You and I may think that, but for many people apparently it's more bewildering than interesting. An unusual hair colour conjures up all sorts of weird stereotypes about the person concerned.
If they don't instantly suspect you're a druggie, a prostitute or a nutcase, they'll decide you're a wild unreliable party girl, or your boss will say you look too unprofessional for a public-facing role.
There are still plenty of prejudices around hair. Ginger hair can attract snarky remarks. Afro hair styles are frowned on by many employers. Grey hair can make a woman "too old for the job".
Length itself is still an issue. Women are expected to have long hair, men short hair. Even schoolboys have been excluded from school for having over-long hair. I had long hair once in my John Lennon phase, but I've had short hair ever since - a lot more manageable.
And of course there's baldness. Perfectly okay for men (though a lot of men hate being bald and would rather not be). But not okay for women. If you have cancer, then baldness is acceptable. Otherwise it's shocking and ugly and surely you should be wearing a wig.
It's extraordinary that a simple thing like human hair should be subject to such a complicated tangle of prejudice and disapproval and false assumptions. But then the whole human body is subject to just that. Accepting it for what it is seems to be a non-starter.
I guess the only people who can get away with any old hairstyle are celebrities like rock musicians, hospital patients and prisoners. Anyone else had better tread carefully.
PS: A wonderful quote I just came across: "Humans have a big cluster of dead keratin tendrils growing from our heads and we arrange them in different configurations and worry about whether other people find our keratin tendril arrangements aesthetically pleasing."
I've pretty much had the same hair style all my life. Long and straight but now with a little grey in there. My daughter colors her hair all sorts of colors. it looks great on her. I like seeing people with colors in their hair. It's more acceptable now a days than it was when I was a teen.
ReplyDeleteMary: It was very unusual when I was a youngster. Nowadays every other woman seems to have changed her hair colour.
DeleteAh hair shcmair. LOL. Do what pleases you. I keep mine long and fixed up in a bun. Cheap, cheerful and off my face. I hate hair anywhere near my face and always did. Got in the way of creativity. I have friends who bleach and dye, godblessem. Whatever turns your crank and those sad old men's pony tails, but they're happy swinging the bits on their backs.
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www: I do wonder about women whose hair is always flapping over their face. Doesn't it drive them bonkers? Re ponytails, I think men who are half bald with a long ponytail look rather ridiculous!
DeleteI have a friend with alopecia. She wear a scarf all the time. The only time she wears her wig is when renewing her driver's license or crossing a border--so she looks like her passport picture. She learned that last one the hard way when a border guard made bad assumptions about her scarf and long skirt.
ReplyDeleteLinda: I wonder what assumptions the border guard was making. A scarf and skirt sound innocent enough to me. What am I missing?
DeleteHe thought she was a gypsy or a hippie and didn't want to let her cross. It probably didn't help that she was driving an old motorhome.
DeleteLinda: A gypsy or a hippie? Shock horror! Keep her out at all costs!
Deleteyour wit precedes you again! I was lucky to have a husband who loved my short hair. I could spend all day at the lake with him... and then after a quick shower I was ready for the evening. no long time spending time on my hair. it really is more convenient. and the awful harmful chemicals in hair dye? not a good thing I would think. rather just go au natural. as in Rich Grey Mouse. or maybe we should make it Rich SILVER Mouse! has a nice ring to it. xo
ReplyDeleteTammy: You were lucky your short hair was okay. Jenny has short hair too. Yes, the chemicals in hair colourings might well be harmful. Hairdressers themselves can get medical conditions from handling them every day.
DeleteI've had short hair for years -- it's so much easier. And I've never died my hair. Its getting thinner and thinner, but it's still mostly brown. I have no idea why.
ReplyDeleteJean: Brown hair at your age is pretty remarkable! My hair is still brown as well. I think my father went grey in his fifties.
DeleteWell, hair isn't our real problem, is it?
ReplyDeleteJoanne: If you mean there are much more serious problems to think about, indeed there are. But they're all covered ad nauseam by the media (like the coronavirus), and I don't want to add yet more verbiage. But my attention was caught by the widespread prejudice about coloured hair, which I was unaware of.
DeleteI am blessed with a bald top and a friar's fringe which is grey. I have never been conscious of hair styles and simply had a monthly hair cut with instructions to cut it as short as possible without making the hair stand up. I have never dyed the hair and am quite comfortable with the way I look. I don't understand people who dye their hair or use wigs to cover baldness.
ReplyDeleteRamana: I can well understand people who dye their hair. They do it because it's fun, because they think they look more attractive, and because of some employers' aversion to grey hair. I can understand people who wear wigs as well, though they must be horribly hot and uncomfortable.
DeleteWhat caught your attention to coloured hair, Nick?
ReplyDeleteGoodness, my hair has been all sorts of colours - I had a plum phase in my teens back in the eighties, and it was backcombed, and I worked in London. These days my hair is short and simple. I love going to the hairdressers to see what styles the young bright things are sporting. My hairdresser had long pastel pink hair on Saturday, it looked lovely and it suited her.
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Ms Scarlet: I saw a media article about all the prejudice around coloured hair (see the link) and thought I'd write about it. Like you, I enjoy checking out other people's fancy hairstyles. Women are getting more and more adventurous with their hair - different colours, highlights, cornrows, a short hair/long hair mix etc.
DeleteI met a woman who shaved the sides and back of her head while leaving the top long enough to comb to one side reaching just past her ear as if it was a bob. It was lovely. I don't have near thick enough hair to get away with that.
ReplyDeleteThat was me, Linda!!! I have had that done too. The only way I can have longer hair is to have an undercut - thick hair can be so bulky.
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Linda: I saw a woman with the exact same hairstyle a few days ago. It looked fabulous. Maybe it's becoming a thing....
DeleteI've had long hair, short hair, medium long. It's been light brown, dark brown, chestnut and burgundy. Nowadays it's short and brown. My daughter dies hers pink, purple, silver, grey, it always looks good.
ReplyDeletePolly: Your daughter is certainly experimenting with her hair in a big way! And why not? Does she have any trouble with employers?
DeleteI could have laughed till I cried at your closing comment...that is so true. You would not believe it, but you touched on a 'nerve' with this hair post...well, sort of. I will tell something here I have never told in public...my husband and sisters know it...and brothers if they thought about it. My mom hated men to have long hair...but I had long hair and she absolutely hate it.
ReplyDeleteAs to the color of hair...I don't care what people do with their hair. I may or may not like it, but I am not going to say anything. And if i were younger, I would probably be trying some of them, too.
Rose: People are so irrational about hair styles, aren't they? They have a hundred reasons why your particular hair style is "wrong" or "inappropriate" or "unattractive".
DeleteI met a woman this week on my trip and I complimented her on her hair, which was a pretty shade of brown with a small gray streak in the front. I thought she dyed it that way on purpose, but she said it began after the birth of her 2nd child and she gave up trying to cover it. It looked really nice and she said she constantly gets compliments.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: A little streak of different-coloured hair is very attractive. It reminds me of Bonnie Raitt, who has always had a little grey streak in her hair.
DeleteMaybe your floor covering is light in shading. Or then again, perhaps you have pets and children that messy it. Regardless, you are probably going to require the administrations of expert floor covering cleaners eventually. Recollect what you've recently perused with the goal that you can undoubtedly locate a respectable floor covering cleaning organization that will work superbly.Satta King
ReplyDeletePlay Bazaar
Given that I’m into natural aging, hair dying with those artificial colors are unappealing to me, but to each his or her own. My husband was distressed when our high school age son let his beautiful blond hair grow long years ago. I told son, whatever, just keep it clean and he did. He said the girls loved his hair, has long since cut it short but also experiences it thinning now.
ReplyDeleteJoared: It's good that your son was confident enough to grow his hair long without feeling he wasn't "masculine" enough. Why is there such an obsession with hair length?
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