Those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting me face-to-face or listening to my weekly radio show might not know a certain momentous fact about me: I recently cut off all my hair. Of course, you might also not know that before June I had hair that reached down to my waist.
Despite the fact it was really only a haircut, it has been kind of big news. I guess that’s in part due to the fact that I’ve had the same hairstyle for about 17 years, with a short blip in 2000/2001. When someone that static makes a change, people often make a big deal about it.
But, of course, the haircut was also big news because of the amount of hair I cut off. My hair is now about an inch or two long on top and even shorter on the sides and back. It’s remarkable how after so many years being pulled flat into a ponytail, my hair stands up so readily.
One of my first columns was about being a male with very long hair. A reader wrote in to say, basically, “Hair length is not a very important topic. I mean, who cares how long the writer’s hair is?”
That’s totally fair. Complaining about how males with long hair are stereotyped and discriminated against really is kind of trite and juvenile.
I announced my plan a few weeks ahead of time, on Facebook. My purpose was to request suggestions for potential short hairstyles I could adopt. I was nervous because I wanted something low-maintenance but not overly military looking.
As I should have expected, jokes abounded, because I surround myself with clever, humorous people. However, and this is my point, many people expressed negativity about my upcoming shearing. And they weren’t just saying that I’d look bad with short hair. People just said that it was bad of me to cut my hair. It was more intense than I expected and I thought warranted. One person even wrote, “tsk tsk.” Seriously.
I suppose people might have been thinking I was giving up my autonomy, my true, unique, inner essence, my individuality or my resistance to mainstream culture. Maybe they saw the haircut as a form of castration or giving up. Or maybe people just fear change a lot. It didn’t seem to occur to anyone that I might be maturing or growing or that I might actually genuinely want short hair. I mean lots of weird, quirky, clever, individualistic and rebellious people have short hair.
One friend was deeply distraught about the imminent haircut. I chatted with her and we discovered she was projecting her anxiety about her own struggle with materialism and keeping up with the Joneses. I showed her I was empowering myself and growing into being more than just a static outward style. Then she became very positive and excited about the haircut.
The really weird part is that people’s reactions were almost totally positive after the haircut. Apparently, I look really good now. “Younger and more mature at the same time” a couple of people said.
I radically altered my appearance in part because I wanted a change. I was tired of my old look. But I also changed to fit more into mainstream society. Yes, it’s true. But it wasn’t about giving up. I was taking control and making calculated decisions about my future. I knew what I wanted, I knew what I had to do to get it and I did it.
In September, I begin law school at the University of Alberta. I’m shorthaired and excited. Life is good.
Dave Lloyd is a writer and musician who grew up in St. Albert.
