Hair Rules

Read and interesting paper about hair and and legal rights related to it. In conclusion, the authors state

Legal scholars have long argued that people have an interest in their extra-corporeal body parts.Hair, however, has seldom been considered in arguments asserting that people should have a property interest in their bodily materials to preserve individual autonomy and dignity.Despite the social and historical significance of hair and the dehumanizing effects of forced hair-takings, hair is often considered a mere waste product that can be used for various forensic and medical analysis with a minimum of intrusion and pain. Moreover, courts continue to ignore the social meaning of hair and decline to hold that individuals have an absolute right to assert their identity and reveal personal information through hair rituals or grooming

Opinions abound on women and short hair - what some of the drivers for that maybe. This article posits that it is the societal expectation that middle-aged women cut their hair short so they signal wanting to be more invisible. I don't know if that is at all true. I used to know a middle-aged woman (a former client), sharp featured, tall and skinny with a very short pixie cut. When she walked in the room, all eyes were on her at once. I don't think any other hair-style would look quite as arresting on her. This was certainly not a woman shying away from attention. If anything she reveled in it - specially that she could still outshine women half her age.