Although a drastic change can be scary for some, Emma was excited to switch things up, not just from a style standpoint, but from a more political one as well.
“It seems like people, women especially, are shown such a homogenous view of what it means to be beautiful,” the junior said. “Growing up as a little blonde girl, I never felt very uncomfortable with the way I saw myself represented because I looked like almost all of the [Disney] princess characters. But, I definitely have received a “dumb blonde” joke more than a few times.”
Emma clarified that she didn’t change her hair color because she wanted to stray away from the stereotype. Instead, she hopes to show off her new hairstyle while simultaneously observing how it affects the way people see her.
“I’ve always wanted to understand how the perception of others can be so affected by things that seem as banal as hair color, ” Emma said. “I hope that we can work towards a more diverse way of demarcating desirability and beauty — in the interim I guess my ’90’s Girl Power upbringing just made me want to feel less like a princess and more like a Black Widow / Alex Vause character for awhile.”