The Chop

Short hair is my shit.

I love when someone decides to make the chop, taking their hella long hair and turning it into a cute bob or pixie cut. It’s refreshing, it’s youthful, and, it’s still looked at as an act of rebellion…and who doesn’t like looking like a badass rebel now and then?

See, even though it’s 2020, there still seems to be a weird misogyny that surrounds a girl, woman, or female presenting person with shorter hair. Of course, it doesn’t appear to run as rampant as it did even 15 years ago but it’s still there. Below are just a few of the stupid, stereotyped, or back handed questions/comments hurled at short haired women or those thinking about making the cut and how I like to answer back to them.

“Aren’t you afraid people will think you’re a boy?” 

- Not really. In fact, in the decade I’ve had a pixie cut, I’ve not been mistaken for a dude even once. I did have a little girl ask why I had short hair like a boy and was thrilled to have a teaching moment that girls can have short hair and boys can have long hair and that doesn’t make them any less a girl or boy. 

“Men don’t like women with short hair.” 

- I don’t give a good god damn what men find attractive. Truly. I love my husband and would do just about anything for him but he met me with short hair, he married me with short hair, and he will likely live out the rest of our married days with my having short hair. If a man says he won’t date or love you because you don’t have long hair…newsflash! That man is a douchebag and not worth your time.

“People are going to think you’re a lesbian.”

-  And? First of all, get your gross stereotypes out of here. Lesbians come in all forms. Some present more masculine, some more feminine, some don’t prescribe to masculinity or femininity at all. Let a bitch live. Secondly, it’s not shameful or embarrassing to be thought of as a lesbian. That’s not an insult. 

“I could NEVER cut my hair that short, but it works for you!” 

- Hey. You know this isn’t a compliment, right? Like either you don’t realize this comes off kinda rude and insulting or you do and you’re just an asshole who likes to be passive aggressive which is the worst kind of aggression. You absolutely could cut your hair this short. You just don’t want to. And that’s okay. No one is forcing you to. It’s not for everybody. But don’t pretend that I don’t look good. 

Long hair has never personally been for me. My own hair is very straight, very fine, and can get oily very fast. When I’ve grown it out in the past it almost never gets past my shoulders and always looks limp and stringy to me so I’d usually keep it up in a bun so I didn’t have to deal with it. After college and slowly experimenting with cutting it shorter and shorter, I finally took the plunge and chopped it all off. I was changed. That sounds dramatic but it’s true. I felt more myself once I had short hair.

For most of my life, my mom has always rocked a short hairstyle. There were years of varying mullets (which unfortunately also made their way onto my head for most of elementary school) and a brief shoulder length perm phase during the 90s but for the last 20ish years, the pixie cut has become her norm.  Obviously, this influenced my own feelings about short hair. When you grow up with someone who doesn’t fit into the box that society has constructed for what beauty and femininity is, your idea of what beauty and femininity expands as well. 

I think of celebrities like Pink, Michelle Williams, and Halle Berry (yes I know HB and MW’s hair is longer in the present day but it was short for ages) who for YEARS have been the ambassadors of short hair being sexy, edgy, delicate, and cool. Having these women in the spotlight helped confirm that long hair is not the only way for a woman to be feminine. 

As we move towards the new season, change is in the air. Maybe you’ve been thinking about doing a big chop and if you have, take this as your sign to do it! It’s hair. It grows back (though I’ll be the first to tell you that regrowing sucks and definitely plays a part in why I just keep it short at this point.) If you’re not quite ready to commit to a shorter coiffed you, maybe think about buying a wig and see how you feel. Less commitment but still gives you the same vibe. 

Hair means so much to so many of us. The hair on your head can be used as a security blanket, protecting you from the world. It can be the canvas that lets you showcase your creativity in color and cuts. All it takes is one trip to the salon or barber shop and you can be a totally different person. Who will you be after your next appointment or quarantine cut?

Have you ever gone short before? Bobs? Pixies? Shaved it all off? How’d it make you feel? Are you still rocking it or have you let it grow out? Would you cut it again? Would you recommend going short to someone else? Why or why not? If you’ve been a long hair gal, what makes you keep it long? Let us know in the comments below!