What damage to our reputation do you think that would do?
Let’s not over egg the pudding.
Teenager does teenage things would not register on any journalists “Ohhhh, I must blow that story wide open” list.
Let’s face it, the almost criminal donations of our motor glider fleet, plus the waste of a huge chunk of tax payers money in doing so barely attracted any attention…
I was under the impression that these changes were made so that we weren’t inadvertently discriminating against children and young adults against a protected characteristic (gender identity), as the discrimination legislation exemptions that apply to the Armed Forces do not apply to Cadet Forces.
Not sure hair colour is indicative of gender identity, or any other protected characteristic.
If that was the case, it hasn’t happened. The dress regs still don’t comply with the EA.
I do believe that we get wrapped up in the rules sometimes and lose sight of what we are, a military themed youth club. In addition, there is much that is said that refers to the rules but are in fact just custom and practice. E.G summer and winter wear.
We should set out what we think is important and what is in the spirit of the rules.
Is pink hair wrong? Yes
Should we engaged with the cadet? Yes
Should the cadet be punished (no uniform, no flying etc)? Probably not
Experience tells me that in a couple of months the hair will be another colour and probably a less controversial colour.
I’d be very surprised if the OP’s school allowed them to have pink hair.
You might not be in the armed forces, but when you joined you did agree to abide by the rules of the club, and one of those rules is no non-natural hair colours. Of course you can go and do whatever you want to your hair, but if you want to continue parading you have to follow the rules. This one may not seem to have much use, but where do you draw the line? Does it matter if hair is in one of the approved styles while at cadets, or should we just wear it loose? Do we really have to iron our uniform? Does it matter if the beret is properly shaped or not?
If you want to change your hair colour, why not go for a natural colour that is different from yours?
I wouldn’t really care if this rule was removed, but at the moment it is the current rule.
Schools local to me (work and home) don’t seem to have any hang up over this sort of thing anymore.
it rlly doesn’t care in the slightest as long as you show up
Old school here …
Yes it does matter in my opinion.
One does it then you have to let all do it …
…then one Cadet will turn up with longer hair than allowed / doesn’t want to salute etc etc etc…do you allow that to because one wants to be differant.
You might as well forget about wearing uniforms and just become a youth club!
RAFAC is a military youth organisation …wrap it up in fuzzy terms all you like…but it is, so there are rules and regulations - thats what keeps it all together and provides discipline, something sadly lacking in this world.
Now, If you don’t like them (they havent changed for hair ‘colouring’ in the last umpteen years) then the door is over there, thank you for your time and good luck with whatever you choose to do.
Gender identity is not a protected characteristic. Gender reassignment, sex and sexual orientation are. Gender identity is a highly contentious issue we are best steering away from.
Hard disagree. It might be contentious. But we shouldn’t steer clear of the conversation. Conversations around gender identity are very important. It might not be legally protected, but that means nothing for what we do. We shouldn’t be working to legal minimums, but instead pushing to be well above.
Not relevant for this thread though, I just needed to point that out.
However disability is a protected characteristic & pink hair could be a reasonable adjustment for a disability such high anxiety or ASD.
you would probably need a doctors note or some other evidence before everyone starts rushing to the hairdressers
I agree with if you join the club, you stick by the rules, whether you agree or are in a position to change said rules.
I empathise. I didn’t agree with the no beard rule, but stuck with it until it changed.
If I join a tea and biscuit club with suit and tie dress regs, then I stick to those regs because that’s the regs and I had a choice to join in the first place. Although, I may try to make changes in the appropriate manner.
Where do you draw the line on what rules you stick to?
Completely agree. And really, learning to abide by the rules, even when they seem stupid, is a key lesson of growing up and being ready for the workplace.
There’s always scope for change too, but this must be done through the correct channels to ensure as standardised an experience as possible for all cadets. (Yes, I know we already have massive differences in experiences based on location, but that’s a different discussion).
If we teach cadets that they can get what they want by just doing it if they don’t think there are any consequences, or that we’ll allow some rules to slip because who cares anyhow, then we are being ineffective youth workers.
Once upon a time you had to be 16 to join.
Then, for decades, you couldn’t join if you were a girl.
Then, girls couldn’t wear trousers.
Then, for adults, beards were banned.
All of those rules have been removed.
Yes, we’re an organisation of rules. But rules can change. And this is one of them that should.
I think this is the general consensus, some rules are outdated, but nevertheless they are the current rules.
I agree it’s probably due a change.
Hmmm, I’d prefer to go on the dictionary definition of “uniform” so that everyone looks (more or less) the same. Wild/ wacky hair colours (“look at me”) are not appropriate for a military-based cadet organisation. We should (& do) reflect the standards of the RAF - & even the British Army has still held back from the beard brigade! 
A uniform does not have to be uniform. A “uniform” is simply “an identifying outfit or style of dress worn by the members of a given profession, organization, or rank”. People can all wear the same uniform but have variations such as skirt/trousers, male/female hats, different badges, different hair styles etc. We shouldn’t use the fact that we have a “uniform” to mean that everyone has to look exactly the same.
Indeed, we still have people who take this interpretation to insist that everyone wears jumpers etc
Didn’t stop Harry in the CCF or in the Army… Orange is pretty wacky.