Finding Femininity: Shearing My Lovely Locks

How One Haircut Changed My Perspective On Girly

By Kate Hickey
QuailBellMagazine.com

When I was twenty, I cut off all of my hair. Granted, I’d never had super long hair, but it usually fell to about my shoulders. But one day I walked into the salon, clippers were applied, and I walked out with my first pixie cut.

It was a strange feeling. I’d never realized how much of my own personal femininity was bound up in my hair. Immediately, I felt as though I had to compensate for that femininity in ways I never had before. In those first few weeks without much hair, I learned a lot about make-up, blow-drying, and accessorizing—all things I’d never really given much thought to before, when I had girly hair.

I’d never considered myself to be a particularly feminine person. I generally preferred pants to dresses (although that has changed…), didn’t wear a lot of make up, and chose comfort over style. But suddenly, with my safety net femininity blanket completely gone, I had some soul searching to do.

The year I spent actively keeping my hair short was a time of personal growth. While I buzzed my hair down as far as I possibly could, I was figuring out a lot of things about myself. I wore more dresses. I bought nicer shoes. Most importantly, to me, I learned that I should focus my make-up on my lips rather than my eyes. I grew into a sense of style that was ultimately shaped and cradled by having short hair.

Femininity is something that is a part of me in a way I can’t explain. Sure, I pick and choose which aspects of femininity are more or less important to me, but in general, I adhere to most of the standards. Realizing that femininity is a part of who I am made me feel better about doing things that I previously thought were “too girly”—like caring about clothes or liking the color pink.

A lot of feminine things get a bad rap these days. For some reason, people have decided that it’s better to make bimbo jokes about put-together women than to take a moment to think about the role femininity plays in our society. I think it would be healthy if everyone out there who reads this takes a moment to think about something feminine you like. Something downright girly that makes you smile. And don’t be ashamed of it.

#Real #Femininity #SelfLove #Hair #Buzzcuts #ShortHair #BodyImage #Womanhood #Feminism #Haircuts #Hairstyles

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