, as long as those tops are designed for “fitness purposes.” 

That’s quite a departure from the previous confusing and rather vague dress code, which required gym patrons to wear “appropriate” attire that was not “overly revealing” and which was “mindful of the comfort of other users.” 

Those old rules were just so open to sexist interpretation.  They could easily be read as putting the onus on women to police their attire so as not to discombobulate the men around them who might be made “uncomfortable” by the mere sight of a female shoulder or rib cage. 

“The old guidelines were very weak in terms of what appropriate attire for a recreation centre means,” said Annett Kamenz, the city’s supervisor of recreation and physical activity experiences. “ The new guidelines are more specific.”