Journalist fired for showing too much skin; Twitter goes crazy

The controversial dress which Patricia wore during Question Time in the Parliament of Australia. Pic/ Twitter Patricia Karvelas

Women in Australia are taking social media by storm by sharing their selfies with bare arms. Although the ‘Selfie with bare arm' soon became a talking point, the reality behind it was far from the truth!

ABC Radio National's presenter Patricia Karvelas took to social media platform Twitter to share her embarrassing experience. Patricia Karvelas tweeted a photo of her posing with a short-sleeved pantsuit at the time where her bare arms are visible. Apparently, Patricia was asked to leave the press gallery during Question Time in the Parliament of Australia. Wondering why? To her dismay, Patricia was asked to leave the house as she was showing "too much skin" as reported by ABC News.

Patricia wrote: I have just been kicked out of Question Time because you can allegedly see too much skin. His insane #Auspol. Soon the post went viral and Twitterati stood in solidarity with the Australian journalist. Women from across the globe started sharing selfies with bare arms in solidarity with Patricia who was allegedly kicked out for the bizarre reason that she was kicked out because she was showing too much skin. However, in the file photo which Patricia shared on her Twitter post its quite evident that she was wearing a short-sleeved pantsuit at the time and there was nothing revealing as such.

While speaking to ABC News, Patricia said that an attendant came up to her and said that her clothes showed "too much shoulder" and that she "needed to cover up more". Patricia further added, "It's a pretty professional pantsuit, to be honest - I quite like it." But she said that wasn't appropriate according to the house and I had to leave so I actually was marched out of Question Time.

According to the Parliament of Australia website, the standard of dress is a matter of "individual judgement", although the ultimate decision rests with the speaker, and that the "standards should involve good trousers, a jacket, collar and tie for men and a similar standard of formality for women."

Patricia's tweet quickly gained prominence and amassed over 3,000 likes and was retweeted almost 1,500 times.

The embarrassing incident that unfortunately took place with Patricia also prompted immediate comparisons with MP Julie Bishop, who is often seen attending the Parliament of Australia in short-sleeved or sleeveless outfits during the sessions of the house.

Following the tweet by Patricia going viral, the opposition in Australian parliament has urged the speaker of the house, Tony Smith, to investigate the incident.

Furthermore, Greens MP Adam Bandt who is an MP for Melbourne said that in the past too, he had unsuccessfully attempted to get the "bare arms" rule changed during 2017 given the fact that many photographers and camera operators had to wear jackets. He was optimistic that the rule would be changed soon.

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