Hair: God, Sex, Death & Power
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| Birds in Autumn. |
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| Rapunzel, A. Rackham |
There was a time, many years ago, when I took pride in my hair. Well, not in my hair, exactly, but rather in the fact that it was virgin hair. Actually, among the girls of the Kohlmoos household, the thought of cutting one's hair off was to be looked upon with abhorrence and disdain--- an insult to the "ways of the clan." Girlfriends might say to us on occasion, "your hair needs a trim; it will grow longer that way. Look at all the split ends!" That seemed ridiculous, however... cut it to make it longer? Pishaw! Somehow that made us all the more protective of our ragged 'dos. We all wanted long hair; really long hair, like down to our butts, down to our ankles. It seemed the equivalence of beauty, based on various fairy-tales Mom had read to us. But there was also something about the wildness, the extremity of it--- of not allowing a scissors to touch the hair at all--- that appealed to our sense of identity.
Ok, I lied above. I did cut my hair once as a child, when I was about four. I remember standing outside on the bench... enjoying the sound the cutting made as it echoed through the strands of hair and into my brain, a luscious munching noise. I felt like I was doing something dangerous, and had a wonderful time imagining what Mom would say when she saw me. Of course she wasn't angry, but I did get to see a reaction... always fun for a kid.
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| The Beloved Thich Nhat Hanh. |
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| Hindu practitioner of asceticism. |
Throughout history and across the earth, hair has always carried weighty significance. The cutting, styling, or strategic letting-be of hair is sometimes overtly symbolic, sometimes a more subtle form of cultural code. Almost all religions have rules and customs pertaining to hair. Buddhist monks and nuns shave their heads to signal their commitment to the practice of seeing beyond the ego and its world of *things*. (I heard Thich Nhat Hanh answer this question once; he said, "We shave our heads first of all to remind ourselves that we
are monks and nuns... but also to let other people know not to try and marry us." TNH humor.) In much of the Islamic world, women are required to cover their hair as a sign of modesty--- hair being considered a sexual aspect of the human body. For similar reasons, some ultra-Orthodox Jewish women shave their heads just before marriage. The idea is the same: modesty is equated with covering the hair. However, in this tradition, it became custom a to shave the hair off as a way of making the covering of it an easier task. Some resources also trace the practice back to ancient times when non-Jewish European kings had the "right" to sleep with any Jewish woman on her wedding night... so she might shave her head in the hopes that he would find her less attractive. In an apparently opposing tradition, certain Hindu ascetics who have dedicated themselves to achieving
moksa (liberation from the wheel of birth and death), leave their hair completely uncut and untended, eventually developing what we would call dreadlocks. Although it differs in appearance from the religious custom of shaving one's head, the purpose is the same: to leave behind ego and the realm of earthly concerns.
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| Queen Elizabeth I |
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| Unidentified French Grandee. |
Hair often becomes symbolic in the realms of politics and war. Think, for example, of Elizabethan England. where an extremely high forehead was considered the beauty ideal for women. It was thought to indicate intelligence, but was also a sign of great wealth, as the cost of having one's hairline plucked regularly would have been quite out of reach for any except the uppermost crust. Queen Elizabeth I definitely contributed to the popularity of this style, and the regal aura it exudes is clear in the portraits painted of her throughout her lifetime. A similar interplay between style and political power can be witnessed in the fashion for large wigs ("periwigs") that became all the rage in the French and British courts during the mid-1600s and lasted until the French Revolution. Wigs were already becoming a regular accessory by the close of the 16th century due to an epidemic of syphilis, a disease which caused dramatic hair loss. As long, full hair was a symbol of status and prestige, and syphilis a shameful illness for obvious reasons, wig-wearing fast became important for those in high positions. But the fad took off in a serious way thanks to France's Louis XIV and England's Charles II, who suffered from early baldness and grayness, respectively. Soon wigs went from cover-up to status symbol for both sexes, quickly assuming an air of ridiculousness in size and in style (consider the powder pink and blue versions, and those sporting scenery or food!)
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| Samurai topknot. |
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| Wes Studi in "LOTM". |
The distinctive Samurai topknot was originally utilitarian, being designed to fit snugly beneath a helmet. But like the French wig, its utility was forgotten as it morphed into a symbol so powerful that a warrior would cut off his topknot upon being captured as a signal of his shame and imminent demise. Warriors of the Native American tribe known as the Mohawks are the originators of a hairstyle which survives today, although much-changed in both appearance and meaning. Most Hollywood films inaccurately portray this customary 'do, making it look more like the Punk version than the historical reality (see above photo from The Last of the Mohicans). In actuality, Mohawk warriors' hair was plucked out, not shaven, and looked not so much like a strip as a patch near the back of the crown. It also included three hanging, decorated braids. Being the signature hairstyle of a warrior, the "mohawk" served a similar purpose as the Samurai topknot in that it indicated rank and power. (I have to add here that the hair-strip we call "mohawk" has appeared in many places and at many times throughout history, and is not the sole claim of the people whose name we use to refer to it.) These intricate wartime hairdos look even more extraordinary when compared to the current requisite cut of US military personnel. The buzzcut is simple and utilitarian, yes, but also serves to discourage individuality... unlike those highlighted above.
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| Pamela Anderson for Lange, 1992. |
Have you ever entered the fix-it room of a ski or bicycle shop? If the answer is "yes," then you will recognize the poster at right (if not
this one, then one like it--- seen one, seen 'em all). Brilliant, no? These girls invariably have big and/or long hair. As a male friend once said to me, "No chick can be hot with short hair." I disagree, naturally, but then... I'm not a guy. (Seriously though: Natalie Portman in
V for Vendetta. 'Nuf said!) The point here is that long hair = "sexy" in our culture, and probably for the majority cultures around the world. I suppose it is a certain kind of power, like those French wigs... although I'm not sure who exactly holds the power here, considering the aforementioned comment of a friend. Perhaps the power is fluid in this context; a game like any other. I have seen this game, but even when I
had long hair, I never acquired the skill to play. If I ever have occasion to take the bus or train, I like to watch what girls do with their hair when they flirt. It is an art, I swear! The perfect flowing locks, falling just so--- the flirty glance from under them, the flirty *toss* to the side. It is a tool in the complex technology of attraction. Long/big hair is always "in" to some extent, but one era during which it was a must for almost everyone was the 1980's. I remember going over to the neighbors' house, the Sheridans. They had four girls--- girls who introduced the ragamuffin Kohlmooses to hoola-hoops, banana-seat bikes, jelly shoes, and hairspray. At this point you should revisit the photo at the top of this post; do these girls
look like they know jelly shoes or hairspray? But although such things seemed strange and foreign at the time, today I feel a twinge of nostalgia when I see an 80's film in which these items make an appearance. I suppose that is my cultural memory... Yes, hairspray. One must have needed a good bit of it not only in the hair but in the respiratory system to make
this shag-carpet insanity look attractive!
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| Random 1980s yearbook pictures. Yow! |
Rituals involving the hair of mourners after the death of a loved one are many and varied. Above we saw how religious renunciation of worldly things can mean either shaving one's hair completely or allowing it to grow untended. Mourning customs are similar in their extremes. Jewish Tradition, for instance, forbids male relatives of the deceased from cutting their beards for seven days, Likewise, male Hindu relatives of a deceased person do not cut their hair for eleven days, but on this day they ceremonially shave both head and beard. There also exists a Nigerian custom in which a widow shaves her head in order to express sorrow at the passing of her husband.
I think everyone has strong feelings regarding hair, especially women. One reason why I found it so liberating to shave my head is that I stopped obsessing about hair entirely. There's nothing to worry about in that department because nothing can be changed. It is what it is. No decisions are to be made. As a teenager, I used to bring myself to the verge of tears on days when my ponytail had "lumps" or my braid was uneven. My hair was a massive OCD trigger for me. Now, when I see a girl with perfect hair, I don't think "Why isn't MY hair like that?" It's not like that because I have none, haha! Problem solved. Of course I do occasionally wish I could do something radically different with my hair... but overall the shaved-head experience has been a positive one for me.
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| Egg-head, 2009. |
