There has been a story going around about a woman who shaved her head for a charity event and subsequently lost her job. Lost her job. For charity.
I was taken aback by this story. I thought surely in this day and age - what with the numerous piercings, tattoos, mullets and such - no one would lose their job for something as simple as a haircut.
The woman was asked to wear a wig to cover her shame. Either wear a wig, or move on. Now comes the question - would a guy have been asked to wear a wig?
My brother used to shave his head on a regular basis. He looked terrifying and could have easily been mistaken for a skin head. He didn't lose his job. I wonder if I had done the same thing, even at the same place, if I would not have been asked to do something to deal with it.
Wow, that's so crazy. Seriously, how can an employer dictate a hairstyle? That's crazy.
ReplyDeleteAs much as the library annoys me with their inability to keep up with the rest of the world, we had a clerk who shaved her head for charity and no one said a thing (at least nothing negative). And you'll never guess why.... BECAUSE IT WAS FOR CHARITY. Good grief.
ReplyDeleteAnd in other news, South Africa has reclassified asian people as "black". Isn't it a grand ol' world we live in, kids?
When I worked in the Arctic not quite 40 years ago, people were classified as Eskimo, Indian or Other on some officious form. A Black Social Worker in Cambridge Bay was just howling because "it was the first time he had been classified as White...The Brothers with the Others".
ReplyDeleteI shaved my head once. I should have been asked to put a bag over it, never mind a wig.
ReplyDeleteAh the old double standard, but it IS what it IS. Sad to say. People are nuts. In our city, a motorcyclist got in a road rage and, while at a stop light, got off his bike and stormed toward a car with a woman and child in it. SHE PULLED OUT A GUN AND SHOT HIM. and we all cheered.....until we were told that she and her son then proceded to get out of their car and kick and stomp the man......laying in the street with a bullet in him.
ReplyDeleteNeed I say more???? Nuts, nuts, nuts.
You know, if that same woman shaved her head because of chemotherapy that same employer would probably applaud her bravery.
ReplyDeleteLots of workplaces have standards that are gender-specific, including hair length, but also pantyhose, heeled shoes, makeup, nail polish, etc. A lot of women knuckle under rather than risk losing their jobs. As far as I'm concerned, she should absolutely be allowed to shave her head, whether due to charity, chemotherapy, or personal whim. But that is not the way of the world.
ReplyDeleteAlso: Hey, don't you go lumping my tats and piercing in with mullets, missy. ;)
This is terrible! She did something to support a cause she believed in, she should not be penalized for that! I agree with you, can't help but wonder if a male would have received different treatment.
ReplyDeleteI have worked with a few men whose breastasis were bigger then mine. They were not told to wear a bra.
ReplyDeleteWhat if that poor woman had chemo? Would they still have fired her or would it have been ok?
peace
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