I say Canadians only because this is something I’m doing to help introduce a law that bans dresscodes against body modification, and only Canadians can sign the petition I have. If I bring the petition in the House HAS to vote on it and I need as much as possible before I present it. There is an online petition here
There has been a discrimination issue across Canada for a very long time and I think it’s about time we put an end to it.
Business’ have been permitted to include in their dress codes that employees must;
1.Cover up most forms of non-removable body modifications (Tattoos, scarification etc.) with clothing or make-up.
2.Remove most removable body modifications (Piercings, cosmetic contact lenses etc.) usually with the exception of studs in the earlobes.
3.Have a certain standard of hairstyle and haircut which is never really defined.
4.Shave all facial hair unless it’s religious.
People should be able to look however they want and not have to cover themselves up in shame just because someone may get offended. Some people find plastic surgery offensive, do they have to cover up their new nose?
Body modification means that you have modified your body in a permanent way, which in turn means that this is now what your body looks like. We wouldn’t make someone with a giant mole cover it up. Why? Because that’s their appearance. Why should we cover it up or try to rid ourselves of it when we payed and planned for this.
Piercings and hair may not be as permanent but they are just as much a part of our bodies as the parts they are connected to. We should not have to remove it because someone doesn’t like it.
Our bodies are our right, our work may own our time but not our bodies, They can dress us up, but not pick and chose what parts of our bodies are acceptable. This is a human rights issue, We have to work, but our appearance should not be a limiting factor. These are our bodies, and no one else’s.
Not only is this a human rights issue but also a cultural issue. Part of being Canadian is being able to be who you want to be. It may not be unique to Canada, but the fact that we can have art permanently etched in our skin is just as culturally significant as the art we hang in our museums or the natural beauty we are known for.
This is an outdated and underrated issue that should have been fixed decades ago. No one is so closed minded enough anymore to get offended over some colour in your arm or metal in your face.
Sign this online petition and help put an end to discrimination in Canada
http://www.petitiononlinecanada.com/petition/petition-on-discrimination-of-appearance-in-the-workplace/469
Thank-you for your support and time
-Lisa McRae
Isnt it odd how the only people who have any rights are the ones who happen to be making noise at the time in question?
So you are saying that as an employer with 25 years of my life and every penny I have ever earned invested in my business I need to be forced by law to employ people who I know will damage my business in order to satisfy the right of those people who wish to to modify their bodies how ever they see fit?
The world has gone mental!
What ever happened to taking responsibility for your own actions? If you decide to get your face tattooed you may loose your job in a bank, get over it thats what happens when you act without thinking.
I would encourage any Canadian business person to start a petition calling for a change in the law allowing employers to employ who ever they want.
Well I give you credit for standing up for something you believe in, but must say that I stand with Cornishtiger on this issue. I plan on being pretty well covered in tats in the coming years, but I know that as a worker in the white collar world, there are certain areas that I can’t get tats. It doesn’t matter much whether I work for myself or someone else because regardless of the laws, people will always have certain perceptions and my appearance will impact business.
Just as you have the right to go get a tattoo or piercing anywhere you like, an employer should have the right to choose what sort of image they want their employees to present to their customers. Don’t scream about “human rights”. It’s not inhumane to not hire someone for a position that they may not be suitable for based upon their appearance. It would be a violation of your rights if someone forced you to get a tattoo or piercing in order to obtain a position with an employer.
What you call discrimination is actually called “choice”. You choose to permanently alter your body, I choose not to hire you if I find it inappropriate. It’s that simple. Why is it that only your choices and freedoms should be protected and prioritized?
While this is a tattoo forum, I think most of the folks here will subscribe to the “you-made-your-bed-now-lie-in-it” philosophy. Sorry…
Have to agree with the above opinions. While I love tattoos, I respect the rights of employers to hire those who will represent their company in the way they want them to.
For some companies that might mean hiring people with tattoos and piercings, for other companies it might be the opposite or asking them to cover them up while in contact with clients.
If my company ever told me that my tattoos must not be visible at work, I’d completely understand their position. I CHOSE to get tattooed, its not the same as having a mole on my neck as you suggested in your post.
If you don’t like it you can find another place to work.
Hey, look at that… None of you (except possibly one?) are Canadian and therefore can’t know wheather or not this is a bad idea. We are a very tolerent people and all this is culturally relivant but you wouldn’t know that because you don’t live it.
Why should Natives be allowd to have whatever tattoos/piercings/hair they want and be MORE likely to get a job because ‘their ancestors had them too and deserve to take part in their own culture’ and africans who come over and are also tattooed have the same right but born and raised Canadians aren’t allowed because our fathers didn’t have tattoos (although a lot of our ancestors did)? Were you aware of these rules before you replied?
In Canada we PRIDE ourselves on being incredibly tolerent and multicultral and I am just trying to right a wrong here, I’m going for equality. People HERE don’t care if you have tattoos unless it’s in the dresscode. Lets say I have a job at Company ‘X’ which is American owned and the American owners come by every now and then. It might say in the dresscode that I can’t have any facial piercings. The Canadian opperators don’t really care, the clients don’t really care and the co-workers don’t really care because that is how Canadian are generally. But they enforce it incase the owners come by and have a fit.
I’ve been tattooed and pierced for a while and always had positive and NEVER negative feedback. People in Canada like to see a lot of different kind of people from all sorts of places or subcultures.
I know you’re just going by your cultrure and where you live thinking we’re the same because we are very similar in a lot of ways but that dosen’t mean we are culturally the same. We are to America and the UK as Germany is to Norway. There is a difference here. Intolerence is an American and apparently a UK and Australlian thing.
It’s the reason we allow gay marriage, have very light laws on marijuana and caucasians are the minority. It IS an outdatted law and if you lived here you would know that.
STAY OUT OF OUR AFFAIRS.
I said Canadians only for a reason, I didn’t want to hear your irrealivant arguments. I have a LOT of support when I talk to people HERE in Canada and I haven’t had any Canadian disagree with me yet. There is no way for you to comprehend how another culture acts and feels without living there a while.
If it was as different as you say it is, then you wouldn’t need a petition. This has nothing to do with intolerance and everything to do with professionalism. Business owners have a right to do what is in the best interest of their business. If you can’t take responsibility for your own decisions, that’s your problem, not theirs.
I said Canadians only for a reason, I didn’t want to hear your irrealivant arguments. I have a LOT of support when I talk to people HERE in Canada and I haven’t had any Canadian disagree with me yet. There is no way for you to comprehend how another culture acts and feels without living there a while.
So by “a LOT” you mean all 5 people that have signed your petition?
we choose to have tattooes,
this aint no disability,
we chose where they are located,
the employer OWNS the job
they should have a right to put some restrictions on our dress in regards to our body modifications,
I choose not to tattoo my neck and hands, I choose to wear hundreds of hours or ink I can cover up. As it has been said, even though my company owner allows me to be a freak (I am general manage rlicensed HVAC contrzctor and only asnwer to him) not all customers will listen to my message because of their opinion of body art…….
I love the way you choose to demonstrate Canadian toleranceby telling us all to mind our own business and telling us we wouldnt understand because we are not Canadian without asking anyone if they are Canadian first.
I think all you have done now is display your own short sightedness and to be honest your silly argument has been heard again and again and it means nothing.
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