A non-binary activist won a payout from a hair salon after suing because it only offered male and female options when booking a haircut online.
Alexe Frédéric Migneault, who uses they/them pronouns, says they were so traumatized by the experience at Station10 hair salon in Quebec, Canada, that they were forced to take a year and a half off work.
Migneault said they were attracted to the hair salon in 2023 because its hairdressers charged by the minute, but were left disappointed when asked to select male or female as an option in the booking.
'It is not fair, and it’s not legal to tell me ,'No, since you don’t fit into my worldview, I don’t want to do anything with you, and I don’t want you as my customer,'' they told CTV News.
Migneault, who has since become bald, said the experience impacted them deeply, forcing them to take time off work to recover.
'I was already spiraling into a huge mental health crisis, and it precipitated my, falling to complete a disability,' they said. 'I was unable to work for a year and a half.'
They filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission, which at the time recommended a $500 CAD ($365 USD) settlement.
The salon's co-owner Alexis Labrecque disagreed with the decision, and said the policy had nothing to do with ideology.
Non-binary activist Alexe Frédéric Migneault won a $500 payout from a hair salon after suing because it only offered male and female options when booking a haircut
Migneault says they were so traumatized by the experience at Station10 hair salon (pictured) in Quebec, Canada, that they were forced to take a year and a half off work
Labrecque said the policy was designed to accommodate its by-the-minute pricing system, because it 'typically takes longer for a woman’s haircut than a man’s haircut.'
'So we optimize our agendas accordingly. We also get statistics for marketing,' he added.
But Migneault said the policy felt like a personal insult to non-binary people, and went ahead with a complaint with the Human Rights Commission.
After Station10 disagreed with the $500 ruling, Migneault brought a lawsuit against the salon seeking $12,000 CAD ($8,766 USD) in damages.
Lebrecque said his salon again fought the claims, saying he 'fought back because we we didn’t agree with the prejudice that we might have caused.'
The salon owner insisted that the policy was not intended to discriminate, and soon after the issue was raised his website updated its booking system to include a gender-neutral option.
In court, a judge agreed with the previous Human Rights Commission ruling and ordered Station10 to pay the original $500 in damages.
The salon's co-owner Alexis Labrecque disagreed with the controversy surrounding his website's gender options, and said the policy had nothing to do with ideology
Migneault said the experience impacted them deeply, forcing them to take time off work to recover because they were 'already spiraling into a huge mental health crisis, and it precipitated my falling to complete a disability'
The hair salon said the policy was only designed around its by-the-minute pricing structure, as the owner said it 'typically takes longer for a woman’s haircut than a man’s haircut'
Lebrecque said he was disappointed because of the precedent the ruling set, saying that 'the amount we have to pay is relatively small compared to the precedent it creates for legal debates in Quebec.'
However, Migneault said they counted the ruling as a win.
'It was discrimination, and non-binary people should not be forced to pick between men and women if they don’t want to identify as such,' they told CTV News.
The salon controversy is not the first time Migneault has taken such a stand.
In 2023, the non-binary activist went on a public hunger strike outside the Quebec public health insurance board to force it to add a gender neutral 'X' option to Quebec health cards.
