Because I believe very strongly in bodily ownership, I specifically sought out employment with a company that would not restrict my freedom to decorate my body according to my beliefs. But on February 20, I was informed by my manager that the Concessions Operations Manager for the Port of Portland had advised her that my coworker Brian Shaughnessy and I would have to change our hair, even though it did not violate the dress code of our employer, Powell's Books, or the official appearance guidelines put forth by the Port of Portland.
Here's the Willamette Weekly story:
http://wweek.com/editorial/3518/12309/
This situation is absolutely about discrimination against people with body modifications. I definitely see this as a civil rights violation. It violates my freedom of expression and as a member of the Church of Body Modification, my freedom of religion.
The Port's decision is unfair, even without taking civil rights into consideration. They do not mention hair color in their appearance guidelines. Their guidelines only say that appearance should be clean and neat and in line with the standards of the individual concession, and my appearance is. There was no indication in any of the documentation from my employer or from the Port of Portland that they would have any problem with this. My hair was pink for two months before the Concessions Operations Manager found out about it, and he only found out because of customer feedback. (No one has shared the nature of this feedback with me - I don't even know if it was positive, negative or neutral.) My coworker had his hair the same pink mine is now last year and nothing was said about it at that time, which led me to believe that no one would mind if I dyed my hair pink.
Hair that is dyed an "unnatural" color isn't unsanitary or unsafe. It doesn't infringe on anyone's rights to see me with brightly colored hair. But it does infringe on my rights to be forced to cover my hair or change it. To me, the issue with "unnatural" hair color seems deeply rooted in religious beliefs of modest dress and I am incredibly offended to be subject to those religious standards. If international travelers can't handle being around people who look "different", they probably should not come to Portland, Oregon. Doing so, they risk being exposed to and incredibly offended by the local flavor. At any given time, there are tons of customers in the airport who have brightly colored hair, mohawks, tattoos, piercings, dreadlocks. Sometimes there are men in utilikilts and people wearing fabulous costumes. Because this is Portland, and we do things a little different here. And to be honest, I truly believe that the overwhelming majority of international travelers are savvy enough to realize that the world is full of all kinds of people and wouldn't bat an eyelash at a woman with pink hair.
I wish the Port could hear from all the customers who loved my pink hair and Brian's purple hair and pink beard. Some of them commented on how progressive the Port must be to allow us such freedom in such a typically stodgy environment. I felt the same until this decision.
I do not feel that my appearance is extreme or unprofessional. I don't understand how my hair could make anyone feel uncomfortable. I feel that if someone disapproves of me for having pink hair, they won't like me any better with a "natural" color because of my visible tattoo and piercings. Or because I work for Powell's, because I'm a strong and intelligent and outspoken woman, because I appear to be liberal. There are many professions in which brighly colored hair is perfectly acceptable and I feel that my profession as a bookseller at an independent chain is of them.
I've never worn or been fond of baseball caps, and feel extremely uncomfortable, shy and unattractive wearing one. With pink hair, I feel beautiful and confident. I believe that I should have the right to look and feel my best. By wearing the hat, I feel like I'm saying that I agree there's something wrong with my hair or that I should feel ashamed of it. That is not a statement that I should be forced to make. I feel that I am severely compromising my beliefs when I put the hat on. The fact that I know I'm doing it for a more important bigger picture is my only saving grace. I didn't dye my hair to rebel or "make a (political) statement" as some have suggested. A few people have accused me of trying to be alternative or unique or trendy, but having my hair dyed pink has never had anything to do with those things. This color is an expression of how I feel about myself and how I relate to the world around me. For me, pink is a color that denotes a kind of cosmic warmth, passion, playfulness and a love of whimsical things. Being told that I have to conform to how others think I should look or face unemployment has stressed me out and depressed me deeply, so much so that I have temporarily dropped down to part-time at work.
My customer service shines through any initial bad impression of me based on old stereotypes. I make eye contact and smile. I genuinely care for my customers and I know they can see that. Bad customer service is what drives people away, not brightly colored hair. I love working for Powell's and until this fiasco, I was positively ecstatic to be part of the airport community. I've worked for Powell's at the airport for a year and almost six months. In that time, I've been a very positive part of the experience out here for customers because I love helping people find awesome gifts and amazing books to read. There's no way my appearance has hindered our sales. We are doing great despite the economy, and we recently won a "favorite airport store" award. I've been part of that success.
I am extremely fortunate to have a job in these times, even more blessed to have one with such an amazing company. But I don't think that means I should just give in when my rights are violated. I fear how the Port will attempt to restrict us next. This isn't just about me. It's about the people I work with, some who would very much like to have "unnatural" colors in their hair. It's about all my fellow workers at the airport who would like to have brightly colored hair or dreads or piercings or visible tattoos. We should all be able to enjoy freedom from discrimination, and I intend to work towards that goal.
It would mean a lot to me and my fellow workers out here if you would contact the Port of Portland and tell them how ridiculous this kind of discrimination it is and how it violates our freedom of expression. And please pass this story on to forward-thinking friends and relatives and ask them to contact the Port of Portland too!
Contact info can be found here:
http://www.portofportland.com/Contact_PDX.aspx
Here's the Willamette Weekly story:
http://wweek.com/editorial/3518/12309/
This situation is absolutely about discrimination against people with body modifications. I definitely see this as a civil rights violation. It violates my freedom of expression and as a member of the Church of Body Modification, my freedom of religion.
The Port's decision is unfair, even without taking civil rights into consideration. They do not mention hair color in their appearance guidelines. Their guidelines only say that appearance should be clean and neat and in line with the standards of the individual concession, and my appearance is. There was no indication in any of the documentation from my employer or from the Port of Portland that they would have any problem with this. My hair was pink for two months before the Concessions Operations Manager found out about it, and he only found out because of customer feedback. (No one has shared the nature of this feedback with me - I don't even know if it was positive, negative or neutral.) My coworker had his hair the same pink mine is now last year and nothing was said about it at that time, which led me to believe that no one would mind if I dyed my hair pink.
Hair that is dyed an "unnatural" color isn't unsanitary or unsafe. It doesn't infringe on anyone's rights to see me with brightly colored hair. But it does infringe on my rights to be forced to cover my hair or change it. To me, the issue with "unnatural" hair color seems deeply rooted in religious beliefs of modest dress and I am incredibly offended to be subject to those religious standards. If international travelers can't handle being around people who look "different", they probably should not come to Portland, Oregon. Doing so, they risk being exposed to and incredibly offended by the local flavor. At any given time, there are tons of customers in the airport who have brightly colored hair, mohawks, tattoos, piercings, dreadlocks. Sometimes there are men in utilikilts and people wearing fabulous costumes. Because this is Portland, and we do things a little different here. And to be honest, I truly believe that the overwhelming majority of international travelers are savvy enough to realize that the world is full of all kinds of people and wouldn't bat an eyelash at a woman with pink hair.
I wish the Port could hear from all the customers who loved my pink hair and Brian's purple hair and pink beard. Some of them commented on how progressive the Port must be to allow us such freedom in such a typically stodgy environment. I felt the same until this decision.
I do not feel that my appearance is extreme or unprofessional. I don't understand how my hair could make anyone feel uncomfortable. I feel that if someone disapproves of me for having pink hair, they won't like me any better with a "natural" color because of my visible tattoo and piercings. Or because I work for Powell's, because I'm a strong and intelligent and outspoken woman, because I appear to be liberal. There are many professions in which brighly colored hair is perfectly acceptable and I feel that my profession as a bookseller at an independent chain is of them.
I've never worn or been fond of baseball caps, and feel extremely uncomfortable, shy and unattractive wearing one. With pink hair, I feel beautiful and confident. I believe that I should have the right to look and feel my best. By wearing the hat, I feel like I'm saying that I agree there's something wrong with my hair or that I should feel ashamed of it. That is not a statement that I should be forced to make. I feel that I am severely compromising my beliefs when I put the hat on. The fact that I know I'm doing it for a more important bigger picture is my only saving grace. I didn't dye my hair to rebel or "make a (political) statement" as some have suggested. A few people have accused me of trying to be alternative or unique or trendy, but having my hair dyed pink has never had anything to do with those things. This color is an expression of how I feel about myself and how I relate to the world around me. For me, pink is a color that denotes a kind of cosmic warmth, passion, playfulness and a love of whimsical things. Being told that I have to conform to how others think I should look or face unemployment has stressed me out and depressed me deeply, so much so that I have temporarily dropped down to part-time at work.
My customer service shines through any initial bad impression of me based on old stereotypes. I make eye contact and smile. I genuinely care for my customers and I know they can see that. Bad customer service is what drives people away, not brightly colored hair. I love working for Powell's and until this fiasco, I was positively ecstatic to be part of the airport community. I've worked for Powell's at the airport for a year and almost six months. In that time, I've been a very positive part of the experience out here for customers because I love helping people find awesome gifts and amazing books to read. There's no way my appearance has hindered our sales. We are doing great despite the economy, and we recently won a "favorite airport store" award. I've been part of that success.
I am extremely fortunate to have a job in these times, even more blessed to have one with such an amazing company. But I don't think that means I should just give in when my rights are violated. I fear how the Port will attempt to restrict us next. This isn't just about me. It's about the people I work with, some who would very much like to have "unnatural" colors in their hair. It's about all my fellow workers at the airport who would like to have brightly colored hair or dreads or piercings or visible tattoos. We should all be able to enjoy freedom from discrimination, and I intend to work towards that goal.
It would mean a lot to me and my fellow workers out here if you would contact the Port of Portland and tell them how ridiculous this kind of discrimination it is and how it violates our freedom of expression. And please pass this story on to forward-thinking friends and relatives and ask them to contact the Port of Portland too!
Contact info can be found here:
http://www.portofportland.com/Contact_PDX.aspx
As a manager, I would never hire someone with pink hair, noserings, liprings, etc. But, you would never know it. I would go out of my way to find fault and not hire you for some other reason. Get real. There are people who find it offensive or suspect it could affect their business and can't take the chance.
Posted by: PunditPawn | March 16, 2009 at 08:07 PM
I just got a response back from Powell's media representative:
Thank you for contacting us.
Freedom of speech and expression is very important to everyone at Powell's. Our company does not have any sort of dress code nor any rules about hair dye, body piercings or tattoos for any of our employees. The people who are making these demands is the Port of Portland who leases us the property at the airport. Our management is working closely with the Port of Portland to try to get them to change their standpoint on this and other issues.
We feel that individualism is very important for our employees and that it would represent our city and our company well to have the same rules (or lack thereof) at all of our locations.
I hope this clears up the issue for you and that the Port of Portland will realize that this rule is not useful in any way.
My best,
Mike
Powells.com
Posted by: nekospecial | March 17, 2009 at 12:47 PM
Hey there... I've always been interested in activism in relation to body modification and and despised by the discrimination that people face in regards to their appearance. I have no idea why it's not considered a hate crime when someone doesn't get hired because of their body modifications. That's like not hiring someone because they're black. Thank you for posting this.
PS. I'm following you on twitter again hehe. Not sure why you peaked and then left. I really dig you.
Posted by: Rachel Haywire | March 17, 2009 at 10:25 PM
You don't have to wear an idiot hat; that is just plain offensive, and worse than the Port's treatment of you. Hit the resale shops like Ray's Ragtime and get something strange and cool, but prettier than a dumbass baseball cap. Meanwhile I will also protest to the Port office.
Posted by: Michael | March 23, 2009 at 09:15 PM
I love that you bleached your hair blonde.
Posted by: No | April 23, 2009 at 06:16 PM
Powells is an iconic aspect of Portland, part of its rich tapestry being the character and style of its employees. It seems silly for the Port of Portland to try to homogenize their Powells location, when the whole point of having it is to promote the city's image of individuality and expression.
Posted by: H. Nasman | August 29, 2009 at 09:57 PM