Head shaving explained

Head shaving is a form of body modification which involves shaving the hair from a person's head. People throughout history have shaved all or part of their heads for diverse reasons including aesthetics, convenience, culture, fashion, practicality, punishment, a rite of passage, religion, or style.

Early history

The earliest historical records describing head shaving are from ancient Mediterranean cultures such as Egypt, Greece, and Rome. The Egyptian priest class ritualistically removed all hair from head to toe by plucking it.

Religious significance

See main article: Tonsure. Many Buddhists and Vaisnavas, especially Hare Krishnas, shave their heads. Some Hindu and most Buddhist monks and nuns shave their heads upon entering their order, and Buddhist monks and nuns in Korea have their heads shaved every 15 days.[1] Muslim men have the choice of shaving their heads after performing the Umrah and Hajj, following the tradition of committing to Allah, but are not required to keep it permanently shaved.[2]

As a symbol of subordination

Enslaved peoples

In many cultures throughout history, cutting or shaving the hair on men has been seen as a sign of subordination. In ancient Greece and much of Babylon, long hair was a symbol of economic and social power, while a shaved head was the sign of a slave. This was a way of the slave-owner establishing the slave's body as their property by literally removing a part of their personhood and individuality.[3]

Military

The practice of shaving heads has been widely used in the military. Although sometimes explained as being for hygiene reasons, the image of strict and disciplined conformity is also accepted as a factor.[4] Upon the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II, many soldiers chose to have their heads completely shaved in order to deny any Nazis the opportunity to grab it if they engaged in hand-to-hand combat. For the new military recruit, it can be a rite of passage, and variations of it have become a badge of honor.[5]

Prison and punishment

Prisoners commonly have their heads shaven to prevent the spread of lice, but it may also be used as a demeaning measure. Having the head shaved can be a punishment prescribed in law.[6] Nazis punished people accused of racial mixing by parading them through the streets with shaved heads and placards around their necks detailing their acts.[7]

During and after World War II, thousands of French women had their heads shaved in front of cheering crowds as punishment for either collaborating with the Nazis or having sexual relationships with Nazi soldiers during the war.[8] [9] [10] Some Finnish women also had their heads shaved for allegedly having relationships with Soviet prisoners of war during the war.[11]

Practicality

Sport

Competitive swimmers, sprinters, and joggers sometimes seek to gain an advantage by completely removing all hair from their entire body to reduce drag while competing.

Baldness

People experiencing hair loss may shave their heads in order to look more presentable, for convenience, or to adhere to a certain style or fashion movement. Those with alopecia areata or androgenetic alopecia often choose to shave their heads, which has rapidly become a common choice since the 1990s.[12]

Notable people

Real

This list includes only notable people for whom a shaved head is an important and recognizable part of their public image; it is not a list of every celebrity who has shaved their head at some point in their life.

Fictional

In modern fiction, shaved heads are often associated with characters who display a stern and disciplined or hardcore attitude. Examples include characters played by Yul Brynner, Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson, Telly Savalas, Sigourney Weaver, and Bruce Willis, as well as characters such as Agent 47 (whose physical appearance was based on his actor, the aforementioned David Bateson), Mr. Clean, Kratos, Saitama, and Walter White. Baldness is sometimes an important part of these characters' biographies; for example, Saitama wanted to be a superhero and lost all of his hair in exchange for receiving superpowers. Shaved heads are also often associated with villains in fiction,[73] such as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Colonel Kurtz, Lex Luthor, Thanos, Bullseye, portrayed by Colin Farrell, and Alex Macqueen's version of the Master. A notable exception is Daddy Warbucks.

A goatee, usually of the Van Dyke variety, is often worn to complement the look or add sophistication; this look was widely popularized in the mid-to-late 1990s by professional wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. For the majority of the crime drama series Breaking Bad, often regarded as one of the greatest TV series of all time,[74] the aforementioned Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston) wore a Van Dyke with a shaved head, contributing to the character's iconic status.[75]

In futuristic settings, shaved heads are often associated with bland uniformity, especially in sterile settings such as V for Vendetta and THX 1138.[76] In the 1927 sci-fi film Metropolis, hundreds of extras had their heads shaved to represent the oppressed masses of a future dystopia.

It is less common for female characters to have shaved heads, though some actresses have shaved their heads[77] or used bald caps[78] for roles.

Modern subcultures

Skinheads

In the 1960s, some British working-class youths developed the skinhead subculture, whose members were distinguished by short cropped hair (although they did not shave their heads down to the scalp at the time). This look was partly influenced by the Jamaican rude boy style.[79] [80] It was not until the skinhead revival in the late 1970s—with the appearance of punk-influenced Oi! skinheads—that many skinheads started shaving their hair right down to the scalp. Head shaving has also appeared in other youth-oriented subcultures such as the hardcore, black metal, metalcore, nu metal, hip hop, techno, and neo-nazi scenes.

Sexuality and gender

A sexual fetish involving head shaving is called Haircut Fetishism. While a shaved head on a man is often seen as a sign of authority and virility, a shaved head on a woman typically connotes androgyny, especially when combined with traditionally feminine signifiers. Drag queens have sometimes adopted shaved heads to express a genderqueer image. In the BDSM community, shaving a submissive or slave's head is often used to demonstrate powerlessness or submission to the will of a dominant.

Fundraising and support

Cancer

Baldness is perhaps the most famous side effect of the chemotherapy treatment for cancer, and some people shave their heads before undergoing such treatment or after the hair loss starts to become apparent; some people chose to shave their heads in solidarity with cancer sufferers, especially as part of a fundraising effort.

Covhead-19 Challenge

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many countries imposed strict lockdown procedures and actively encouraged members of the public to self-isolate. Many people, particularly men, began to shave their heads during lockdown due to boredom and being unable to have their hair cut as barbershops were forced to stay closed.[81] In the UK, a fundraising effort began to support its National Health Service, which suffered from the enormous pressure of the pandemic. The effort was started on Just Giving with a goal of £100,000; it encouraged people to shave their heads whilst also donating money to the NHS and was dubbed the "Covhead-19 Challenge". Various celebrities also took part.[82]

See also

Notes and References

  1. [Geri Larkin|Geraldine A. Larkin]
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  3. Brooks . Beatrice Allard . 1922 . The Babylonian Practice of Marking Slaves . Journal of the American Oriental Society . 42 . 80–90 . 10.2307/593615 . 593615 . 0003-0279.
  4. Okorocha . Okorie . 2016 . Hair and Justice: Sociolegal Significance of Hair in Criminal Justice, Constitutional Law, and Public Policy by Carmen M. Cusack . Journal of Law and Social Deviance . 11 . 299.
  5. Winslow . Donna . 1999 . Rites of Passage and Group Bonding in the Canadian Airborne . Armed Forces & Society . en . 25 . 3 . 429–457 . 10.1177/0095327X9902500305 . 145604240 . 0095-327X.
  6. http://www.wluml.org/node/3908 "Article 87 ... shall be sentenced to flogging, having his head shaven, and one year of exile ..."
  7. Book: Richard J. Evans. The Third Reich in Power. 2006. Penguin Books. 978-0-14-100976-6. 540.
  8. "Shaved Heads and Marked Bodies: Representations From Cultures of Trauma" Kristine Stiles, Duke University (1993) Duke.edu
  9. Web site: "An Ugly Carnival", The Guardian . Theguardian.com . 30 May 2018 . 3 June 2019.
  10. "Shorn Women: Gender and Punishment in Liberation France",
  11. http://epublications.uef.fi/pub/urn_nbn_fi_uef-20100036/urn_nbn_fi_uef-20100036.pdf "Ryssän heilat ja pikku-Iivanat"
  12. News: John Travolta proudly debuts bald head on red carpet after years of wearing wigs . Metro News . 27 January 2019.
  13. Web site: Andre Agassi Wants Dudes to Embrace Being Bald . Yahoo! . 8 June 2020 . 1 September 2016.
  14. Web site: Robinson . Jon . The Gamer Interview: Kurt Angle comes clean . ESPN.com . 8 June 2020 . 9 September 2008.
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  19. Web site: Kobe Bryant shaved his head to replicate Michael Jordan because of Adidas . TalkBasket.net . 8 June 2020 . 27 February 2020.
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  28. Web site: See What Chris Daughtry Looked Like with Hair! . Toofab . 8 June 2020 . 7 November 2012.
  29. Web site: Matthews . Stephen . Is this why Vin Diesel has sex appeal? Bald men more masculine, says study . NZ Herald . 8 June 2020 . 16 September 2017.
  30. Web site: Lewinski . John Scott . 4 Guys Who Went Bald Before 30 Tell You Why It Doesn't Matter . Men's Health . 8 June 2020 . 23 October 2015.
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  35. Web site: Peter Gabriel: What a Difference Two Decades Make . https://web.archive.org/web/20200924140055/https://www.genesisfan.net/peter-gabriel/articles-2012/peter-gabriel-what-a-difference-two-decades-make . usurped . September 24, 2020 . GenesisFan . 8 June 2020 . 28 August 2012.
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  39. https://www.instagram.com/p/BFFJQvKpYlR/ Phil Heath on Instagram: “The attack of the bald heads lol. Always fun hanging with these guys. #Repost @hanyrambod ・・・ Hanging with @philheath and @thebranchwarren…”
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  44. Bryant . Kenzie . Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Explains Why He's Bald . Vanity Fair . 8 June 2020 . 3 April 2017.
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  61. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLkV1VGqYP8 Strongmen Read Mean Comments | World's Strongest Man - YouTube
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  63. Web site: Cave . James . Going Bald Was The Best Thing To Happen To These Guys' Heads . HuffPost . 9 June 2020 . 4 April 2016.
  64. Web site: Huynh . Mike . Jason Statham Is Showing Bald Men How To Look Stylishly Masculine . DMARGE . 9 June 2020 . 24 July 2019.
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  82. News: Coronavirus: What is the 'Covhead challenge' and which celebrities have taken part? . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220509/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/coronavirus-covhead-challenge-what-is-it-charity-raise-money-nhs-a9433241.html . 2022-05-09 . subscription . live . The Independent . 30 March 2020.

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