Hair Today, Gone...

So… it will probably happen soon. Very soon, as I have been thinking about it for a long time. I initially thought of cutting it short on my 40th birthday next year, but I can't wait that long. Donating the hair to Locks of Love seems like a good idea, but I donate alot already. Then I thought of selling my hair on ebay. Actually have two listings going at the same time. One for the hair and pitted against it, is the second one… ‘Pay me to NOT cut my hair’ with a one-year guarantee. Who knows… there might be a long-hair enthusiast out there. Ever get one of these?

But, there is no ‘hook’, I’m not 19 and need money for college, so it is unlikely the listing would get picked up as a story by the AP. You know, to drive the final price insanely high.

I called a friend of mine who is in the ‘reality tv biz’ and asked her if she knows of a show that could use me, but couldn’t think of anything. There is always Ambush Makeover but it’s meant to happen to me, I can’t just sign up for it. So, in the end, I will probably just cut my hair and donate it to Locks of Love.

Oh, and I have decided this time around going short, to go bald.

M$?… why? Because I can. And I want to see what I look like. 5 years ago, when I had really really long hair and cut it really really short [yes… this is a pattern], I did not have the confidence to do so. Now I do. My identity and my sexuality are not wrapped up in my hair or appearance. I have to admit being around a lot of bald or recently bald cancer patients has intrigued me, even though my baldness will be by choice.

I don’t dress in all black, nor do I have tattoos and piercings, so I won’t be mistaken for a youth going through a rebellious phase… though, I could start. I’ll probably be mistaken for having cancer, or going through midlife. Here are some t-shirt ideas to thwart questions.
* No, I don’t have cancer… I’m just a bad ass bald chick
* No cancer, no midlife, just choice
* Don’t ask… I won’t tell

Why is being bald an acceptable choice for men, but not for women? There was a time, not too long ago, that long hair was not acceptable for men, and that boldly colored hair, you know chunky strips of pink, blue, orange, was not acceptable for men or women either. Do we judge people for their hair? In 50 years, will we look back at this time and laugh at how closed minded we were to find it disdainful for a woman to be bald? I hope so.

I have told a number of people of my plans and they looked shocked and hurt. Little did I know they were in love with my hair! My favorite response so far has been, “No, you are not going to do that.” lol. The social experiment gets interesting. While being bald amongst strangers will be relatively easy, how will it be around someone I know, that can’t bear to look at me?

A girlfriend of mine, Apple, wrote me about how feminine and sexy long hair is and whether or not my man will still find me sexy. [for the record, he will] Then she asked, “Am I missing something? Or should I ask in earnest, are you going through something? My hairdresser told me yesterday she had a client come in, not really knowing how short she wanted to go, then in the end asked her to shave it off. Turns out, this gal was just back from the mainland and had been raped. She wanted to shed the horror of her experience by cutting her hair off. Probably why I'm asking if you are going through something radical at present.”

No, I am not ‘going through anything’. I probably won’t be bald for long, as I suspect I will find shaving tedious. I look forward to not hunting for white hairs, wearing wigs, wearing red lipstick, running my hands through my short hair and then coloring it. But the thing I have enjoyed most has been contemplating this and that I have the freedom to do so.

It all comes off this Friday night. RadiantSun will be doing the shaving honors.