A sign banning certain men from a local restaurant caught some Hudson Valley patrons off guard this weekend.

While going out to lunch with my family on Sunday I was greeted at the front door of a local restaurant by a sign that read "Men in dining room with tank tops not allowed." Not being someone who usually wears tank tops, I wasn't really concerned until I realized that my six year old son was actually wearing one.

As we walked inside I sheepishly asked the server if it was ok that my son was wearing a tank top. Amused by the question she laughed and said it wasn't a problem. But her demeanor changed as she looked me in the eyes and said "Now if you were wearing one, then we would have a big problem."

As we sat and enjoyed our lunch another table near us was discussing the tank top rule and brought up some interesting questions. Why is it ok for women to wear a tank top and not men? And why just tank tops? I certainly wasn't dressed fancy. I had on shorts, an old t-shirt, sandals and a baseball hat. Why was that ok? Why were tank tops being singled out like this?

For a restaurant that is so concerned with appearances, the fact they didn't take the time to print out a nice looking sign on Microsoft Word was also a bit confusing, but I let that go to contemplate some of the larger issues with the policy. While I'm all for not having to stare at some guy's back and underarm hair while eating my food, I do think it's a little hypocritical that women are immune from the ban.

"No shoes, no shirt, no service" policies applies to both sexes, so shouldn't a ban on sleeveless shirts also be all inclusive? What if the guy waxes his shoulders and underarms, would it be ok to wear a tank top then? And what if a sleeveless woman decides to grow out her underarm hair? Would that still be ok?

We want to know what you think about the tank top ban. Do you agree with banning sleeveless shirts for men in restaurants? If so, should women also have to follow the same rules? Let us know your thoughts on our Facebook page or in the comments section below.

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