…One of the issues which many people have with Disney is the way that they code particular appearances as acceptable and others as deviant. There is nothing intrinsically bad about a business operating a dress code, or about being clean shaven as opposed to having a beard. However, a dress code is designed to send messages to the consumer about the type of business they are dealing with. When that business trades on notions of morality, wholesomeness, escapism and magic, and has the vast reach of somewhere like Disneyland, it is worth questioning those messages.

Why is it unacceptable for men to have long hair? What message does that send which Disney feels is inappropriate to their brand? Why are ‘conservative’ and ‘classic’ used repeatedly in reference to the styling of women’s appearances? What is that implied to mean? Why did it take until this year for beards to be permitted? Can you think of any ethnic or religious groups who would have difficulty meeting these standards? Can you think of any who would find it easy?