So I'm pleased that the equality body, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, has just advised schools not to penalise pupils with afros because that's a form of racism.
Unfortunately the guidance only applies to afros and not to other hairstyles. And it says nothing about workplaces, which might also be picky about hairstyles.
I've never understood why schools and workplaces are so censorious about someone's hairstyle, if in most cases their hairstyle makes no difference to anything. I accept that a hairstyle may be objected to if it's a safety hazard, like long hair if you're using dangerous machinery, but otherwise, why all the fuss?
A pupil's unusual hairstyle won't stop them learning, and an employee's odd hairstyle won't stop them doing their job.
Strangely enough, neither me nor any other boy at my two schools were ever ticked off for unacceptable hairstyles. That was partly because in those days most boys opted for an unadventurous "short back and sides". They didn't have long hair as that only became popular after I left school in 1965. And they didn't dye their hair as that was seen as effeminate. But even those boys with a slicked back Elvis hairstyle were never told off. Hair just wasn't controversial.
Of course beards are never in contention for schoolboys as you can only grow a beard from around the age of 18. But there are still workplaces that ban them as "unprofessional". As a bookseller, my hairstyle was never questioned. If I had had hair down to my ankles nobody would have objected, though they might have wondered how on earth I washed it.
I have never been aware of any public school codes about hair. Possibly a private school, but never public. I remember kids with Afros in the 70’s and lots of long hair on boys in the ‘70’s and 80’s.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: Schools in Northern Ireland are mostly state funded, there are very few private ones. All four schools near us have strict uniform requirements and hairstyles are strictly conventional - though dyeing is okay.
DeleteI’m pleased that the schools stopped the nonsense about afros.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, my hair at work was frowned upon, but tolerated - an eighties backcombed frizz ball - I wish I’d listened to the criticism now!!
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Ms Scarlet: I'd love to see a photo of your backcombed frizz ball!
DeleteI think it is a question of a combination of the remit of the EHRC and the complaints it receives that limits this declaration to the afro hairstyle. A pity, as you say, that all hairstyle discrimination is not equally treated.
ReplyDeleteFly: I'm surprised they didn't take the opportunity to defend other hairstyles and criticise hair discrimination generally.
DeleteFor some reason I was reminded of the Mohawk which often came with skull tattoos, etc. A style I often found exceedingly funny for some reason with all that wax and the teetering comb, blocking the view of anyone behind. Men spending more time on grooming than women.
ReplyDeleteAs to rules and regs, army and police do. I've never seen a cop with a Mohawk.
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WWW
www: The Mohawk was a bizarre hairstyle. I never succumbed!
DeleteEven in the late 60s, hair length and style was not an issue where I went to school. There weren't any guys that had hair of any significant length, though.
ReplyDeleteAfros were not a thing, either. Even though segregation in schools had been stopped, my school district, just outside of Houston, Texas, was a relic of racial exclusion. There were no blacks in the district and few Hispanics. (Today, 52 years after I graduated, the district is just under 25% black and almost 70% Hispanic.)
Mike: That's quite a shift in demographics. I guess there has been a similar shift in the area I grew up in (Harrow, Middlesex)
DeleteI had several battles with the senior school over Daughter's hair. The fact that she was a hard-working and diligent pupil counted for nothing.
ReplyDeleteLiz: That doesn't surprise me. Some heads are obsessed with petty discipline.
DeleteWhen my girls went to school, in the seventies and eighties, drugs were a problem. I called their principals several times on the topic and was stonewalled. That's the gist of my comment, being ignored with a reasonable complaint. It made discipline at home difficult.
ReplyDeleteJoanne: People in authority often find it easier to ignore a problem than to do the heavy lifting of actually solving it.
DeleteYet again, Mary's comment hasn't appeared on my post. She says: "Some schools here like private schools have really strict dress codes including how you can wear your hair and how long or short it can be. I never understood that."
ReplyDeleteMary: Indeed, how on earth does having "too-long" or "too-short" hair affect your ability to do your schoolwork? It's just discipline for the sake of it.
DeleteMy school did not allow us boys to dye. Our pubic hair.
ReplyDeleteAnon: Spoilsports!
ReplyDeleteDuring school and working life peer pressure and decorum norms kept us on the straight and narrow. I suppose that the new straight and narrow is different.
ReplyDeleteRamana: The new straight and narrow seems to be confined to professional and white collar occupations. Other jobs are more laid back clothing-wise.
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