'You can't expel me now': Woman cuts all her hair off after fire academy instructor writes her up for violating women's dress code, leaving instructor speechless

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Mar 4, 2024 8:00 AM EST

One woman rebelled against the unfair system, and the internet enjoyed every minute of it.

She was a fire academy student and put bluntly, her hairstyle didn't suit the women's dress code. They wanted her hair to be put up nicely in a neat bun, and she had layered, shoulder-length hair that was difficult to wrap up. Most of the instructors didn't care because it didn't pose a safety issue, but one instructor had it out for this student… and cared a lot.

This instructor would write her up multiple times. The most infuriating part of all this was that the men's dress code catered much more to their needs. Pointing that out wouldn't help though, so this student found a clever way to maliciously comply with her instructor instead. Although the ending to this story is satisfying, I still think it's sad that women have to deal with this type of thing.

Then, check out this female data scientist who was called out for doing her job, and delegating work to her team.

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  • 01
    "Guess I won't be expelled now, huh?"
    via Canva
  • 02
    I kept getting written up for my hairstyle, so I cut all my hair off.
    via u/skyyisgood
  • 03
    When I was in the fire academy, the women's dress code said that hair had to be worn in a neat bun. I had layered, shoulder length hair so it was was difficult to keep it up neatly all day long. The shorter pieces would stick out of the bun, or fall out around my face, and my bangs weren't long enough to pin back without using an entire bottle of hairspray.
    via u/skyyisgood
  • 04
    Most of my instructors were understanding, and said that as long as my hair was up and my mask could seal to my face they would consider me to be in dress code. But there was one instructor who said there was no excuse. “We're a paramilitary type school, so dress code is extremely important." She acknowledged that it wasn't a safety issue, but told me I had to follow it anyway, and that doing my best wasn't good enough. She wrote
    via u/skyyisgood
  • 05
    me up three times, and then called me in for a meeting to inform me that another write up for the same issue would get me expelled from the program. I looked into the dress code and saw that the men's hair code was much more lenient. It just said that hair must not touch the collar of the shirt or the tops of the ears.
    via u/skyyisgood
  • 06
    So the night after that meeting I went to a hair place and told the stylist to do whatever she wanted to my hair as long as it fit those requirements. She was stoked and gave me a really cute pixie cut. The next day the same instructor tried to write me up, but since I was technically in dress code she couldn't.
    via u/skyyisgood
  • 07
    The next semester there was a man with long hair who wore it in a bun instead of cutting it, and the following semester the dress code was rewritten to be gender neutral.
    via u/skyyisgood
  • 08
    jointkicker 2 yr. ago . Some parts of the uniform policy at my school were rewritten to stop arguments between my parents and my pca(teacher head of a student group). I was a long haired boy, it was clean and tidy and fit all the rules bit still caused arguments. I adhered to both the mens and womens policy around hair but eventually they just changed it to read 'neat and tidy' for both. Reply Share 2.7k
    via u/jointkicker
  • 09
    [deleted] 2 yr. ago Technically correct is the best kind of correct. Well played. 5.5k Reply Share cavaliereternally - 2 yr. ago Born to be a bureaucrat, just like Hermes Reply Share 933
    via u/deleted, u/cavaliereternally
  • 10
    tofuroll 2 yr. ago The next day the same instructor tried to write me up, F that instructor in particular. You followed dress code and they still tried to ha. ss you. They just had a bone to pick. 2.1k Reply Share
    via u/tofuroll
  • 11
    ckjm - 2 yr. ago A bun?!? Talk about a headache waiting to happen under a helmet. I cut mine short after struggling to be able to quickly and effectively keep mine in my mask; now I'm just done trying/caring and going to shave it. Haha 635 Reply Share
    via u/ckjm
  • 12
    Geminii27 2 yr. ago · edited 2 yr. ago I was half-expecting for you to turn up bald. Reply Share 169 i-contain-multitudes · 2 yr. ago Yeah that's what the title said. "Cutting all your hair off" means bald. 117 Reply Share
    via u/Geminii27, u/i-contain-multitudes
  • 13
    ruthh-r. 2 yr. ago I shaved all mine off during the first wave of COVID. I'm a nurse and I worked in ED. I had an angled bob, with the longest front pieces at chin length. I found it difficult to keep it in a ponytail too because the short pieces at the back were too short. It was actually short enough to be able to wear down per the uniform policy, but it was getting in my face all the time. We weren't being supplied with surgical hats back then (a lot of my colleagues wore
    via u/ruthh-r
  • 14
    shoe covers on their heads, quite useful because you can wear them backwards and stuff your bun/ponytail into the toe) but I have a head like a bucket and they were too tight and gave me headaches, and that early on we weren't allowed cloth/reusable head coverings. It was also getting trashed with being washed twice a day (policy was before and after work) - so off it came. Did a #2 all over first time, but when it needed trimmed I went full skin. Grew it out a bit, dyed it blue black, waited un
    via u/ruthh-r
  • 15
    up with an inverse mohawk so off it all came again. Now I'm growing it out, I'll grow it until it's back where it was and then decide which length I like the best. It's been an adventure - I see my face very differently now and I realise how much of my life I spent hiding behind my hair. I'm more confident about my looks now, and realise that for me at least, hair # femininity. I felt weirdly more feminine and sexy without hair, which was very, very strange and unexpected. My hair has also thinn
    via u/ruthh-r
  • 16
    if it all fell out I wouldn't mind, and if it came down to it I'd rather have no hair than patchy, wispy strands. So it was very helpful in that respect too. Not saying every woman would feel the same, or should do it, of course - but if you've ever wondered, go for it! It'll grow back, after all, and you might just pleasantly surprise yourself! 62 Reply Share
    via u/ruthh-r
  • 17
    FeatherlyFly 2 yr. ago I tried a short pixie for the first time during the pú ..ic. My concern before I tried it was that I wouldn't look feminine. Turns out I was still unmistakably womanly, and it was low maintenence and pretty. I started growing it out again after about 4 months because the one thing I never got used to was that with short hair, I was still thinking "I look my brothers"
    via u/FeatherlyFly
  • 18
    every time I glanced in the mirror. I mean, I did, do, and always have looked like a feminine version of my brothers, but the short hair just made it more prominent than I like. I'm glad I tried short hair because I'd always wanted to but was afraid it'd make me look too masculine. But I'm even gladder that my hair is back down to shoulders.
    via u/FeatherlyFly
  • 19
    chaoss402 2 yr. ago I (male) once shaved my head ( from pretty long hair) because I was asked to keep it in a hair net or under my hat. It was a fast food job, so very much a reasonable request. My whole life I've grown my hair out, then cut it short or shaved it. I don't do maintenance hair cuts. So when she asked me to do that, I didn't want to deal with that and I straight up shaved it. She freaked out thinking that she
    via u/chaoss402
  • 20
    had been too hard on me and made me feel I had to do that. (She wasn't, she was a decent boss and had asked me very reasonably) In retrospect it probably did come across that way, but I didn't intend that. Reply Share 41
    via u/chaoss402
  • 21
    TheBestMePlausible - 2 yr. ago Why didn't she like the pixie cut? She told you to do something and you finally did it! ↑ 69 ↓ Reply Share ZanzabarOHenry - 2 yr. ago The instructor's chip probably wasn't about the hair Reply Share 112
    via u/TheBestMePlausible, u/ZanzabarOHenry
  • 22
    DrJanekyll 2 yr. ago Yup, I had to chop all my hair off for the fire academy too. But because I was blonde and it wasn't a “natural” hair color. Two academies prior someone had purple streaks in their hair, but it was ok because "it was on the bottom and you couldn't see it.” Learned real quick rules only apply to some.
    via u/DrJanekyll
  • 23
    . melloyelloaj - 2 yr. ago · edited 2 yr. ago In high school marching band, dress code for girls was up, not touching the uniform collar. Guys had no hair dress code. I had a long bob and it was a pain in the a to get it up. Wish I would've fought it more, but I was a senior and just ready to graduate.
    via u/melloyelloaj

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Female Empowerment expelled female dress code hair school hair style instructor write up student system women problems malicious compliance reddit fire academy men's dress code
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