'This is me and I am proud of it': Gender-neutral pricing at Calgary salon aims for inclusion, equality

A salon is now open in southeast Calgary that is taking a different approach to pricing.

"I don't charge by gender, I charge by length," owner and stylist Arabella Guevara Aseo told The Homestretch.

She was volunteering with the Skipping Stone Foundation, a non-profit that works with and supports trans youth, when a question popped into her head.

"Last summer, I was doing hair for them: curling, styling, cutting. I talked to the kids and asked, 'Where do you go for a salon?' Parents said, 'My kids never go to a salon because they are afraid, they don't feel comfortable.'"

So the seven-year veteran stylist and trans woman got an idea.

"I jokingly said, 'Don't worry, when I put up my own salon, it will be for us, it will be for everybody, and you are all welcome.' That's how I started my idea."​

Aseo said that for some non-binary people, especially youth, having a salon assume their gender based on their appearance or the sound of their voice over the phone isn't ideal.

"Most of the time, they want to have a haircut, but the people at the salon book them for a women's haircut. The kids are not comfortable. Sometimes they cut their own hair or their mom cuts their hair," Aseo said.

"As a transgender woman myself, I wanted to give back to all of these people."

And that act of giving back to create this space is invaluable, says an associate professor of health and community studies.

"Public spaces belong to everyone, and a simple act of inclusion can go a long way to creating safety and a sense of acceptance and belonging for some of our most vulnerable citizens," said Kristopher Wells of MacEwan University.

"I hope other businesses will follow this example and 2019 will be the year of inclusion in Calgary and beyond."

Aseo opened her Ramsay salon, Benj Salon by Arabella, at the end of the November. She says the social media response to gender-neutral pricing has been great.

Never too late to pursue your dream

"Everyone is calling. They are so happy. They are congratulating me. Finally, there is a place [where] they are more comfortable. When they enter my salon, I am not talking any gender. I am just 'Hey, how are you? You are booked for a short haircut, please have a seat.'"

Aseo says it was organizations like Skipping Stone that gave her the courage to be her authentic self.

"I thought, 'I should have done this earlier.' But I met people from Skipping Stone and just realized it is never too late to pursue your dream."

A two-year anniversary is coming up for Aseo. She received her final hormone therapy prescription on Jan. 19, 2017.

"For so long, when you want to do something and you keep it to yourself, and then finally you are what you are, everything falls into place," she said.

"Before, I couldn't talk like this, because I didn't know how to present myself. But now, this is me and I am proud of it."

With files from CBC's Mark Matulis​ and The Homestretch.