Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community  

Go Back   Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community > Chatter > General Discussion


 
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 07-14-2003, 07:55 AM   #1 (permalink)
Junkie
 
Location: Chicagoland
Disney workers can now wear cornrows, backless shoes and hoop earrings

MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press Writer Friday, July 11, 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(07-11) 13:58 PDT ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) --

Mickey Mouse can now sport cornrows, and Minnie can wear hoop earrings.

The Walt Disney Co. is loosening grooming rules for workers at its theme parks, another shift from the squeaky-clean standards set by the company's founder decades ago.

Under a new policy adopted last month, male park workers for the first time can wear braids provided they are above the collar, neatly tied close to the scalp and in straight rows. Female workers have been able to braid their hair for years.

"It is really becoming a mainstream look," said Melissa Valiquette, manager of Costuming, Cast Image and Appearance at Walt Disney World.

Men will also be allowed to wear different styles of shirts, while women can wear more revealing footwear and less conservative earrings. (Hosiery is still a must.)

The changes were based on comments from workers and focus groups involving at least 60 Disney visitors who were shown photos of different clothing and hair styles and asked if they had objections to park workers wearing them.

"We're not looking to be on the cutting edge, but we want to see what styles are becoming mainstream," Valiquette said.

The last time Disney changed its grooming policy was in 2000, when the company allowed workers to grow mustaches. In 1994, female theme-park workers were permitted to use eye shadow and eyeliner and balding men were allowed to wear toupees.

After the changes in 2000, there was a rash of mustache-wearing employees.

"I think cornrows will be different," Valiquette said. "It's not a look that everyone can pull off."

Men who don't wear costumes will no longer be limited to Oxford-style shirts -- crewneck, turtleneck, mock turtleneck and three-button collared sweaters will be permitted. Golf and polo shirts are still forbidden.

"Our personal opinion is that golf and polo shirts look nice when they're brand new but they don't look good after you've washed them," Valiquette said. "After you've washed them, they're naturally prone to looking sloppy."

Gary Steverson, a character performer at the Disney-MGM Studios park who likes the strict grooming standards, said the change makes sense.

"It makes us more approachable to guests," Steverson said. "A person in a shirt and tie, how approachable are they?"

Female workers can for the first time wear hoop earrings, provided they are no larger than a dime. Only one ring per ear is permitted and they must be worn on the bottom of the earlobe.

The new grooming rules also allow for some more fancy-free footwear for female workers, who now will be able to wear open-toe and open-heel shoes. Athletic shoes, sandals and western boots are still frowned upon.

Union leaders praised the changes.

"Any additional leeway is a good thing," said Donna-Lynne Dalton, recording secretary for Teamsters Local 385, which represents bus drivers and costumed workers.

Steverson said Disney officials may also be trying to appease workers as they approach negotiating sessions for a new union contract in a few months.

"I think they're trying to change the cold company into a warm company," he said.

Even though Walt Disney wore a mustache, he was a stickler when it came to the grooming of park employees, wanting them to maintain clean-cut images at Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida.

"Walt was a staunch conservative when it came to appearances but he was definitely a person who believed in changing with the times," Valiquette said.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...719.DTL&nl=fix

---------------------------------------
I've always noticed the lack of individuality at Disney. The employees, though overwhelmingly friendly in attitude, seemed cookie cutter in their appearance. Personally, I enjoy checking out some expressions of individuality.

Last edited by Double D; 07-14-2003 at 03:16 PM..
Double D is offline  
Old 07-14-2003, 08:03 AM   #2 (permalink)
Justified
 
Location: West Lafayette, IN
They have to wear hosiery? ack.

Besides, no matter how squeaky clean everyone that works at Disney is, they will still be surrouned by Hank, the mullet and wifebeater sporting, redneck and all his cousins.
__________________
Take notice. Take interest. Take me with you.
tikki is offline  
Old 07-14-2003, 08:10 AM   #3 (permalink)
Tilted Cat Head
 
Cynthetiq's Avatar
 
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
intersting that they have VERY difinitive rules laid out. I'm sure it went thorough many iterations and meetings.

at least they have domestic partner benefits...
__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.
Cynthetiq is offline  
Old 07-14-2003, 08:12 AM   #4 (permalink)
Junkie
 
cchris's Avatar
 
Location: Sydney
The personal touch

Long live Foghorn Leghorn
__________________
There's a fine line between participation and mockery
cchris is offline  
Old 07-14-2003, 11:13 AM   #5 (permalink)
Junkie
 
gov135's Avatar
 
Location: Midwest
I went to Disney not more than five years ago.

I didn't look at or notice the appearance of the employees. I did notice a large number of obese children, people wearing clothes their bodies had no interest in keeping confined to, and various groups from cultures where not shaving legs/armpits is o.k.

I guess my point is Disney shouldn't worry too much about employee appearance.
gov135 is offline  
 

Tags
backless, cornrows, disney, earrings, hoop, shoes, wear, workers


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 04:06 AM.

Tilted Forum Project

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2
© 2002-2012 Tilted Forum Project

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360