Importance of Hair

In response to Dan's blog, I think he made a lot of good points about hair and the interview with Neal Lester. It is rather ridiculous how a haircut can be used to "define" a person's job capabilities. One of my friends is currently growing out his hair, even though he doesn't like it long. He hates how it looks long and hides it under a bandana, which gets quite itchy. When I asked him why he's doing this, he said it's because this is probably the last time in his life he will be allowed to have long hair and a beard, because he is going into chemical engineering.

If you ask me, that's a bit ridiculous.

Dan also reflects on Neal Lester's explanation of hair in relation to beauty. It's true that certain types of hair are considered more beautiful than others in a certain cultural context.

When I did volunteer work in Detroit, I worked with a lot of underprivileged black kids. One of the first points my leader made before we entered the building to meet the kids was that the girls were going to go nuts over our hair, and that we should allow them to play with it. I didn't really get it, why would they care?

The girls wanted to braid our hair and play with it because it was so different in texture and in the case of blondes, color.

It was funny, because I had a shorter hairstyle at that time, so the little girls didn't bond with me as quickly because they weren't interested in braiding my hair. In fact, one little girl told me I had ruined my hair and made it ugly by cutting it.

This is just another example of cultural concepts of beauty in relation to hair.