Bald is Beautiful
Jun 7th, 2009 by Naama
With everything going on in the world today, one wouldn’t necessarily think that a little bit of hair, or lack of, can cause such a fuss. But while nuclear threats, world hunger and the slow extinction of bees leave most people somewhat indifferent, nothing gets a conversation going like a woman choosing to shave off her head. What is it about bald women that fascinates us?
Legend has it that the mother of all bald women, Sinead O’Connor, first shaved her head after being politely asked by her record label to be a little more feminine. Her model of a beautiful woman who’s both rebellious and fragile has been with us ever since. In cinema we had Demi Moore in G.I. Jane who also invested in a matching set of muscles.
Robin Tunney as Debra in the cultish Empire Records took fragile to a whole new and disturbing level. In Alien 3 Sigourney Weaver was playing a part originally written for a man and gets pregnant with an alien baby, so clearly an ambiguous look was needed. Similarly, everyone’s favorite Natalie Portman’s V for Vendetta transformation from a frightened little girl to a tough freedom fighter/terrorist required a buzz cut.
No wonder bald women got a bad rep. Long hair is one of the strongest attributes of femininity, when women decide to cut it, they seem to reject the whole concept. Many saw Britney’s famous encounter with a shaving machine as hitting rock bottom, personally I thought it was her brief moment of clarity, the point where she wanted to turn her back on the industry that built and crushed her with delight. I envisioned her joining a Tibetan nunnery and becoming the new Mother Teresa. A month later she got extensions.
This excellent video from Gillette will show you how to best shave your head:
