Saturday, May 3, 2008

In Defense of Bad Hair Days

I have difficult hair.
It doesn’t just misbehave from time to time -- it’s more like it’s got Oppositional Defiant Disorder. (I think it must have caught it from my kids!) :)

Halfway between straight and curly, it totally has a mind of its own. I don’t decide how I’m going to wear it -- it makes that decision for me. Just the other day it decided I was going to look like a wannabe country-western singer. Thanks a lot.

Remember those Twist-N-Curl Barbies in the 70s?
My hair’s kind of like that -- thick, wiry, and you kind of push and twist it into place the best you can. I have to spend an unreasonable amount of time just making it look like I did nothing at all (rather than the circus freakshow I woke up like). Not fair. I have a friend who does nothing to her hair. NOTHING. Doesn’t even comb it after she gets out of the shower. And somehow it always looks completely normal. SOOOO not fair!

When I was in junior high (a millenium or so ago) I got so mad at my unruly hair one day I threw my brush at the wall -- and it broke right in half. That was some serious hair rage. Now that I’m a grown woman I’ve outgrown those violent outbursts and take it out in more mature ways (like cursing). Until last week. When I busted my blow dryer. :)

But the question I have is this:
Why is it that a man can go out in public looking a little unkempt, and our society sees that as ultra-manly and super sexy? But a woman goes out uncoiffed and people automatically assume she’s mentally ill? That pressure may be at the very root (no pun intended) of all my hair rage.

I think it’s time to stand up in defense of bad hair days, in all their frizzy, straggly, out-of-control glory. Or start looking for a wig....

4 comments:

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

How about a T-Shirt with "I'm Embracing My Bad Hair Day" on it? That would solve all our problems, right?

charrette said...

Perfect! --Except I think I'd need an entire wardrobe of them...one for almost every day of the week.

Luisa Perkins said...

DON'T get me started about what men can get away with in public and women can't. It gets me a little nutty.

Brillig said...

First off, I love your hair. Secondly, I'd love to see you throw a brush and break it. Next time, video it and stick it on YouTube. hahahaha. Oh, and third? I LOVE the label "sidewalk cracks." HAHA!