I've previously shared my love of the subreddit r/MaliciousCompliance (which describes itself as "People conforming to the letter, but not the spirit, of a request") and I'm back with another delicious example. Recently, a 29-year-old woman named Emily Benschoter, who has long pink hair, was told by her employer that only "natural" colored hair was allowed in the workplace. She had no desire to dye her hair so she needed to come up with another plan, and she found a solution that's very much in the spirit of Malicious Compliance—she started wearing terrible, albeit "natural"-colored wigs. The Independent explains:
Her first wig video dates back to 19 July, and features a blonde, shoulder-length wig with text across the screen that reads: "When you have pink hair but corporate does not approve so you wear terrible wigs." The videos have amassed thousands of views, with a few reaching the millions.
She explained that despite wearing the wigs, she doesn't support her employer for making her wear them to begin with. "It's dehumanising that I can't be accepted at face value because my hair is a non-traditional colour," Benschoter told Newsweek. "It's so superficial that my hair colour is an obstacle."
The TikToker continued: "I prefer my pink hair, it's me to my core. So now I purposely pick wacky wigs which is quite funny."
"The worse the wig, the better," she said. "It is a way to open up the conversation with the customers who think it is insane that I have to cover my pink hair."
In my opinion, she's a hero! Check out her TikTok for more funny wig videos.
