"The last male sanctuary": Barber shop campaigns to formally ban women
An Adelaide barber shop which prides itself as "the last male sanctuary", has applied for an exemption to the Equal Opportunity Act, which, once approved, will allow it to formally ban women.
The team behind Robbie's Chop Shop took to Instagram to ask over 42,800 of their followers to help with their application to Equal Opportunity SA.
In their first pinned post on Instagram, the barber shop posted a photo of the letter explaining that they have applied for an exemption following a complaint made to the commission about their request for women to observe that it is a male-only business.
"Unfortunately, this is not the first complaint of this type that we have received, so in order to deal with them once and for all, we have decided to make an application for an exemption to the Equal Opportunity Act," they wrote in the letter.
They added that the business prides itself in being able to provide "a safe space for men to discuss their issues", so they applied for the exemption to deal with the complaints once and for all.
The business believes that they are "not in breach of the act" if they are able to obtain this exemption.
"As part of our application, we would like to include statements from you, our loyal and valued customers, that explain why you love Robbie's Chop Shop, and why you feel that is so important for Robbie's Chop Shop to be a safe space for men to come together and discuss their issues," they pleaded.
Their plea has divided followers, while some men and women agreed with them, others seem to disagree with their stance.
"I love that this exists and love the safe space you've created for men to unload their weights of the world without being judged and freedom speak up in a space with others that may be facing similar issues," one woman wrote.
"I’ll never understand why this is an issue. There are so many women only places around. As a woman I’d much prefer to go to a hair salon than a barber," commented another woman.
"💯 support - Great idea to have a space for men. In the UK there are lots of ladies/women only spaces and events etc. Don’t see the issue for men having their own space in society as well. 👍" wrote one man.
"The concept of the last male sanctuary is not to discriminate against women but to offer a place for men to come and discuss the issues in their lives, in comfort with other similar men," commented another.
One person wrote that they hope the business is equally welcoming to non-binary or trans people.
"I hope you would welcome trans men, non-binary people and folks of any gender wanting a masculine haircut. We all deserve to feel included and safe to approach businesses knowing we won’t be turned away based on personal attributes we can’t change."
"More like Robbie's Mojo Dojo Casa House," another quipped in reference to Ryan Gosling's character Ken establishing the patriarchy in Barbie land in the 2023 Barbie movie.
Image: Instagram