Bruce Jenner's Hair

At a time when the Western middle class is privileged enough to make the occasional trip to the hair salon, many humans have learned to attach an emotional meaning to hair. Hairdressers develop loyal bonds with their customers. Cutting one’s hair is an experience, a method of therapy; we tell our stylists our deepest secrets. Occasionally, the odd hairdresser betrays us. For instance, women are always shown crying, as their hair is chopped off on virtually every makeover episode of America’s Next Top Model. We grieve for our hair yet it has always been dead. Our hair is constructed as a living part of our identity.

Celebrity culture is everywhere, and so we inevitably become attached to celebrity hair. Emma Watson’s short cut received rave reviews, while Beyoncé recent hair debut was seen as a modern day tragedy. Famous men are also scrutinized. Bruce Jenner’s hair has been a repeated topic among blogs, comedy skits, and television shows for years. Bruce’s bad hair shows society just how important good hair really is.

Bruce Jenner married Kris Kardashian in 1991. Bruce’s hair on his wedding day was fashioned in a similar style to the hair he had during his athletic days (Bruce was a gold-medal winning Olympic athlete). Mr. Jenner was Kris’ second husband and the so-called ‘mom’ager already had four kids when she met Bruce. Three of her kids eventually became of relevance to the media. Kourtney, Kloe, and Kim Kardashian, claimed a right to fame after Kim Kardashian’s sex tape was released to the public. After this incident, the family created a popular (and detested) reality show called Keeping Up with the Kardashian’s.

Due to their public image, there has been endless discussion of the Kardashian family within the media. And interestingly enough, the public just can’t seem to stop talking about Bruce’s bad hair. One can see Bruce’s hair as being a divergent, his hair is not the real issue at stake. The negative discussion of Bruce’s hair is for some, a subconscious and less rude (yet superficial) way of mocking the inner workings of the Kardashian family.

Bruce’s hair is mocked while other parts of Bruce are rarely scrutinized, his central personality, his achievements are never spoken of. His wife, and step-kids however, are consistently negated for their personalities, for being who they are (ironically, their hair is always perfect).

Next to Kris Jenner, the manager of three extremely successful and wealthy women, Bruce is made out by the public to be less of a man. On the reality show, Keeping Up with the Kardashian’s, Bruce’s masculinity is a constant topic of concern. Once a gold medal winner, the strong Olympic Bruce is seen as a myth; the family’s reality television show depicts him not as the man of the house, but as a pushover. The real attention is on the Kardashian women, and respectfully so, although the pubic would rather regard them as dysfunctional, not strong.

Mediocre looking men are frequently shown next to beautiful women on television. Bad haircuts on men aren’t usually discussed. But what if the subject of discussion isn’t seen as fully ‘man’? Bruce’s role in the Kardashian family, along with the public’s negative view of the Kardashian’s themselves, cast Bruce Jenner as a feminine figure. In the twenty-first century, when most outright sexist comments are met with backlash, society subconsciously finds ways to enforce sexism.

Subconsciously, in the media’s eyes, Bruce’s bad hair is a topic that is always (already) about his wife, and his female-centred family. Laughing at Bruce is easy because he is already seen as belittled. The concept of Bruce’s hair therefore, is never directly about Bruce himself, but inherently about his wife. Bruce’s so called lack of masculinity can’t be called out by the general public because of it’s sexist and stereotypical connotations. Through the mocking of his hair, society performs a policing of his so-called ‘femininity’. It’s a way for society to cast his ‘femininity’ and marital situation as abnormal.

It is possible (and likely) that the recent split between Bruce and Kris Jenner will put an end to the public discussion of Bruce’s hair. No longer married to Kris, Bruce will likely be freed from major scrutiny as he is simultaneously shown by the media to be freed from his ‘masculine’ wife.

Hair can be viewed as a surface aspect of identity but it is important to note that society always projects alternative meanings onto hairstyles and haircuts. Bruce’s hair can be considered a myth because it is never fully seen as being anything more than a bad haircut.