News New Changes Coming to the Disney Look 2021

[Smooth]

The question is, Where do you draw the line? Just curious. Yes, I went to the extreme. So, backing up from the extreme, how much self expression is allowed? Seems better to me to keep the self expression in the "real" world and let Disney be our escape world. We know the costumes in the various lands and attractions are not true representations. They are fancified versions that allow us to be immersed in that particular venue.

 

[Rich Brownn]

My post was not meant as a lure to get you to "bite." If it came off that way then I apologize. I was genuinely requesting your guidance because I didn't see where I confused the issue, and I am still not exactly clear. If what I said is "kind of insulting", I would imagine that Mayo Clinic's description of symptoms of gender dysphoria and its listing in the in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association to diagnose mental conditions must be at the very least equally insulting. They literally describe it as a mental condition and I left out the word mental in my hypothetical explaination to my daughter. I never referred to a transgender woman as sick. My hypothetical description to my daughter was a very simplistic way to describe why a transgender woman is wearing a skirt and is based on what leading experts in the medical community refer to as gender dysphoria. One of the symptoms being "a strong desire to be treated as the other gender or an alternate gender different from the assigned gender" and a second "symptom being a strong desire for the primary and/or secondary sex characteristics of the other gender."

Assuming I am completely daft and in this case maybe I am, can you please in layman's terms describe the difference in a transgender woman wearing a dress and a man wearing a dress? In your opinion, the hypothetical description I gave to my daughter is "insulting." Understand I do not want to be insulting. I want to be correct and also understand your perspective. The understanding of another perspective is the basis for better communication between those who may disagree.

Given my daughter and most inquisitive children (and adults for that matter) will not be satiated by simplistic answers such as "because they want to" or "because I said so," how should it be explained to a child who seeks further understanding. And believe me, they do seek for better understanding as we all do.

Edit: To be clear, just as you I don’t care how someone chooses to present themselves in society.

Gender dysphoria - Symptoms and causes

www.mayoclinic.org

Simply this: A trangendered female is a woman. A man wearing a dress is a man. Not every man who wears a dress is transgendered, just like every woman who may wear a tux thinks she's a male. One is related to gender. The other is related to style.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Almost none of the CMs I’ve seen look like the characters/setting/time period they’re supposed to play/be from, except maybe Tomorrowland CMs.

Especially seeing as most the time periods presented would mean the CMs would not really be anything other then a caucastic gaggle, if we are going by some weird theme standards...

And yes. I think I invented a new term.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Especially seeing as most the time periods presented. would mean the CMs would not really be anything other then a caucastic gaggle, if we are going by some weird theme standards...

And yes. I think I invented a new term.

I absolutely stood out with my individual braids, choo-choo earrings, and Dumbo domino necklace in my Bavaria/circus-themed Fantasyland uniform. None of my spieling necessarily matched those themes either.

 

[TP2000]

Especially seeing as most the time periods presented would mean the CMs would not really be anything other then a caucastic gaggle, if we are going by some weird theme standards...

And yes. I think I invented a new term.

This speaks directly to that Colonial Williamsburg analogy I have used many times in the past here.

Disneyland was never meant to be Colonial Williamsburg, or any other type of living history museum (Fairfield Village, etc.).

But Disneyland is a show. That's what made it so famous and so successful financially, it's showmanship.

Historically, Cast Members (or Hosts/Hostesses as they were called pre-1970's) were part of that show. They were outfitted in fancy, themed costumes. They were given training on how to support the show in their supporting, minor roles. Part of that was their good grooming and clean cut appearance. They were not the stars, they were merely supporting cast. But they looked the part. And also, they were often attractive young people. You don't see that "cute" thing as much any more, but it still happens sometimes at least at Disneyland.

But now? Now we are at a point where a grown man is not even asked to take off his matching hoop earrings before he goes out on stage to be paid to be a formal butler at an 1800's fancy haunted mansion. He can't take off his 2021 gold spangly earrings because... that would make him uncomfortable!

Or so the very weak argument seems to go.

I don't get it myself. And again, this all seems to be the blatant lowering of standards in order to not have to pay higher wages for top talent. A man who loves to wear spangly gold earrings won't take them off for only $12 an hour, but I bet if you paid him $20 an hour he'd take off his earrings before his shift at the Haunted Mansion. Money talks.

What's sad is that a lot of CM's probably don't realize they are being played here. They think they won because now a man can wear spangly-dangly gold earrings to work at Big Thunder Mountain. But the CM's actually lost because now Disney can hire a lot more people for lower wages because they don't ask as much from their employees.

Lower Standards = Lower Pay.

 

[TP2000]

I absolutely stood out with my individual braids, choo-choo earrings, and Dumbo domino necklace in my Bavaria/circus-themed Fantasyland uniform. None of my spieling necessarily matched those themes either.

Oh my gosh, I just have to know.... what are "choo-choo earrings"??? They sound fun!

 

[Californian Elitist]

Oh my gosh, I just have to know.... what are "choo-choo earrings"??? They sound fun!

Train/caboose earrings.

 

[Archie123]

Great point! I don't understand that either.

WDI and Disney has made huge investments for decades to make these rides and restaurants and lands look believable and immersive. Then you put a 1770's Colonial gentleman on stage in spangly earrings and blue nail polish and BOOM! you are back in the world you live in instead of a world made by Disney.

“I don't want the public to see the world they live in while they're in the Park. I want them to feel they're in another world.” -Walt Disney, 1960

Apparently there is a lot you don’t understand.

 

[TP2000]

Train/caboose earrings.

Oh!!!

I wish you could see how much I just laughed at myself over that. I was thinking choo-choo was some sort of fun fashion term.

But it's just... train earrings. Choo-choo!

Now that I think about it, I'm going to just start calling fun fashionable items "choo-choo" anyway.

 

[TP2000]

Apparently there is a lot you don’t understand.

Do you understand why a host in Liberty Square dressed in Colonial gentlemanly garb would be wearing spangly-dangly earrings?

Because I don't. But if you've got the inside scoop on how that makes sense, please share....

Why would this Colonial gentleman and theater host have earrings and tats and blue finger nails???

 

[brb1006]

Well this thread blew up fast, been a while since I visited a thread this entertaining.

 

[TP2000]

Well this thread blew up fast, been a while since I visited a thread this entertaining.

It's fun, isn't it?!

I think it's fascinating to hear some folks try to explain why Disney park employees shouldn't have to live up to grooming standards or be asked to take off spangly-dangly earrings as an 1885 butler, and yet they should still be called "Cast Members" and should still be paid more.

Disney's theme park management are lowering the standards and removing the hassles of working there so they can pay less.

But some folks think that's a win for Cast Members park employees?

All that does is lower future pay raises and widen the pool of people they can hire for barely above minimum wage.

Blue finger nails and arms covered in tats? No problem! You want to wear those spangly hoop earrings in Frontierland, sir? No problem!

A pay raise? Are you nuts? There's a million people out there who can do this entry-level job with low standards. This isn't In-N-Out Burger where they pay more, you fool. We don't require tough standards like they do. But enjoy those earrings at your Haunted Mansion shift, bro! You earned it!

 

[Californian Elitist]

Oh!!!

I wish you could see how much I just laughed at myself over that. I was thinking choo-choo was some sort of fun fashion term.

But it's just... train earrings. Choo-choo!

Now that I think about it, I'm going to just start calling fun fashionable items "choo-choo" anyway.

 

[BrianLo]

Oh, my God, he has black nail polish!

Wait...there’s absolutely nothing unprofessional here and the deviants will still only work for Six Flags?

Time to move on.

But someone might dye their hair purple!!!

Oh wait, they can't? How disappointing.

The dress code is still relatively strict.

 

[MisterPenguin]

They are. I am objecting to the two photos they used in that guidebook. Specifically;

• The Jungle Cruise skipper with the visible flower tattoo.
• The Haunted Mansion butler with the matching gold hoop earrings and black fingernail polish.

Then why did you mention purple hair since none of the people in the guidebook had purple hair?

Are you that incapable of saying "my bad" when caught spouting off on a fact-free ideological rant?

 

[TP2000]

Then why did you mention purple hair since none of the people in the guidebook had purple hair?

Are you that incapable of saying "my bad" when caught spouting off on a fact-free ideological rant?

No, not at all. I think "purple hair" is just easy code for, well, young men today who have purple hair and spangly-dangly earrings.

I wasn't actually talking about hair colored purple, as nowhere in that rule book was there a photo of a Cast Member employee with purple hair. I was just talking about the latest styles where that's acceptable and even boring.

Now that it's been a full day or so, I think we've all digested exactly what these grooming rule changes are and what they aren't.

I'm of the opinion this is a cheap bone thrown to employees that allows Disney to not pay higher wages to attract the talent they want.

I'm sure somewhere there's some fabulous person who wanted to sell churros at WDW but they never applied because they liked their tats and blue nail polish and spangly-dangly earrings too much to take them off or conceal them for a six hour shift selling churros for $13 an hour. But now, that man can apply and sell churros with blue fingernails and tats and hoop earrings!

For the most part though, this simply expands the labor pool and depresses future wage growth and employee benefits Disney would have to offer to staff their parks and hotels. Lower standards always equal lower wages. Higher standards demand higher wages.

This is nothing but a ploy by senior management to expand the labor pool and pay lower wages to that pool of employees.

The exception to that are the changes that make accommodations for firmly held religious or cultural beliefs. Like a Sikh who needs to wear a turban at work. And that's a change for the better, and totally appropriate for the 2020's in my opinion.

 

[MisterPenguin]

No, not at all. I think "purple hair" is just easy code for, well, young men today who have purple hair and spangly-dangly earrings.

I wasn't actually talking about hair colored purple, as nowhere in that rule book was there a photo of a Cast Member employee with purple hair. I was just talking about the latest styles where that's acceptable and even boring.

Now that it's been a full day or so, I think we've all digested exactly what these grooming rule changes are and what they aren't.

I'm of the opinion this is a cheap bone thrown to the CM's that allows Disney to not pay higher wages to attract the talent they want.

I'm sure somewhere there's some fabulous person who wanted to sell churros at WDW but they never applied because they liked their tats and blue nail polish and spangly-dangly earrings too much to take them off or conceal them for a six hour shift selling churros for $13 an hour. But now, that man can apply and sell churros with blue fingernails and tats and hoop earrings!

For the most part though, this simply expands the labor pool and depresses future wage growth and employee benefits Disney would have to offer to staff their parks and hotels. Lower standards always equal lower wages. Higher standards demand higher wages.

This is nothing but a ploy by senior management to expand the labor pool and pay lower wages to that pool of employees.

Sure... purple hair is just a metaphor... and it takes time to digest things (IOW, actually read something and get the facts).

And you dangle some sort of tangential horror story about an encounter with unnaturally colored fingernails as a some sort of smoke screen.

And then you bring it around to how the suits are the real problem... so, c'mon gang, let's get *them*!!

Ugh. It's clear you were just spouting off about things fact free.

But don't worry, I won't mention it... much. Only as many times you've mentioned Newsom's gaffe for eating at The Laundry.

 

[TP2000]

Sure... purple hair is just a metaphor... and it takes time to digest things (IOW, actually read something and get the facts).

And you dangle some sort of tangential horror story about an encounter with unnaturally colored fingernails as a some sort of smoke screen.

And then you bring it around to how the suits are the real problem... so, c'mon gang, let's get *them*!!

Ugh. It's clear you were just spouting off about things fact free.

But don't worry, I won't mention it... much. Only as many times you've mentioned Newsom's gaffe for eating at The Laundry.

I have no earthly idea what you are going on about here. Nor do I remember exactly what I may have typed about purple hair. Apparently you do though. Quote me if you could please, just to refresh my memory.

In the meantime, we can get back to talking about the topic of changing grooming rules for Disney employees.

Men can work at The Haunted Mansion dressed up as a butler with blue fingernails and spangly hoop earrings. I don't think that's a positive change for the Disneyland show. Do you?

But, I can see how that's a positive change for the execs who are trying to keep labor wages low. Lower standards equal lower wages.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I have no earthly idea what you are going on about here. Nor do I remember exactly what I may have typed about purple hair. Apparently you do though. Quote me if you could please, just to refresh my memory.

Ok....

This is simply the lowering of standards. People may squawk and yell at that as if it's not the case, but it's the truth.

Some companies and inustries still have standards. Large succesful airlines, for example, don't allow their airport or in-flight staff to have visible tattoos and purple hair and weird piercings. It makes the flying public nervous.

So, as a former CM, would you have gotten tatted up and dyed your hair purple if these standards existed back then?

Or, what if the person who doesn't want their airline pilot or Space Mountain operator to have tats and purple hair is only 32 years old?

 

[TP2000]

Ok....

Thank you.

As I suspected, this was me just riffing on lowered standards. Not actually claiming that purple hair was now a thing. I was using purple hair as a metaphor for the types of young people that, well, dye their hair purple.

Should I send all my future posts to you for proof reading? Be advised, at this time of night I'm usually having a double Scotch and don't really care about what I type. I may even say stuff like "purple haired CM's!"

This is all so silly. Disney just lowered their standards for employees. They have severely undermined the entire concept of "Cast Member" and what it traditionally meant. Conveniently for the execs, they can frame this as being "more inclusive" and create propaganda talking points about "valuing the diversity" of their employees. A few of these changes fall into that category, again the Sikh shown wearing a turban. But most of these changes are nothing more than lowering standards to widen the available labor pool and suppress wage growth and benefit expenses.

The fallout is that the Disneyland show suffers and will be injured by having Frontierland cowboys wearing pearl-drop earrings or having Tiki Room hostesses flashing skull tats as they wake up Jose.