A paragon of virtue...?

Today I am musing on the subject of the standards of 'respectability' which we expect professionals to live by and the idea that one's spare time activities, if disapproved of by one's employer may result in disciplinary action or even dismissal.

One day while I was chatting to a nurse on the train, I learned something astonishing. It would appear that even today, in the 21st Century, nurses are expected not only to care for the sick but also to lead private lives that conform some some (arguably) outdated notions of respectability.

Apparently, if a nurse behaves in an 'immoral' manner in her private life she can lose her job. The nurse in question gave me some examples of prohibited behaviour but the specific example which has remained embedded within my memory was that she could lose her job if she were to pose nude or even if she were to sunbathe topless in her backgarden.

Given that nurses can be male or female, it is not clear to me what moral restrictions are applied to the activities of male nurses. At the time it did not occur to me to ask my traveling companion.

The reason why I can remember that particular example alone is no doubt the result of a genetic disorder with which I am afflicted. Instead of the usual XX chromosome pairing at my 23rd chromosomal position, I have but one X chromosome paired with a rather short and inadequate looking stump which the medical profession have, for want of a better name, christened the 'Y chromosome'. As a consequence of my atrophied chromosome, I suffer from a variety of symptoms such as the possession of hairy nostrils and feet, a tendency to belch loudly and the ability to keenly hear and remember any remarks, chance or otherwise, which any woman happens to utter within 5 mile radius on the subject of breasts. This feat of enyhanced auditory perceptual power is rendered no less astonishing by the fact I normally have somewhat inadequate hearing and tend to tune out the voices of those around me. A medical mystery indeed.

However, returning to the matter at hand, I should stress that when my acquaintance advised me of the professional prohibition concerning exposure of her bosom, her remarks were not in any way made in response to a request on my part that she should display her chesty bits in an unclothed manner. Far be it from me to suggest such a thing to a fellow passenger on the train (or on any other form of public transport). Far be it for me even to think such a thing concerning a fellow passenger. Well, okay, okay, maybe I would think such a thing but only occasionally (approx 23 times per hour, actually).

However, regardless of what one thinks of nude female chesty bits (or how often one thinks of them), there remains the question of why it is that, in the 21st Century, the medical profession should feel the need to insist that nurses keep their bosoms under wraps. Perhaps the senior ranks of the medical professions are comprised of individuals who suffer from some kind of morbid phobia concerning the female body or maybe they are just a bunch of uptight killjoys.

This line of thought left me considering what the situation might be for people employed in other areas. What of police officers, lawyers, librarians, accountants, social workers, bank managers and teachers?

Do you think that it is appropriate for employers to attempt to dictate to employees what activities they may or may not engage in within their spare time? Your views concerning this matter would be most helpful in enabling me to form a fuller picture of the value system within which 21st century professionals operate.