Anti-Male Bias and Abuse of Boys as a Fad
The Girl Power Generation and Anti-Boy Attitudes
A Eulogy to Boy’s Hair and their Individuality

A Eulogy to Boy’s Hair and their Individuality
© 2004 Laurie A. Couture, M.Ed, LMHC

It was the 1950’s, and everywhere you looked, boys had their heads cropped tight with conservative adult-like hair cuts. It is probably safe to say that one rarely, if ever, saw a boy with a full head of hair in the ’50’s, aside from Beatniks with bangs slicked back. Starting in the 1960’s, growing one’s hair past the ears or the collar was an act of liberation from older generations that young men boldly declared as their right. When America’s anesthetized culture of “the good ol’ days” was shaken to its foundations in the late ‘60’s with the anti-war protests and various human rights movements, a boy growing his hair to daring lengths was the ultimate display of rebellion. But it didn’t come easy. A boy growing his hair was seen as such a mockery to the very fabric of conservative culture that boys suffered expulsions from school and sometimes violent protests by outraged parents and observers. Human rights organizations were called upon to fight for boys’ Constitutional right to wear one’s hair as one pleased without being suspended or expelled from school.

In the 1970’s, lawsuits for hair length were old news. Nearly every boy sported a full head of hair; from cool looking styles like the moppy bowl cut and the oversized afro to the embarrassing “Bee Gees” feathered ’doo! The ‘80's were a time of long, wild and experimental hair cuts for boys. The wide variety of long, pouffy, spikey, teased or multi-colored styles defined pop-culture groups such as headbanger, new waver, punk and preppie.

Although the early '90's brought us the now-laughable “mullet“, by the mid- ‘90‘s, the trend was towards shorter, yet still attractive, hair cuts for boys. But as the late ‘90’s and the year 2000 took hold, something reeking of the 1950’s began to spread like the common cold: Boy’s hair cuts were beginning to get tighter and more unoriginal by the year. By the year 2000, from toddlers to teens, nearly every boy had a shaved head. The “loss” of hair in boys swept across all age groups, socioeconomic and racial lines. From the children in the poorest neighborhoods to the children in the richest private schools, to the tiny tykes in strollers to the teens at the skate park, from the rappers to the rockers, nearly everyone looked the same: all sporting tightly cropped, barely-there buzzed heads...

What happened? I asked myself this as I looked with head-shaking question at attractive looking families: Their daughters were primped with long, flowing locks, yet their young sons looked like miniature military recruits. I wanted to ask them if they would allow their daughters to shave their beautiful heads of hair, and if not, what would make them think that their son’s beautiful hair was any less valuable? I wondered if every parent who shaved their young son’s head forgot that childhood is a time of innocence and looking adorable, not looking like an adult. I wondered if every older boy in the country forgot about hair as a way to represent individuality, creativity and rebellion. I wondered if everyone forgot about the rights young men had to fight for in order to grow their hair in the ‘60‘s. I wondered about these things because when my sister let my nephew’s beautiful curly blond locks grow long, everyone in public behaved as if they had never seen a long-haired boy before.

There is some hope, however, starting to emerge! As militaristic fervor has slowly turned to disillusionment, so has the conservativism that has squelched dissent and rebellion. Are adolescent boys starting to tire of the lifeless stubble growing out of their heads? That may be the case, as many adolescent boys are now growing out their hair, sporting afros, or long, moppy bangs in a look reminiscent of the early 80’s.

Why this eulogy to boy’s hair? Historically, a shaved head usually represented conformity, imprisonment, poverty or disease. I can’t help but wonder sometimes what a mother is thinking when she allows a hairdresser to cut off all of her son’s hair, and if she realizes how much more presentable he’d look with a full head of hair. In our culture, hair is a testimony to individuality and creativity. Hair is a physical accessory in which people can enhance their attractiveness. Shaving the heads of little boys detracts from their precious appearance, making them appear un-intact, tough, disheveled, rough and adult-like. This sets them apart from their angelic-looking girl peers, as teachers and adults tend to give preferential treatment to children based on attractiveness and perceived innocence...

Additionally, when older boys and teens shave their heads, it aligns them with the preferences of adults who embrace conformity. By shaving their heads, boys take away the loaded potential for individuality that hair can state and represent.

Our conformist culture badly needs dissent and people who speak out through individuality. By the fad reverting back to 1950’s haircuts, boys are stepping back to a time when males didn’t have the choice to express individuality by growing out their hair. In 2004, hair cuts can be long, short, bold, crazy, wild and unique without legal repercussions. I dare boys to resurrect their individuality, attractiveness and creativity and do something with that hair!

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