A curious case from the Weymouth and Dorchester areas of England raises the question of what constitutes discrimination in the haircutting business. Angela Sanchez wears a short man-style haircut that barbers do every day, yet she cannot get a barbershop cut. She has been refused service at more than a dozen barbershops.
Miss Sanchez, 44, said: “I am a woman with a short hairstyle – it is like a man’s short, back and sides cut.
“Essentially, I wanted a haircut that is typically given to men so surely the best place to go is a barber shop.
“If I go to a woman’s hairdresser salon, I am charged up to three times the price.
“How is it fair that I am charged more for a haircut than a man with the same style?
The regular argument for barbershops refusing to cut a woman’s hair is that women’s hairstyles are more varied and complicated. That’s also the usual rationale for charging women more for a haircut. But it doesn’t hold up in the case of a woman who wears a man’s hairstyle. Is this a case of discrimination, or should Sanchez just suck it up and pay more to get her hair cut the way she wants?
The Echo contacted several barbershops and received various explanation. The Modern Barbers, one shop where Sanchez has been refused, issued an apology and offered Sanchez a free haircut. -via Arbroath
Phase 2: ?????
Phase 3: Profit!