A barber from New Zealand has sparked outrage after he refused to cut a woman’s hair; the situation has resulted in irate customers accusing him of discrimination online.
The woman who has asked to go simply by the name Rachael shared that she visited the barber shop in Wellington, New Zealand and asked for a standard short back and side’s haircut – a traditional men’s barber cut. She assumed it wouldn’t be a problem as she had visited the shop a few years before and had excellent service previously.
However the owner of the barber’s shop, which has become a chain in Australia and currently has four shops, said he stood by the store’s refusal to serve her. Matt Time said that he understands how times have changed and apologised for the experience Rachael had to go through, but also felt that he should stick to the vision he had when he opened the barber shop five years ago.
Why Have Men’s Only Barbershops?
Time considers his barber shop to be traditional and old-school and describes on the brands website that it is a men’s only barbershop. The concept is to provide a relaxed environment for men to come, drink beer and confidently discuss any issues they may be facing at work or at home. He related his reasoning to women’s only gyms and says he can understand how women want a place to be able to work out and feel comfortable without the presence of men.
Although his shop has serviced women in the past when the shop initially opened, he realised it was getting to the point that they were receiving seven female customers per week. Some male clients had even complained to Time and said they felt unhappy seeing women in the shop as they were unable to speak openly about their issues.
Rachael is not the only female to have faced rejection from Times barber shop, Genevieve Fowler also shared her experience and branded the idea of men’s only barbershops as ‘old-fashioned sexism’. Fowler said that as she keeps her hair short and wants to maintain a barbers cut, she cannot understand the reason behind the rejection when she simply wants the same service at the same cost.
