Richmond women suspended for hair styles
 

HI everyone...tried to search and see if this had popped up anywhere else, and couldnt find it.

this is a link to my local newspaper in Richmond VA. these two women (one i actually know) were suspended and/or fired over braided and locked hairstyles. those in charge considered their hairstyles to be "extreme" and unfortunately gave them hard decisions to make.

since some of us are in professional environments (i.e offices, etc.) do you agree with these hair styles being "extreme"? what about tattoos or piercings?

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/search...5-25-0162.html

this should be a very interesting discussion...:)

If there is nothing in the policies and procedures forbidding these hairstyles, there should be no problem.

If it is up to the supervisor's discretion, it should be made clear that these hairstyles provide some CLEAR threat to safety or the overall work environment.

Based on what can be seen in the picture included in the link it does not appear extreme at all! I hope they win big!

hey six...
ive never lived anywhere but here so i couldnt tell you! it just seems to me that if the one woman with locks worked IN THE WHITE HOUSE with locks, of allll the places it could be a "security risk", i would think that would be it!

i personally from time to time put braids in my hair. i always work with the public and never once have been told they were extreme. i could see if i got green or blue up in the braids, or some wacky-azz hair design with it, because that is a bit much. but just plain cornrows? i am all up in a law firm getting my case heard!

This is total bull!!! If they were late to work everyday, if her hair were fire engine red, if she had gold teeth, or killed somebody, but braids!?!?!!? YOu have got to be kidding me! Can you say to hell in a handbasket! The day your hair trumps your performance is a cold day in hell.....well I am so:mad::mad: I don't know what else to say...@#$%@$!#@

thank you 1908, thats all im saying!

i could see if she was a hoodrat. i could see if she was a discipline problem. im pretty sure someone not black had something to do with it. we would all be too scared to approach her about it! "you tell her she cant wear her braids anymore...she's not gonna cuss ME out!"

So . . . I wouldn't be allowed to wear my hair in a French braid??? What about a chignon? A French twist?
This is ridiculous.

Those hairdos are not extreme--I can't see anything problematic or "distracting" about them.

It'd be interesting to see if they'd fly in my workplace, though. There are lots of busy-body ladies in there who make it their life's work to get in other peoples' business, and this is the reason one of my friends who also works there has to dress like she lives on the North Pole even in summer in order to cover up her tattoos. Apparently, people complained when they could see them peeking out from underneath her clothing (she has quite a few tattoos), so she can't wear skirts or short sleeves. I could maaaaaybe see the need to cover them up if we worked with the public just for professional appearance's sake, but we don't interact with anyone who isn't employed there. Evidently it's just too much for some people to catch a glimpse of inked skin, but nobody seems to have a problem with major cleavage being flaunted and too-tight clothes that show things that are better left covered. I bet if someone came in there with braided hair, someone would say something.

I cannot see anything inappropriate to either of those ladies' hairstyles. They both look neat and well-put together.:confused:

Now, I hate the play the race card, but could this be discrimination? I know that people of different races can have different textures of hair - coarse and dry, thick and pin straight, naturally curly, etc., and sometimes there is not a whole lot that you can do with it. I am white, btw.

I don't think either of these are extreme. In fact I would think braids would be perfect for a correctional facility. It keeps the hair close to the head so that any disorderly inmates cannot grab on to your hair and pull you down.

yup, im sure somewhere a French twist is considered "extreme" and against a dress code! lmao!

the only place i would allow to tell me how to wear my hair is the military. case closed. that way you know it isnt a race/sex/status thing. everybody has to follow those rules.

I don't see a problem with the hairstyles. I don't know why anyone would consider them extreme. I can sort of understand, considering their occpuation, how long hair might be a problem, and if they were told to wear long hair pull back in some way, but I don't see how braids or dreadlocks are hazardous.

As for tattoos...I have 5 tattoos. 4 of them are not visible unloess I'm waling around in my underwear, the 5th is on the inside of my ankle. I work in a law office, and while there is not policy (or none that has ever been shared with me) about visible tattoos, I do ocer mine up in the summer if I am wearing capris or skirts, just because I know some people will not find visible tattoos, and it's a lot easier to take 5 minutes in the morning to put some makeup on it, then have to deal with my bossess if they have a problem with it.

But if there is no policy regarding hair/tattoos/dress code, then their should be no problem here. And I hope if these women were treated unjustly that they fight and I hope they win.

It's pretty sad that these women are basically being asked to assimilate to mainstream culture. Everyone does not want to wear their hair straight and flowing. :mad: I proudly wear my hair curly everyday in a head band or pulled up. People need to educate themselves on different hair types. As the article mentioned, people of African diaspora have been wearing braids forever and this is nothing new!

Yes, people of the African diaspora have been wearing their hair in brands forever.

Not to be confused with braids, twists, and dreds being the only unstraightened hair options.

My only issue is with this hair regulation not being documented so these women could know beforehand. I've seen establishments ban cornrows and not get any complaint from the blacks who worked there because these blacks thought cornrows created a certain image, anyway. I've also seen predominantly white establishments ban whites from wearing braided, dred locked, spiked, and dyed hairstyles. If the policy applies to all, it applies to all and that's fine with me.