Femininity. The word has varying definitions and attributes depending on who is asked. Like most young girls I always viewed Disney princesses and teen pop stars as the epitome of “femininity.” Among other attributes such as unrealistic body dimensions, all of these women are shown with long and luscious hair.
I have been growing my hair out since my freshman year of high school. Everyone that knows me knows that I loved my hair. I played with it -- a lot. Whether I was just twirling it around or picking split ends, I was always doing something with my hair. It became a security blanket for me. Eventually, I grew tired of turning to my hair whenever I was nervous or uncomfortable.
After four years, I finally decided to cut my hair and donate it to Pantene’s “Beautiful Lengths” program, which creates wigs for women with cancer. Leading up to the haircut, I wasn’t nervous but as I sat in the chair of the hair salon with my stylist preparing her scissors I got a horrible pit in my stomach. The fear of society’s judgment came flooding in. What if people think I’m a boy? How can I look hot or sexy with short hair? Will everyone just lie and tell me that it looks good? Even though I was having a mini panic attack, I tried my best to smile as she cut off 13 inches of my beloved hair.
I was surprised by how much I loved my hair after I got it cut. It was embarrassing to think about how nervous I was for other people’s reactions. But it really wasn’t my fault for being scared of how people would perceive a woman with short hair. It was society’s fault. It was the beauty standards that are unknowingly imposed on every young girl, and that still existed in my mind at the age of 18.
Young girls are first exposed to such standards through Disney princesses. Every girl wants to be a princess. We look up to these heroines and they became some of our earliest role models. Unfortunately, these princesses are shown with unnatural and exaggerated womanly figures and long, flowing hair. These physical qualities tend to overshadow the intangible qualities and become the image of femininity that girls strive for. From there, the imposition of beauty standards only gets worse. With dolls, advertisements showcasing photo-shopped woman, and makeup geared towards girls as young as 12, it’s impossible for girls to escape societies idea of femininity.
Even though I had various other reasons for keeping my hair long (mainly sports) subconsciously I thought that it made me more of a woman. This could not be more inaccurate. I feel liberated with short hair, both physically and metaphorically. Being female is so much more than the physical qualities that society wants us to focus on. I am more than these beauty standards and I am certainly more than my hair.
