Contents

• About
• Origins
  • Other complaints filed by Alexe Frédéric Migneault
• Interviews of Alexe Frédéric Migneault
• Birth of the Barbinaire meme
• Spread to English Canada and the United States
• Reactions of the Quebecer political class
• Search Interest
• External References

About

Barbinaire (portmanteau in French of Barbie and binaire, binary) is a nickname given to Alexe Frédéric Migneault, who became famous in Quebec for suing a hair salon for not offering a non-binary option on its online platform to book an appointment. The incident led to the spread of memes depicting Migneault as a new model of Barbie.

Origins

In February 2023, Alexe Frédéric Migneault, a 31 years old non-binary individual, wished to book an appointment online to the Station10 hair salon because their tariffs were per minute. The online form gave the options homme, femme, enfant, barbe, tresses (man, woman, child, beard, braid). Migneault wrote to the hair salon to inquire how to answer to the form when one is non-binary. The hair salon simply answered to pick which service they prefer, as the question wasn't really to know whether or not the client was a man or a woman, but to figure out which service to provide. Migneault was not satisfied because the form wasn't changed for them, declared being afraid to be misgendered if they answered the form as was and therefore sued the hair salon in front of the Tribunal des droits de la personne of Longueuil.

In the meantime, the website was modified to include a non-binary option and offered Migneault three free haircuts, but the complaint wasn't retracted. Migneault hoped for a precedent that would influence the other enterprises in Quebec to be more inclusive of non-binary people.

In February 2024, the Tribunal des droits de la personne of Quebec stated that Migneault was a victim of "discrimination based on gender identity" and suggested to the hair salon Station10 to pay a fine of 500 $ for having neglected to offer an alternative to either a male or a female haircut in its online form. The owner of Station10, André Dagenais, refused to pay as he considered the entire trial ridiculous.

A legal battle ensued. Migneault demanded 12 500 $ in damages for psychological damages (alleging to have needed to stop working due to mental health deterioration), while Station10 demanded 5000 $ in damages for an "abusive" use of the courts. On 5 Feberuary 2026, the court rejected both, yet condemed Station10 to pay 500 $ in fine. From then on, these news became widely known in Quebec^[1].

The pictures of Migneault that spread in the media in 2026 showed them bald, which added fuel to the fire as people thought that it was the last person to need a haircut. It turns out that between 2023 and 2026, Migneault went bald^[6].

« Ma tête rasée, c'est ce qui se passe lorsqu'on se tanne des barrières évitables, des gens haineux. »
"My shaved head, it's what happens when one gets tired of preventable barriers, of hateful people."
- Alexe Frédéric Migneault, 23 February 2026

The Station10 hair salon in the end decided to contest the court's decision to pay 500 $ after obtaining the support of the Association Coiffure Québec. The said appealing the ruling would cost 10 000 $, despite the lawyers from Loranger Marcoux et Prelia decided to work pro bono, but after refusing far right lawyers. Meanwhile, Alexe Frédéric Migneault had to pay 5000 $ in judicial costs so far^[9].

« Ça va être toute une industrie, des entreprises, qui vont se ranger contre moi, […] qui paie absolument tout de ma poche, et je ne vois vraiment pas comment je vais faire pour me défendre. »
"It will be a whole industry, enterprises, that will line up against me, […] that pays absolutely everything from my own pockeys, and I don't see at all how I will defend myself."
- Alexe Frédéric Migneault, 11 March 2026

Other complaints filed by Alexe Frédéric Migneault

Migneault is a regular at this type of complaints every time one might encounter a form that asks for a binary sex or gender. On their personal Facebook page, there is a public list with all of these complaints:

Interviews of Alexe Frédéric Migneault

On 17 November 2023, Alexe Frédéric Migneault had initiated an hunger strike against the Régie de l'assurance-maladie du Québec (Québec's Universal Healthcare) because it would not put an X for the field mentioning the sex on the "sun card" it delivers (which is necessary to access Universal Healthcare). This incident led to an interview in the radio program Tout un matin^[2]. After 12 days of strike, they ended their strike without getting any result^[7].

On 19 February 2026, CBC News obtained an interview in English with Migneault after the decision of the court to fine 500 $:

In the radio of 98,5 FM, the famous journalist Patrick Lagacé interviewed Migneault on 21 February 2026. The interview was republished and translated by the right-wing English-Canadian Rebel News^[3]:

💥 The bald "Non-Binary" activist who brought a hair salon before the Human Rights Tribunal for offering only men’s and women’s haircuts was initially seeking $12,500 in punitive and moral damages, claiming the situation harmed her mental health and forced her to take a leave… pic.twitter.com/72urEWjI8o

— Alexandra Lavoie (@ThevoiceAlexa) February 20, 2026

Alex Tyrell, chief of the Green Party of Quebec, also interviewed Migneault the next day:

Birth of the Barbinaire meme

The humorist Jonathan Joe Forget Chevalier (@mr.famous514 on Instagram) decided to begin a series of photomontages on 20 February 2026 representing Alexe Frédéric Migneault as a new Barbie model, Barbinaire.

Afficher cette publication sur Instagram

Une publication partagée par Jonathan Joe Forget Chevalier (@mr.famous514)

This template was reused many times to show other editions of the same Barbie, both by Jonathan Joe Forget Chevalier and others. The humorist even used the Sora AI to make a deepfake interview with Migneault.

Afficher cette publication sur Instagram

Une publication partagée par Jonathan Joe Forget Chevalier (@mr.famous514)

Spread to English Canada and the United States

On 19 February 2026 (the next day after the news were released in French), the right-wing English-Canadian journal National Post relayed the story^[4].

Then, the controversy spread to the right-wing English-Canadian medium Rebel News^[5].

On 25 February 2026, the story caught attention in the United States as well. The YouTube channel NORMAL GAYS with Brad Polumbo & Clarkson Lawson (based in Nashville, Tennessee) commented the affair:

Reactions of the Quebecer political class

Various political parties expressed their opinion regarding the Migneault affair^[8]:

« Ça va trop loin. […] Il y a une différence entre demander le respect et transformer chaque situation en combat idéologique. »
"It's going too far. […] There is a difference between asking respect and transforming every situation into an ideological combat."
- Bernard Drainville, MNA of Lévis, Coalition Avenir Québec party

« Ça soulève des questions, mais je pense que c’est plus une exception que la situation générale qu’on observe au Québec, où il y a quand même une grande inclusivité qui me rend très fier. »
"It highlights issues, but I think it's more an exception than a rule and that the general situation that we observe in Québec, where there is still a great inclusivity that makes me very proud."
- Charles Milliard, chief of the Liberal Party of Quebec

« Est-ce que c’était nécessaire qu’ils paient [Station10] les 500 $ ? […] C’est important que les tribunaux se prononcent là-dessus et c’est ce qu’ils ont fait. Donc on respecte ça. »
"Was it necessary that they [Station10] pay 500$? […] It's important that tribunals give their opinion on this and this is what they did. So we're respecting that."
- Ruba Ghazal, feminine co-spokesperson of Québec solidaire

« Est-ce qu’on vise les bonnes personnes finalement, là, dans ce dossier-là ? »
"Are we targeting the right people, in the end, in this affair?"
- Catherine Gentilcore, MNA of the Parti québécois in Terrebonne

« La dérive woke devient un peu plus ridicule de jour en jour. »
"The woke downward spiral becomes more ridiculous day after day."
- Éric Duhaime, chief of the Conservative Party of Quebec

Search Interest

External References

^[1] GERBET, Thomas & DÉPELTEAU, Marianne. « Un salon de coiffure condamné à payer 500 $ à une personne non binaire », Radio-Canada, 18 February 2026, URL : https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2229942/coiffeur-tribunal-droits-personne-non-binaire

^[2] « Une pâtisserie de Montréal à la Coupe du monde du panettone, et une grève de la faim pour faire plier la RAMQ », Radio-Canada OHdio, émission Tout un matin, 17 November 2023, URL : https://ici.radio-canada.ca/ohdio/premiere/emissions/tout-un-matin/episodes/738056/rattrapage-vendredi-17-novembre-2023

^[3] DOIRON, Samuel. « Patrick Lagacé confronte la personne non-binaire qui a déposé une plainte contre un salon de coiffure », Monde de stars, 21 February 2026, URL : https://www.mondedestars.com/divertissement/patrick-lagace-confronte-la-personne-non-binaire-qui-a-depose-une-plainte-contre-un-salon-de-coiffure

^[4] NEWMAN, Terry. « Terry Newman: Apparently, everything is discrimination now », The National Post, 19 February 2026, URL : https://nationalpost.com/opinion/terry-newman-apparently-everything-is-discrimination-now

^[5] LAVOIE, Alexandra. « Non-binary activist costs small hair salon $500 over booking form », Rebel News, 21 February 2026, URL : https://www.rebelnews.com/non_binary_activist_costs_small_hair_salon_500_over_booking_form

^[6] SAINT-PIERRE, Roxane. « La personne non binaire qui a reçu 500$ d’un salon de coiffure brise le silence et réplique à ses détracteurs », Petit Petit Gamin, 25 February 2025, URL : https://www.petitpetitgamin.com/2026/02/25/la-personne-non-binaire-qui-a-recu-500-dun-salon-de-coiffure-brise-le-silence-et-replique-a-ses-detracteurs/

^[7] « Marqueur de sexe X : Alexe Frédéric Migneault met un terme à sa grève de la faim », Radio-Canada, 1st December 2023, URL : https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2031720/alexe-frederic-migneault-fin-greve-faim-pas-marqueur-sexe-x

^[8] BOURQUIN, Chloé. « Indemnité à une personne non binaire : Quelles conséquences pour les salons de coiffure ? », La Presse, 18 February 2026, URL : https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/justice-et-faits-divers/2026-02-18/indemnite-a-une-personne-non-binaire/quelles-consequences-pour-les-salons-de-coiffure.php

^[9] GERBET, Thomas & DÉPELTEAU, Marianne. « Coiffure non genrée : les propriétaires du salon vont contester la décision », Radio-Canada, 11 March 2026, URL : https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2236079/appel-tribunal-coiffure-non-genree-binaire