I made a conscious decision to let my hair go grey. I just happen to like it. It is something different from the mundane brown hair colour that I was sporting to fit into my conservative suburban place of employment.
I love the new organic me! My hair is free of chemicals and other artificial agents. It feels healthier, and it is less hassle. No more special shampoos and conditioners to help maintain the artificial colour. No more spending hours at the hair salon. Don't get me wrong, I had a lot of fun colouring my hair when I was in my twenties and even into my thirties. But I've done that. Change is good, right?
Not so according to some.
When I asked my youngest brother what he thought about my new look his response was that I "look like an old hag". Not that I really care what he thinks, I was just interested because of the reaction I have been getting from others that dare speak their uninvited opinion. Not that I value his opinion, I just find him rather amusing.
Is it sexism, agism, or grayism that motivated his observation?
Our hair, in Western culture, has become one of the principal reflections of ourselves that we make to the world. Or should hair be viewed through the social and cultural settings that we are confined within?
Referring to someone as an old hag contains the tone of a misogynistic attitude when delivered from a male to female figure. It refers to a woman who has been frightful in view of what is considered aesthetically pleasing within a culture. Yet there is no cultural equilibrium distinguished between a man or woman exposing gray hair. Yes, men are often seen as distinguished when they embrace their gray whereas women are viewed as old.
American make-up artist, author, and photographer, Kevyn Aucoin eloquently said "[y]ou can't put on make-up, or dress yourself, or do your hair with any sort of fun or joy if you're doing it from a position of correction".
I don't think that it is my hair that needs correcting, maybe what needs correcting is perceptions of beauty.
