Hair “Today”

On August 23rd, The Today Show ran a segment about “fabulous” new hair removal products. Oh wait, they weren’t so much referred to as hair removal as “skin smoothing.” Here’s the intro to the online version of their story:

While most women already have a pre-pool-party hair-removal ritual, new technologies and products are making it easier than ever to achieve glossy gams and a beach-ready bikini line. From new Nair-like lotions to barber-type brushes to the latest laser solutions, these hair-removal methods will wipe away (literally, in some cases) your stubble trouble.

Glossy gams? Although I’ve shaved for almost two decades, I don’t think I’ve ever seen my legs get all glossy from the process. Bleed-y, perhaps, or scar-y. Ingrown hair-y. But glossy? And what is this pre-pool-party hair-removal ritual? (I must not have the membership card to that secret society…)

My main issue is with the “style editor” (!) and her approach to the story. She runs through all the new solutions to the woes of getting rid of body hair, solutions which include sprays, waxes, and (for the moneyed class) laser hair removal. She also mentions a “revolutionary” product that uses a *heating* element to “disrupt the hair follicle.” I haven’t tried this (and most likely never will), but I think it’s safe to assume there’s a bit of pain associated with applying a heating element to one’s skin — after all, it’s supposed to be hot enough to “reduce hair density over time.” Leaving aside the validity of this claim, the “style editor” notes that she tried the product, and feels bad about being “such a baby” for her fears that something like this would cause pain.

Let me get this straight. She’s a “baby” because she’s kinda nervous about using a torture device tool that applies a heating element to her bare skin? I think this clip highlights the lengths to which marketers will go to service the idea that it’s unacceptable for women to let their leg hair grow naturally. The “style editor” also tries laser hair removal, again admitting to us that it kinda hurts, and what a “baby” she is for objecting to the pain.

The video clip for the story is worth watching if only from the perspective of cultural critique; sure, we’ve been shaving for “years” (and now millions of us pay upwards of a thousand dollars to have hair lasered off) but what’s the impetus for continuing to do so? Could it *possibly* be to help cosmetic surgeons and corporations make money on hair removal products?

who owns your hairstyle?

I would think that, once I reach crone-hood, I’ll stop caring about what “other people” think about my appearance. Instead, I’ll demand to be treated the way aging male news anchors are treated: like a font of wisdom, to be paid more and more money for granting society the benefit of their experience, despite their graying, thinning hair. However, I’ve just learned via Lisa Black of WGAL.com’s entertainment desk that, no, even long post-post-post menopause, I’ll need to continue to consider what “they” think of my hair. And if I choose to keep long hair, well, I better look damn good in it or else they’ll all be “laughing behind [my] back.”

Here’s a message from the future long-haired, sexy older woman to those who might judge me for keeping my hair whatever length I want: screw you.

shaving & body hair

How often do *you* shave? Shaving the body is such an interesting ritual: sensual, compelling, possibly painful! Products abound to enable us to rid our bodies of hair. Swimmers do it, I assume, to enhance their speed in the water…but what about the rest of us?

I was in my early teens when I started shaving, and I don’t remember *not* having a strong sense of shame about the dark, thick hair that grew (and still grows) on my legs & arms. There’s a myth that shaving makes hair grow back darker, but mine started out course & heavy.

Are there elements of masochism & self-torture in this ritual? Why do we feel compelled to be hairless? Why is hair ok on some parts of our body, but our mainstream media ridicule female celebrities who are caught off-guard with their armpit hair showing?

posts about blogs about posts, oh my

The web is like all interconnected & stuff, so bloggers cross-post on the same topic quite a bit. Here are a few posts that Pam Spaulding very generously added to the blogs pandagon, shakespeare’s sister, and americablog, on the topic of hair & politics. The comments & discussion the posts evoked are worth reading!!

what’s your hair story?

If you have a story or thought to share about your experiences with your own hair, here’s an open thread to get us started.

hair salons as safe havens

A domestic violence outreach organization, Safe Haven Ministries, trains salon workers to be on the lookout for signs that a client may be involved in an abusive relationship. Is it true that women would trust their hairdressers enough to share that they are being abused by their partners? Personally, I go to the salon only a few times a year, and rarely to the same hair stylist, but I know many women who are loyal to their stylists. Any possibility of assisting a woman who is in a violent relationship is worth the hour it takes to train a stylist to notice signs of harm.

still some honest work left for bearded ladies

I’m fascinated by the idea that a woman can embrace the hair on her face and make it work for her. Artist Jennifer Miller performs with a NY circus troupe called Circus Amok, of which she’s the founder and director. A performance artist whose photograph appeared in Annie Leibovitz’s book Women, Miller sports a full beard that is about three inches long. She calls herself “a woman with a beard, not a bearded lady.”

See the article about Jennifer posted on the Circus Amok website.

Another of my favorite bearded ladies is the character Lila from the wonderful (and missed) HBO series Carnivale.

hair story, chapter 2: Pam Spaulding, blogging about hair

Pam Spaulding runs the blog on pamshouseblend.com, and is a passionate writer and social justice activist. She has included her hair journey on her own website, and I interviewed her in 2005 about her story. Pam’s unique perspective brings to light the intersections among race, hair, and politics; her decision to stop straightening her hair provided her with a sense of freedom and authenticity. The politics of hair is a topic about which I’m learning. It seems in some ways to represent an area of potential control by employers or other groups with an interest in defining who really belongs and who can be excluded.

hair story, chapter 1: Brenna Murphy, hair artist

Brenna is a talented and articulate young artist who has worked with hair, primarily her own, as part of her work for several years. She uses hair as a connection between herself and the idea of home. As a child, she moved around quite a bit, and her hair, always long, began to represent a constant and to provide a bodily sense of home and comfort.

After posting this I came across a news article entitled “Human Hair Sculptures Disgust, Fascinate.” Apparently there is another artist, Wenda Gu, who also uses hair in her art installations; this particular sculpture is at Dartmouth College.

all about hair

Greetings! I’ve created this site to be a discussion forum, free-form documentary project, and home for the many stories we can tell about our cultural, social, and personal experiences with hair.

As a woman, I’ve had a complex relationship with my hair, both the hair on my head and the hair on my body. As I grew up, I learned that, for women, body hair is fraught with meaning; normally, we shave it off (or pluck, or wax, or whatever we can do to get rid of it). Some of us have more of it, others less. Women can encounter criticism or questions when they choose to shave their heads, or wear close-cropped styles. Certain professions have attempted to require hairstyles of various lengths or styles. Women who lose their hair as a result of illness sometimes face the loss of their hair with sadness or shame. And some of the bearded ladies among us historically found carnival audiences mesmerized by their gender-bending, though sporting facial hair in public is still stigmatized (and often treated medically or with techniques such as laser hair removal).

I was in my teens when I demanded my mom allow me to start shaving my legs. I don’t recall why, exactly, I felt so compelled to rid myself of body hair, but I remember feeling slightly ashamed when one of my doctors commented on the dark, thick hair on my arms. I’ve often struggled with being slightly hirsute, all the while resenting the weekly, or sometimes even daily, ritual of shaving.

To get this collaborative project started, I’ve posted clips from two interviews I conducted as part of my Hair Stories documentary project. The first is a short profile of an artist named Brenna Murphy, whom I met in Chapel Hill as she was preparing to move out of state. She is a hair artist; that is, she creates prints and art installations using her own, real hair. The second interview is with Pam Spaulding, a blogger whose site, pamshouseblend.com, has garnered praise and awards for its focus on lgbt issues. She has blogged about her experiences growing up as an African-American woman during a time when she was expected to straighten her hair with hot irons. Hair as political statement is an issue that is relatively overlooked in our media, but I’d wager a guess that it’s one of the first characteristics we notice about people (and use to categorize them).

As the site evolves, I hope to elicit discussion about the cultural and social significance of our hair stories, and to generate a broad analysis of how our hair shapes our identities, including gender, ethnicity, class, or sexual orientation.

Tell me your story!