The Politics of Hair

In Hollywood and media representations, baldness is traditionally linked to the realm of evil (see characters such as Voldemort) or ill omens (disease and chemotherapy). Recently, however, with the current resurgence in short hair and buzzcuts amongst women, it seems like letting your scalp show has more clout than not. Things seem to be getting better for hairless representation: Emma Stone’s decision to forgo a bald cap in Lanthimos’s new release Bugonia’s screening further illustrates how baldness can be a statement of authenticity and liberation on set. Baldness has been associated with actresses such as Maisie Williams, Natalie Portman, and Demi Moore. These are all women who have deliberately shaved their heads for roles, using the look to embody gritty realism or shed conventional glamour (think of Charlize Theron, who shaved it for Mad Max: Fury Road). Across these examples, short hair or baldness in movies signals a shift from ornamental femininity to agency, vulnerability, or resistance, allowing filmmakers to visually communicate a character’s internal rebellion or transformation. 

Hair scientists and stylists are finding a rationale behind why baldness or short hair is becoming more popular: short hair is also a form of rebellion in times of recession. Getting haircuts is high maintenance and a luxury for some. It is also traditionally linked to rebellious acts in times of return to conservatism and fascism (think La Garçonne in the 1920s with the suffragette movement). With several advanced democracies slowly turning towards conservatism, the trend of cutting hair shorter seems to be going against this. The feminist movement is also about playing down gender differences, and hair plays into that: loss of hair after the mid-20s and receding hairlines, are amongst men’s biggest fears and many joke about the annual Turkey trip. Harry James, for example, is an influencer who advocates for bald pride instead of hiding it.

Hair is beyond aesthetics; it is political and related to mental health. Look at the aesthetic of the slick back and clean girl, trying to erase any form of natural manifestation of the hair. Or everything surrounding the ‘hair theory’: how, apparently, women’s hair looks more beautiful and wavy when they are in love. Or how layered hair can hide certain insecurities that we have as teenagers. There is way more significance to hair than meets the eye. 

Growing up with curly hair, I was always told to brush it because it was frizzy, because it looked unclean or neglected. The norm for girls (where I grew up, at least) seemed to have been to have polished, straight hair, and I envied them. Because I did not have explicitly curly hair, I would treat it as though it were straight, when that was not the case. Your haircut visibly changes the way you look and, in return, how people perceive you. As someone who has experimented with many (catastrophic, self-made, 2am, spontaneous) haircuts, from a bob to a mullet, pixie and wolf cut, I can tell that people treat me vastly differently due to my projecting a different vibe with hair. Think of it: how many people have we perceived who have come out with a new haircut after a major life change, like a breakup? Countless conversations when a friend is thinking of getting a major physical change revolve around: Am I considering chopping my hair off or shaving my head, despite all my friends saying “no, you should not — what about your growth? Are you scared to regret it?”

As soon as I cut my hair, I was at peace with some annoying men approaching me because I probably looked more masculine and older as a woman who always appeared younger (due to being 5’2). But the underlying reason why I loved it was because of the freedom it gave me of not having to take care of it. All of my curly-haired friends spend hours for their hair to appear luscious and perfect — now that I am growing mine out, I have realised how underappreciated these efforts are. Though short hair is not always perceived as typically beautiful, it’s not like hair does not grow back eventually, and I think it truly emphasises women’s features and face shape. It can make you look younger or older and can help you embrace femininity — and does not indicate a sexual orientation! 

But should we embrace a hair(less) look because of a desired outcome, or just to embrace what we think suits us best? As emphasised by student Luca Marie Heling, “Most people also reacted quite positively towards my having shaved off my hair, and complimented it, both back when I originally shaved it, as well as now. But a lot of people definitely also stare at me longer.”

Illustration by Lyla Ritzler