A couple things,

1. We can already check each other's gear,you just don't know when people are actively checking you out....so basically, all the judgements happen, but they happen without your knowledge.

2. This community 'should' be more understanding as this game encourages wearing 'lesser' gear for material melds. Keep in mind, many people already judge your gear before attempting a raid...but that is for a different are you prepared reason.

Maybe a middle ground approach would be nothing gets entered in the other players chat log when you check them, but instead your character does. 'Admiring' emote automatically when you check someone. This way, the observant player will catch a check, but it might not seem as skeeevy to people who are offended by the text.