Female Firefighter Reprimanded For Her Hairstyle Maliciously Complies By Cutting Her Hair To Meet The Men’s Requirements
Not everyone can become a firefighter. These people can’t be afraid of heights or confined spaces. They must function well in a crisis, maintain their body in good shape, and be okay with working long shifts that include weekends and holidays.
However, it’s an exciting, ever-changing, and highly rewarding occupation that offers the warmth of camaraderie and the opportunity to provide critical, life-saving services in a moment of need.
Reddit user Skyyisgood thought she was up to the task. But when attending firefighter school, the woman found herself repeatedly getting into trouble due to dress code violations, more specifically, the hairstyle requirements. Eventually, the situation got so bad, she was even threatened with expulsion.
Luckily, she found a solution. And when everything was said and done, she even presented it to the subreddit ‘Malicious Compliance.’
This female firefighter trainee’s career was threatened due to her repeated women’s dress code violations
Image credits: LOGAN WEAVER | @LGNWVR (not the actual photo)
So she chose to follow the male dress code instead
Image credits: Engin Akyurt (not the actual photo)
Similar problems can persist beyond school as well. As the International Association of Women in Fire & Emergency Service (Women in Fire) points out, some fire departments fall behind others because organizational changes happen slowly and unevenly.
“In most departments, the most senior firefighters — those with more time on the job — were brought up in the old ways and may or may not have adapted well to change,” Women in Fire writes on its website. “This resistance can cause conflict and resentment. Those who represent change, such as women firefighters, sometimes bear the brunt of this resentment.”
If it is a very badly run department, people may get turned off the fire service altogether.
“Women particularly run risks if the department is badly managed and fails to control or punish ugly behavior such as sexual harassment. Working in a hostile environment can harm your mental health or even, in the worst cases, put your physical safety at risk. Discriminatory behavior by co-workers and managers can result in you receiving poor training and bad evaluations that will harm your chances of getting hired elsewhere,” Women in Fire explains. “Not many fire departments like this are still around, but they can be found here and there. Working for one of them is not the best idea, even in the short term.”
This is particularly saddening when you consider how long women have been firefighters, which is for over 200 years.
The first woman firefighter we know of was Molly Williams, who was a slave in New York City and became a member of Oceanus Engine Company #11 in about 1815.
Interestingly, during World War II, many women across the US entered the volunteer fire service to take the place of men who had been called into action. Two military fire departments in Illinois were staffed entirely by women for part of the war.
Now, even the progressive nation of Sweden is facing similar troubles.
In 2017, several national media in Sweden wrote about problems at many fire brigades, often severe problems, which surprised many since the country has gained a name for itself in recent decades as being both progressive and feminist.
In a #metoo-inspired campaign named #LarmetGår (The Call Out), over 100 reports came in in less than one week of sexism, racism, and bullying in Sweden’s fire services.
In one of the reports, for instance, a female firefighter said she had received a banana with a condom over it, left in her locker room on her first day at work. Another woman said she was routinely referred to as “the hole” by one of her officers during gym training, and there was also a female firefighter who was advised by her officers to lock her sleeping room at night because they could not guarantee her safety.
So even though a dress code might not seem like a big thing, it also serves as an example of a broader issue.
People applauded the woman for outplaying her instructor and shared similar stories concerning dress codes
Did I miss something? The headline says "cutting all hair off" while the story says "really cute pixie cut."
A pixie cut is very short.
So, yeah, she complied, but how is this malicious?
A few years ago we got a new uniform policy at work. There have often been differences between train drivers and conductors, the conductors generally have to be more dressy whereas we drivers can be more informal and practical. That makes sense since we often have to fix frozen switches or faults with the train. But this policy decided that men were allowed to wear proper boots in winter and non-dressy shoes in general. Women had to use much less practical shoes (still nothing with open toes or heels, or high heels thankfully). As a female train driver that pissed me off to no end, did they really expect me to wade through a metre of snow for up to several hundred metres to turn off a frozen brake or try to fix a frozen switch in low shoes or little booties? Dress shoes in summer wasn't something I looked forward to either. I made my complaint directly to the policy maker and just got some reply about the companys image back. Thankfully the union stepped in and the policy was changed.
So your hair doesn't fit the rules, which you're aware of and refuse to do anything about until you're fed up so you get a haircut so it does fit the rules? Where is this a win?
Because the OP was being continually hounded by only one instructor, for something she tried to fix but couldn’t help, so decided to do a little malicious compliance to shake that instructor up. Worked, too. Because there suddenly was nothing that a*****e could do to continue to hound the OP. So yeah. Win-Lose. Win for the OP. Lose for the a*****e instructor—-who had merely chosen the OP as her personal whipping boy (or, I guess, whipping girl)..
It is not malicious compliance if you simply follow the requirements. And she wasn't "technically" in dress code with her pixie cut, she WAS in dress code. These requirements may have been stupid, I don't know, but this is just a click-bait ("I cut off ALL my hair!" - no, you didn't...)
So she wasn't in compliance, then got a haircut and now was in compliance, and somehow the instructor was shaken because they stopped harassing her? Sounds to me like they stopped harassing her because she was finally in compliance. Sounds to me like a total non story.
Malicious? Sounds like clickbait. She certainly didn't hurt the instructor any. I loved ''GI Jane," btw.
This comment has been deleted.
To me, it sounds more like the other instructors chose to let her get away with breaking the rule, while one wasn’t. She did not say, as I recall, whether the other instructors were predominantly men or women, but it doesn’t matter- the one calling her out was a woman, and was probably motivated by that fact alone. I’m an old lady, and have been involved in several male-dominated professions, schools, and hobbies/activities; my experience is that sometimes women get treated badly no matter what. It gets worse for ALL the women when one stands out for negative reasons, like: disobeying the rules, goofing off too much, not putting any effort into a job or assignment, making the same mistake over and over again, consistently arriving late, or simply being no good at “it.” IOW, *one* woman’s poor performance reflects badly on *all* of the women. As I moved up, I ALWAYS told newcomers- we’re the only ones who will have your back, BUT don’t abuse our trust and support. Continued…
Continued due to character limit… Is this fair? Of course it isn’t fair! My husband is in a female-dominated profession, and the men in his workplace are seen as individuals who don’t represent all of the men. Until things change in a major way- and they will, as the older men who treat women badly age out of their jobs. Hopefully. The other point I wanted to make is that the OP knew- or should have known- what she was getting herself into. They are called UNIFORMS for a reason. Following the rules and doing things by the book are crucial in some professions. They’re there for a reason, too. Rule-breaking can get you, your coworkers, and innocent bystanders hurt or killed. If OP isn’t willing to do so, she should find another line of work.
Okay, BUT, she gets accepted into the fire academy, gets handed her uniform and is now learning that her current haircut is too awkward for the regulation, (shoulder length with layers really can't be bunned, I have that now and I can't even do pigtails without it falling out in 10 minutes). She is at school doing drills in uniform, she can't will her hair longer, it will grow by the time she graduates and gets assigned anywhere. It's not a safety hazard, and she isn't maintaining the layers. If she can't magically have it long enough to bun then cutting it shorter is the only way. Was a minor issue that would have worked itself out before it was an actual issue. She's a student, and it's unlikely anyone cared enough to tell the applicants beforehand girls had to have long enough hair to bun in order to attend school.
They tell you upon hiring what the requirements are. When I interviewed, before I even got the job, I was told I would have to get a haircut. When you are assigned to an academy class, you are given paperwork of all the requirements, including hair. They are very specific. There is no excuse for her.
She didn't try to fix it. She did nothing about her hair so it could be in a bun all day, then only finally reacted when her training was in jeopardy.
She said she used a lot of hairspray. Do you seriously want to waste an entire can in three days?
You use all the hairspray that is needed if you want to keep the job.
A surfeit of hairspray and open flame. Great idea.
"She did nothing"...using an entire bottle of hairspray to try to keep her hair in place is ''nothing''????
There was not a way to fix it 👏🏻👏🏻
We found the Instructor !!!!
They wanted her to her to magically force her hair to grow longer somehow so it could be in a bun. Which is of course impossible. So she cut it specifically to meet regulation and they still got angry because it fit the ''male' regulation instead of female because again, YOU CAN'T MAKE YOUR HAIR INSTANTLY GROW LONGER. It's PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE. If you job asked you to suddenly grow a third arm, you could try all you wanted but you would inevitably fail.
No, they wanted her hair in compliance. They didn't care HOW she achieved that. All she had to do was cut it, and she finally did just that. If she had done that before the academy started this would never have happened to her. Firefighters are told EXACTLY what the requirements are BEFORE they start the academy. She has NO EXCUSE.
Also she didn't "refuse to do anything" about it, she literally used an ENTIRE can of hairspray to attempt to keep it in place. Which is a freaking ton of hairspray. The gaslighting in the comment sections of this website, I swear...
Just because she tried doesn't make her in compliance, and trying but failing does not give you a pass. I swear.....
It's a 'Spirit and the Letter' kind of thing. Most of the instructors saw the OP was trying her best and decided that was good enough (Spirit of the Law) but the one instructor was very stuck on the Letter of the Law, so OP followed it - to the Letter.
Right. She could have avoided the whole thing if she had just cut her hair in the beginning.
Did I miss something? The headline says "cutting all hair off" while the story says "really cute pixie cut."
A pixie cut is very short.
So, yeah, she complied, but how is this malicious?
A few years ago we got a new uniform policy at work. There have often been differences between train drivers and conductors, the conductors generally have to be more dressy whereas we drivers can be more informal and practical. That makes sense since we often have to fix frozen switches or faults with the train. But this policy decided that men were allowed to wear proper boots in winter and non-dressy shoes in general. Women had to use much less practical shoes (still nothing with open toes or heels, or high heels thankfully). As a female train driver that pissed me off to no end, did they really expect me to wade through a metre of snow for up to several hundred metres to turn off a frozen brake or try to fix a frozen switch in low shoes or little booties? Dress shoes in summer wasn't something I looked forward to either. I made my complaint directly to the policy maker and just got some reply about the companys image back. Thankfully the union stepped in and the policy was changed.
So your hair doesn't fit the rules, which you're aware of and refuse to do anything about until you're fed up so you get a haircut so it does fit the rules? Where is this a win?
Because the OP was being continually hounded by only one instructor, for something she tried to fix but couldn’t help, so decided to do a little malicious compliance to shake that instructor up. Worked, too. Because there suddenly was nothing that a*****e could do to continue to hound the OP. So yeah. Win-Lose. Win for the OP. Lose for the a*****e instructor—-who had merely chosen the OP as her personal whipping boy (or, I guess, whipping girl)..
It is not malicious compliance if you simply follow the requirements. And she wasn't "technically" in dress code with her pixie cut, she WAS in dress code. These requirements may have been stupid, I don't know, but this is just a click-bait ("I cut off ALL my hair!" - no, you didn't...)
So she wasn't in compliance, then got a haircut and now was in compliance, and somehow the instructor was shaken because they stopped harassing her? Sounds to me like they stopped harassing her because she was finally in compliance. Sounds to me like a total non story.
Malicious? Sounds like clickbait. She certainly didn't hurt the instructor any. I loved ''GI Jane," btw.
This comment has been deleted.
To me, it sounds more like the other instructors chose to let her get away with breaking the rule, while one wasn’t. She did not say, as I recall, whether the other instructors were predominantly men or women, but it doesn’t matter- the one calling her out was a woman, and was probably motivated by that fact alone. I’m an old lady, and have been involved in several male-dominated professions, schools, and hobbies/activities; my experience is that sometimes women get treated badly no matter what. It gets worse for ALL the women when one stands out for negative reasons, like: disobeying the rules, goofing off too much, not putting any effort into a job or assignment, making the same mistake over and over again, consistently arriving late, or simply being no good at “it.” IOW, *one* woman’s poor performance reflects badly on *all* of the women. As I moved up, I ALWAYS told newcomers- we’re the only ones who will have your back, BUT don’t abuse our trust and support. Continued…
Continued due to character limit… Is this fair? Of course it isn’t fair! My husband is in a female-dominated profession, and the men in his workplace are seen as individuals who don’t represent all of the men. Until things change in a major way- and they will, as the older men who treat women badly age out of their jobs. Hopefully. The other point I wanted to make is that the OP knew- or should have known- what she was getting herself into. They are called UNIFORMS for a reason. Following the rules and doing things by the book are crucial in some professions. They’re there for a reason, too. Rule-breaking can get you, your coworkers, and innocent bystanders hurt or killed. If OP isn’t willing to do so, she should find another line of work.
Okay, BUT, she gets accepted into the fire academy, gets handed her uniform and is now learning that her current haircut is too awkward for the regulation, (shoulder length with layers really can't be bunned, I have that now and I can't even do pigtails without it falling out in 10 minutes). She is at school doing drills in uniform, she can't will her hair longer, it will grow by the time she graduates and gets assigned anywhere. It's not a safety hazard, and she isn't maintaining the layers. If she can't magically have it long enough to bun then cutting it shorter is the only way. Was a minor issue that would have worked itself out before it was an actual issue. She's a student, and it's unlikely anyone cared enough to tell the applicants beforehand girls had to have long enough hair to bun in order to attend school.
They tell you upon hiring what the requirements are. When I interviewed, before I even got the job, I was told I would have to get a haircut. When you are assigned to an academy class, you are given paperwork of all the requirements, including hair. They are very specific. There is no excuse for her.
She didn't try to fix it. She did nothing about her hair so it could be in a bun all day, then only finally reacted when her training was in jeopardy.
She said she used a lot of hairspray. Do you seriously want to waste an entire can in three days?
You use all the hairspray that is needed if you want to keep the job.
A surfeit of hairspray and open flame. Great idea.
"She did nothing"...using an entire bottle of hairspray to try to keep her hair in place is ''nothing''????
There was not a way to fix it 👏🏻👏🏻
We found the Instructor !!!!
They wanted her to her to magically force her hair to grow longer somehow so it could be in a bun. Which is of course impossible. So she cut it specifically to meet regulation and they still got angry because it fit the ''male' regulation instead of female because again, YOU CAN'T MAKE YOUR HAIR INSTANTLY GROW LONGER. It's PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE. If you job asked you to suddenly grow a third arm, you could try all you wanted but you would inevitably fail.
No, they wanted her hair in compliance. They didn't care HOW she achieved that. All she had to do was cut it, and she finally did just that. If she had done that before the academy started this would never have happened to her. Firefighters are told EXACTLY what the requirements are BEFORE they start the academy. She has NO EXCUSE.
Also she didn't "refuse to do anything" about it, she literally used an ENTIRE can of hairspray to attempt to keep it in place. Which is a freaking ton of hairspray. The gaslighting in the comment sections of this website, I swear...
Just because she tried doesn't make her in compliance, and trying but failing does not give you a pass. I swear.....
It's a 'Spirit and the Letter' kind of thing. Most of the instructors saw the OP was trying her best and decided that was good enough (Spirit of the Law) but the one instructor was very stuck on the Letter of the Law, so OP followed it - to the Letter.
Right. She could have avoided the whole thing if she had just cut her hair in the beginning.