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Permalink Reply by Mary on July 29, 2010 at 1:32am

Wow...I'm definitely going to respond to this writer.

I definitely think WE alopecian women are making bald an option for women with any kind of hair loss. With publicly bald role models such as Kayla Martell and Sheila Bridges, more and more women just might come out of the wig closet.

I'd think that someone with a loved one who has chemo-induced baldness would welcome this "trend". If bald women became more commonplace (as many of us here on AW want), then women with cancer would also potentially be free of the assumption of illness.

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Permalink Reply by Cheryl, Co-founder on July 30, 2010 at 5:30pm

I think vice versa as well. When we see celebrities like Melissa Ethridge perform at the 2005 Grammys bald, it starts to make a bald woman a little bit more commonplace. All these little things add up and make a difference for a woman who wishes to make the personal decision.

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Permalink Reply by Cheryl, Co-founder on July 29, 2010 at 12:26pm

I regularly meet and talk to people who are bald by alopecia, going through cancer treatment or chose shave their heads, all opting not to cover their heads for an array of different reason.

When I went to my first conference 20 years ago, just about everybody wore wigs - men, women and children. I saw my first bald woman at a conference and I was in total awe of her. At the time I was too shy to talk to her, but I remember telling myself, that that is where I wanted to be one day.

Then a trend first started with the men, whether there was stigma of a man wearing a wig or they just wanted to “come out” and be themselves, they started to lay down the hairpieces. Next, it went to children who just wanted have fun and wigs got in their way, quickly started pulling the wigs off and going on about playing with their friends.

I find the last group to consider or embrace the possibility of baldness is women. It is such an upward battle for women to be seen as anything less than an "ideal" vision of beauty. I slowly see us breaking away from that. As I have said before whether a woman chooses to wear a wig or not, is a personal choice. But, I really would like to see it as her choice. It is one thing that we chose to wear a wig because we truly love the look, the grooming ritual and everything else that goes with owning a head of hair. It is a different thing, if like me, I hated it! I woke up every morning and felt like I was slowly covering myself up to the world. For many of us we don't we see this so much as a fashion trend, but more room to exhibit our identity. So, for women like me and many others this trend may make that transition a little easier.

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Permalink Reply by Christa M. on July 29, 2010 at 4:11pm

Hi,
I met people who told me, they thought that my head was bald for fashion reasons, I met some smiles which probably weren't related to chemo. A woman in a supermarket just said to me: "You are beautyful". So indeed, I think that it becomes possible to accept a bald woman as trendy, rather than sick, even if they are rare... And when I discovered that these opinions exist, it made it easier for me. Men wore bluejeans first when it was impossible for women to do it. Same for bald heads? I feel beautyful and from that point further, we might be the beginners of a new trend ;)

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Permalink Reply by kastababy on July 30, 2010 at 10:29pm

Okay. I had to read the article before commenting on this post.

Personally, I don't see the bald look as gaining traction, especially in the African-American culture, where there is such a huge emphasis placed on hair and physical appearance. If anything, because of the relative sparsity of celebrity images of baldness (Demi Moore and Natalie Portman, while rocking buzzed heads, still had hair on their heads -- neither one truly rocked a smooth look -- and don't get me started on Cameron Diaz, who chickened out of shaving her head when she filmed My Sister's Keeper), most people who sport a smooth look still get stares and points and the occasional child running in the opposite direction.

My concern is if this is a "trend", what happens to the lives of those who choose to bare their heads when the "trend" goes away, as all trends tend to do? How do people react? We live in a society of belonging and labels -- we're labeled when we fit in, we're labeled when we don't fit in; and deep down, we all want to belong to something somewhere. Are we going to be ostracized when the novelty of having a bald head wears off and things go back to the status quo, or is this the beginning of baldness becoming commonplace in women as well as men??

In short: The jury is still out in this corner.

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Permalink Reply by Galena on July 31, 2010 at 9:20pm

I agree with kastababy. I can say that the African American (AA) culture accepts a bald woman as one who can be bald, but should consider a lace-front like Beyonce. AA women are the largest consumers for purchased hair of every type. My smooth look feels most under scrutiny when I'm at a gathering of mostly AA's. I used to think it was me, and though I wouldn't discount that possibility, I still find my people less tolerant overall. I also think that AA women who are wearing purchased hair might see me as doing something subversive and anti-weave. It is anti-weave, but only because of a personal choice. God blessed me with great hair and I enjoyed it for 44 years. God willing it will come back, but if it doesn't He also gave me great skin and a nice shaped head. The raw beauty look is just too much for some and for others it ain't no big deal.
Friday, a man came to my office looking for a co-worker. He was an AA with vitiligo. His skin around his eyes, mouth and both hands up to the elbows was affected. I'm sure he felt like us-- always wondering how someone will receive him. He noticed my alopecia and said nothing, I noticed his vitiligo and said nothing. As it should be.
~G

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