Traverse City salon refuses to service transgender, queer patrons
Nour Rahal, Detroit Free Press, July 11, 2023
A Traverse City hair salon is receiving backlash after announcing on social media that its business will no longer serve transgender and queer people.
"If a human identifies as anything other than a man/woman please seek services at a local pet groomer," Studio 8 Hair Lab stated in a now deleted Facebook post. "You are not welcome at this salon. Period. Should you request to have a particular pronoun used please note we may simply refer to you as 'hey you.' "
Numerous individuals voiced their disapproval online, accompanied by screenshots of the original post. One user expressed their shock, stating, "Comparing people to dogs?? It's disgusting!"
Another user posted Studio 8 Hair Lab's message to the Overheard in Traverse City Facebook group, to which the owner, Christine Geiger responded: "I have no issues with LGB. It’s the TQ+ that I’m not going to support." Geiger also encouraged those who disapprove of her beliefs to visit other salons and stylists "willing to cater to what (she) will not."
In an email to the Free Press, Jocelyn Link, a chairperson at Polestar LGBTQ+ Community Center in Traverse City, said Studio 8 Hair Lab's comments are not welcome in the community.
(Photo: 
Christine Geiger, owner of Studio 8 Hair Lab in Traverse City, Michigan. Credit: LinkedIn)
"Hate has shown time and time again to be a losing business strategy and we must not allow this blight to take root in our town," Link said. "Traverse City has a vibrant and thriving queer community thanks in part to our many allies and queer friendly businesses. Statements like the one from Studio 8 undermine the hard work that has been put in to make Traverse City the absolute best that it can be."
In July 2022, Michigan's Supreme Court ruled in favor of expanding the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to protect members of the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination in employment, public accommodations, public services, housing and educational facilities.
However, on June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with a Denver web designer who refused to create websites for same-sex weddings, citing that it violates her religious beliefs and First Amendment rights. The court's findings in the Colorado case have significant implications for when businesses can refuse service to customers.
"The business argues, and a majority of the court agrees, that because the business offers services that are customized and expressive, the free speech clause of the First Amendment shields the business from a generally applicable law that prohibits discrimination in the sale of publicly available goods and services," Justice Sonia Sotomayor said during the late June ruling. "That is wrong. Profoundly wrong."
Further backing its stance, Studio 8 Hair Lab's Instagram biography now says: "A private CONSERVATIVE business that does not cater to woke ideologies." The business' Instagram and Facebook accounts are currently set to private.
Geiger did not respond to the Free Press for comment.
Contact Nour Rahal: nrahal@freepress.com
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