(New York Times) – The patient gown (as opposed to the surgical gowns worn by hospital personnel) was essentially designed to be the most efficient way to give patients a modicum of physical privacy while allowing doctors and nurses ease of access for examination and treatment and while also being removable during operations even if a patient was under anesthesia. It also served as a sort of democratizing uniform. In the hospital, everyone has an equal right to care.

That is all well and good, but by making everyone look essentially the same, the patient gown also served as a dehumanizing garment: an advertisement, really, that you have transitioned from being a unique individual to being a sick person. (Read More)