I Shaved My Head

I was thinking (in a sort of day dreaming sort of way) yesterday about appearance and what it means in our society.

In late September 2007 I decided to shave my head. I can't even begin to tell you what a life changing experience that was. I don't want it to sound cliche, but it really did open my eyes to a lot of different things.

Numerous times I was confused for a boy, I can remember two times specifically at the grocery store where I was with my boyfriend and the clerk said, "You gentlemen have a nice day". It shocked me! Just because I had no hair, the clerk assumed I was a male, even though I have, what I and many others classify as very feminine features.

Another memorable moment during this journey was the first time I went back home and visited my parents. Even though I went home with my boyfriend my mom still asked me, "So what... you're a lesbian now?" and it took several heated conversations that initially started out with me defending my heterosexuality and later turning into me realizing that it was more than that. I began getting offended that in her mind a shaved head automatically meant I was homosexual. It really disturbed me. To this day she still doesn't understand.

I don't know if I really had a point to make in this post, but just had me thinking about all the experiences I had being bald and all the assumptions people made based on that experience.