By Amie Yansane
It’s a pivotal moment in a young woman’s life when deciding what to do with her hair
next and how her new hairstyle will accentuate her overall beauty. At some point in our
lives, we have considered chopping all of our hair off and starting completely over,
repeating the well-known mantra: “Hair holds memories.” Although these thoughts may
be impulsive—some fully committing to the idea of the pixie cut saved on the “haircut
motivation” Pinterest board—this experience that many young women have had during
their years of development, no matter how old they may be, is important.
The thought of women cutting their hair may be freeing and encourages them to explore
beauty outside the norm for women; however, that is not the perspective of people
outside of this experience.
Often, when women express the idea of a haircut, they’re faced with opinions opposing
the style. Some will suggest that a haircut, especially one past the ears, is almost
masculine and would “mask” or “overpower” a woman’s femininity. In other cases, when
a woman has taken the initiative to cut her hair, this subtle misogyny is masked with
comments about how much “better” she looked with her old haircut and how it “just
doesn’t suit her.”
The question is, why is it so normal to hate women when they cut their hair?
Hair, like many other physical attributes, is one of the most visible things about a
person. For women and femmes, hair can be one of the aspects of their identity, which
can range from race, sexuality, individual gender expression, etc. Most importantly, hair
is reflective of something that can go deeper for some individuals; it is representative of
control.
Strands of hair can be manipulated in countless ways that are continuously expanding.
It can be braided, slicked back, put up, taken down—anything that is imaginable. Now,
picture that control being completely chopped off. All of that control that had been
maintained is gone; those expectations of having perfect, slicked-back hair, for instance,
are gone as well.
That’s what happens when a woman decides to cut her hair.
The control of hair and women is practically the same. There have been events in the
past three years that have upheld the value that women must be handled, such as the
overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022. This and many other
oppressive events have maintained the control of women, which, as stated before,
mirrors forcibly holding down, attempting to control.
By cutting off a woman’s hair, you leave nothing to work with, and notably, nothing to
control. If the hair is cut, you free a woman from social norms and expectations; you
can’t control that.
Take two women who have been made a spectacle in the public eye: Doja Cat and
Emma Chamberlain. Although there are differences regarding the backlash both
received regarding their haircuts, because Doja intersects both race and
gender, which resulted in negative comments about the texture of her hair, the
conditions of their haircuts are the same. As women who have been in the spotlight
since the beginning of their careers, they are vulnerable to constant scrutiny from
anyone on the internet, especially when they violate the standards given to them by
fans.
When Doja and Emma decided to violate these standards of beauty and the expectation
that they would remain the same woman they were before a pivotal point in their
careers, it was an act of loosening control as women, whether it was intentional or not.
Hair is more than just hair. It has the power to make a statement about personal beliefs,
identity, and all other things. Short hair is not the only style that can reflect freedom. I
encourage exploration in hair expression with any style that represents your authentic
self. Most importantly, remember that you don’t have to be Rapunzel.