One of our readers sent us this article about a woman in Owen Sound, Ontario who raised $2,700 for Cops for Cancer by shaving her head, only to be ordered to take unpaid leave from her waitressing job until it grew back.
Her employers had this to say:
“Our staff is expected to come dressed appropriately and we did not feel that this was appropriate…She could have done a multitude of different things to support her cause that wouldn’t have affected her work, but she chose to do it in a way that we told her was inappropriate for our business.”
They suggested she use her summer off to “spend time with her kids”. The suggestion being that she was doing them a terrible disservice by going to work in the first place.
What exactly is inappropriate about a waitress with a shaved head? Could it be that it’s - *gasp* - unfeminine? What’s the bet that if one of the mail waitstaff came to work with a shaved head, the owners wouldn’t bat an eyelid?
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seven comments
Yup. Unfeminine. I seriously doubt they'd have a problem with male wait staff sporting shaved heads. I wonder if the male staff can have long hair or would that also be an issue for them?
Posted by C.K.
June 6, 2008, 2:44 PM
Wow...just WOW!
Her employers had to say this...
"Dress like a drone or else. And yes we do discriminate on the basis of race, class, gender, sexuality, martial status, disability, and if you are a woman and don't have a head full of long glorious hair."
Posted by Cecelia
June 6, 2008, 8 PM
I'm not shocked, I bet loads of restaurants would do that. You cant be knocking about with piercings, tattoos, or even colored hair when you're in the public eye. I'd imagine they think it's bad for business. Although, chucking out a mother for raising money for a charity? That's ridiculous isn't it. Surly this is going to come round and bite them in the ass. I hope things go well for Stacey, it really annoys me when things like this happen to giving people like her.
Posted by reighny
June 7, 2008, 4:34 AM
If anyone wants to join, there's a facebook group (surprise, surprise) protesting this.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid...
Posted by Nathalie
June 7, 2008, 11:21 AM
This is one of those times where it's almost a relief that the issue is right out there in the open. I always wonder about places where a flirty, shockingly skimpy dress code and 10 out of 10 hottness seems silently inforced. *coughMoxy'scough* or *coughmostclubscough*
Anyone have any first-hand experience with this?
Posted by Erin
June 8, 2008, 10:49 AM
I had incredibly short hair for 7 years, not over an inch on my sides usually with varying lengths at the crown of my head, but it was always somewhere between pixie and buzz.
Then 2 or 3 years ago I started growing it out, at first everyone (and I mean everyone, even me) was convinced I was going to look like a weirdo with long hair. But once I had passed that insanely awkward white-girl afro phase I felt like I had to stick it out because I would never have the stamina to do it again.
Now, it's long enough to stay in a ponytail all by itself, and when I see people I haven't seen in a long while they usually don't recognize me. Like literally, "You can't be Miriam, she's the one with no hair. "
I was amazed by how much my hair had an impact on how and who recognizes me.
I have trouble sometimes with this, because I often think that it was easier to dispense with my "performance of gender" when I had a very gender neutral appearance. But I get so much from having hair, including never having to pay a late fee at the dvd rental place.
I dunno, it's a crazy crazy world when a ponytail has so much power.
Posted by Mir
June 8, 2008, 11:24 AM
Turns out he's one of the worst people in the world.
http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive...
Posted by reighny
June 10, 2008, 3:29 AM
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