Comment by Dominique Cleopatra on September 16, 2010 at 12:13am

Loves it!

Comment by Sophie on September 16, 2010 at 2:23am

hilarious :)

Comment by Carol on September 16, 2010 at 9:04am

Although it is very true that there are people out there who see us as brave for coping all too well with our baldness, there are some people out there who are coping with conditions far worse than alopecia. Like Gail, I've been called brave, strong and inspiring, some people truly admire me but for the life of me, I still can't figure it out. If I can help someone or touch someone's heart in any way, not necessarily alopecians then I've done something good however that doesn't make me brave. I would have done the same as Gail in that situation. I will never forget some of the truly brave which have crossed my path, one of which was a little girl I once knew who died from leukemia when she was 8. She knew what was happening and she spoke about it freely and I found her to be incredibly brave to be able to accept the fact that she most likely wouldn't make it. I have tea with an elderly couple once a week or so and this old Dutch gentleman tells tales of being held in a Japanese concentration camp as a child and later joining the army at 17. What we face is nothing compared to that! We all show traces of brevity when we are free to be different, when we overcome hurdles and face our fears but how many of us put our lives in jeopardy? I truly hope that the unmentioned magazine finds the brave soul they are looking for (someone who truly deserves it).

Comment by Carol on September 16, 2010 at 9:51am

Lily
More often than not when the media becomes involved in sharing someone's alopecia story it become a play at people's heart strings (at least at first). From what I've noticed they make the play, the "look at the poor lady who's losing her hair" and then build it up at the end, some more than others. The interviewers or writers have no perception, their only goal is to fulfill the negativity and drama that society has come to crave. Although sometimes it turns out to have a happy ending, like Gail's hair growing back, the focus generally seems to be more on the hairloss rather than those of us who have come to accept our condition. It could also be that because Gail's hair came back that she just wants to put this behind her, her alopecia is not what defined her. Perhaps it's just me being bitter with the media for having such a heavy hand in how we perceive ourselves but I'm kind of happy they won't be doing an article on her. On the other hand it's nice to get the word out and make awareness for alopecia but only if it's done in a positive manner.

Comment by David A on September 16, 2010 at 3:41pm

Brave can have a couple of different shades of meaning. While it may not be as intended, the last two listed by MW might apply, whatever your feelings on the first!

: having or showing courage
2
: making a fine show : colorful
3
: excellent, splendid

Comment by kastababy on September 16, 2010 at 4:38pm

I have to agree with Carol on this one -- and Gail too -- and I don't think that Carol could have said it any better. I get that comment all the time about how brave I am to go with nothing on my head, and 9 times out of 10 I want to ask them exactly what it is that is so brave about being myself and going around just as I am?

Usually when I hear that statement I see it as being very patronizing,and try my best to either say "thank you " and keep on moving, or just ignore the statement. Someone may see me as being rude when I say that, but I really don't see anything brave about being comfortable in my own skin. Unless of course -- EUREKA!! -- nobody is really comfortable in their own skin, and complimenting my so-called braveness is their means of justifying their own self-hatred????

Comment by rj, Co-founder on September 17, 2010 at 5:04pm

The poet and playwright e.e. cummings wrote, "To be nobody-but-yourself -- in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else -- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting."

Of course, this too is a battle that requires courage -- or, more specifically, "the courage to be" -- and it is in this sense that many alopecians are brave.

Comment by David B327 on February 19, 2011 at 5:42am

I would agree wholeheartedly with Gail on this, but I wish she’d named the magazine. She is of course to be admired for her positive attitude, and having the confidence to be openly bald in such a public profession. However such awards are intended to recognise something different. I myself am registered blind, but I would find it equally unsettling if someone received a bravery award, for which the justification was coping with blindness. I might be disabled, but there are people that have to cope with far much more than me.

The pro-democracy demonstrators in Egypt, and throughout North Africa and the Middle East, are showing us what bravery really is. They are putting their lives on the line for something they believe in.

Comment by Ann on February 22, 2013 at 9:33pm

Love it, we shouldn't have to live in a world where being yourself has to be considered as brave ... it should already be welcome ... it's like "congratulations for going outside in a world where people are close-minded and cruel to you for being who you are" ... who's going to not just hand me a 'bravery award,' but who's going to check THOSE PEOPLE on their ignorance about illness and/or beauty standards??

Comment