Woman denied haircut, files human rights complaint

[The Patriot]

When Faith McGregor went into the Terminal Barber Shop requesting a short haircut, she was told the shop only grooms men. The reason, co-owner Omar Mahrouk said, was that as a Muslim he could not cut the hair of a woman who was not related to him. Faith McGregor discusses why she felt discriminated against, after being refused a haircut from The Terminal Barber Shop in Toronto,

Customers and employees are seen inside of The Terminal Barber Shop in Toronto, Customers and employees are seen inside of The Terminal Barber Shop in Toronto, But for McGregor, the rejection of her patronage amounted to sexism. Fundamentally, my hair is the same as their male clients, so why

would they have a problem with that,” she told CTV News. I felt like a second class citizen, like it was hard to hear that they refused and there was no discussion." So the 35-year-old filed a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. Under the law, business owners aren’t supposed to discriminate based on gender, but Mahrouk felt he had religious rights.

Read more- Video included. http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/woman-d...aint-1.1040609

What are your thoughts?


Is this an issue of Religious Rights vs Human Rights or is this a case of much a do about nothing? do you think the woman should have gone somewhere else? she wants him to respect her rights but is she respecting his? I'm pretty sure she's not the first woman this man has denied a haircut, is this even newsworthy? settle this issue in private. There are things like women and men only gyms, if you were denied access as a man in woman's gym or a woman in a man's gym you wouldn't sue, you'd find a gym that allows both men and women to work out.

[50piecesteve]

I honestly dont think its a big deal. I doubt its the only place in Toronto that cuts hair

[The Patriot]

Originally Posted by 50piecesteve

I honestly dont think its a big deal. I doubt its the only place in Toronto that cuts hair

I'm from Toronto, it's not, I get my hair cut by men and women, there are so many Barbershop and Hairdressing shops in my city. It's not a big deal but she's making it out to be.

[Freddio42]

Don't see why she's making such a fuss, it's not like the shop owes her anything. If they have their own rules fine, and they lose customers because of it, their loss; so long as there's plenty of other stores which will cut her hair I don't see the problem. I would be a bit annoyed yeah, and it could be perceived as discrimination, sure, but not so much as to turn it into a news story.

[mdiada]

She is a drama queen.

[Milco]

Hairdressers do actually train in cutting hair for men and women separately - at least that's how it is here. And a hairdresser can turn away somebody they are not trained in servicing.
But other than objective and professional reasons like that, you cannot turn somebody away because of their gender - religious reasons are not good enough reasons.
It's an important principle that businesses cannot turn away, charge different prices or treat people differently based on gender, ethnicity and so on. Just like clubs can't charge different entrance fees for men and women.

[michael1]

LOLhumans

[Transcending]

First world problems lol

[Dark Alchemist]

Just throw a brick through their window and get your hair cut elsewhere.

[nubly]

Does this even fall under human rights violations?

[VanDamMan]

What wins, gender discrimination or religious rights?

[Barette]

Someone's got her panties in an uproar. Silly thing to get up in arms about. It's his religious beliefs, I don't think he ought to compromise them cause this chick is so insulted that a guy wouldn't give her a haircut.

[Monotony]

They don't want your business because of their religious views fine get your hair cut somewhere else and stop being an attention *****.

[arnie]

Originally Posted by Barette

Someone's got her panties in an uproar. Silly thing to get up in arms about. It's his religious beliefs, I don't think he ought to compromise them cause this chick is so insulted that a guy wouldn't give her a haircut.

Exactly. It's not a big deal to go to a different barber.

[Milco]

Would you guys be ok with have a loan declined at the bank because of your political beliefs? Not being let on a plane if you're homosexual? Not being served at a restaurant because of your skin colour?
There has to be actual professional reasons to turn away people.
It might seem like a silly example (and as I argued in my previous post there could be many good reasons to turn her away), but it's a very important principle.

[WintersTale]

The odd thing about it isn't that she was denied a haircut, but that men actually go see a barber, instead of a salon stylist.

I suppose some guys are homophobic, and feel it's gay or something. But for the most part, you get a much better haircut when you get it professionally styled. You can walk into a stylist's place, and since you are a man, you walk out with a $15 haircut that looks fantastic! Compared to women, who usually spend $200 for the same haircut, due to all the dyes and treatments they go through.

[UltraShy]

This woman looks at least as butch as Rachel Maddow, and you'll notice she doesn't even bother to cover her grays despite being only 35.

How did the barber know this wasn't a man?

[The Patriot]

Originally Posted by UltraShy

This woman looks at least as butch as Rachel Maddow, and you'll notice she doesn't even bother to cover her grays despite being only 35.

How did the barber know this wasn't a man?

Haha I was thinking Rachel Maddow myself, He probably didn't until she spoke. She's probably Rachel Maddows Stand in or something

[Caliginous]

I know of a lot of "salons for men" that will not cut women's hair, simply because they're not male, but they probably would if it was going to cause such a mess. The religious part is the issue here and it would be wrong to force someone to go against their beliefs. In my opinion, it's up to the business to decide what they're willing to lose money and clients over.

Also, word of caution, if you have to fight with your hairdresser/barber to get your hair cut, you're not going to like the result.

[UltraShy]

Originally Posted by Caliginous

I know of a lot of "salons for men" that will not cut women's hair, simply because they're not male, but they probably would if it was going to cause such a mess.

That just made me think of a chain that I think is called Sports Cuts. They cater to men with attractive young female stylists (think Hooter's Girl cutting hair) and with TVs all tuned to sporting events. I assume they'd cut a woman's hair, though doubtful they get many female clients given their atmosphere that's so strongly tailored to male desires. They blatantly discriminate in hiring (just like Hooters), as they're sure not going to hire a male stylist, no matter how fabulous his styling ability may be, nor are they going to hire an older and/ or unattractive woman no matter how great a stylist she is either.

Which reminds me of how over a decade ago some guy filed a complaint with the EEOC when he was denied a job as a Hooters Girl (he evidently didn't understand that you had to be a girl to be a Hooters Girl). You may remember how Hooters made a joke about that, putting up billboards with a 50-something man dressed in a Hooter's Girl uniform asking "What's wrong with this picture?"

This whole complaint is ridiculous. She's not exactly on par with Rosa Parks here. She's complaining that one barber shop refused to give her a hair cut, when there are countless other establishments that would happily provide her with hair cutting/styling services. Is there anybody who feels there's shortage of salons to meet any & all hair needs of the female population?

I suspect this is the first time that barber shop ever had to turn away a woman, since it's hard to imagine many women would want their hair done by such a place. Barber shops are this old fashioned place, that's largely disappeared, serving (generally) male clients who want a basic hair cut. They don't want anything fancy or trendy -- and with a customer base where most are old enough to qualify for the senior discount, few would even have any clue what is trendy, unless you mean what was trendy back in 1970. Just a basic cut at a reasonable price. Such shops lack pretentious French stylists named Guy who charge $200 for a cut. They have barbers who give simple utilitarian cuts, which wouldn't at all appeal to most female clients.

Her trivial complaint turns human rights into a joke. Those with real human rights complaints are rolling their eyes at this lunacy.