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Has it ever been not socially acceptable to shave your head as a male? I have a feeling the "shave it all off" has been a strategy ever since we've had razors s

Has it ever been not socially acceptable to shave your head as a male? I have a feeling the "shave it all off" has been a strategy ever since we've had razors sharp enough. edit: a comment below mentions that it is unacceptable nowadays in some East Asian cultures.

BitwiseFool 6y ago
"You can't fire me, I quit!"
ljf 6y ago
Only anecdotal, but my father always tells that the original skin heads when he was a young man were so transgressive as the hair cut was usually one of weakness. It was the cut of prisoners, insane asylum inmates, prisoners of war etc. At the time it was in no way considered manly or even threatening. It was truly a statement that we likely can't imagine now.
- SyzygistSix 6y ago
  But it rapidly became the haircut of the working class, especially factory workers. It's really nice to have very short hair in dirty, greasy environments.
hn_throwaway_99 6y ago
It's definitely more socially acceptable now than it was in earlier times. Do you remember the bald guy episode from Seinfeld? While it was not shocking that the guy had a bald head, it was certainly unusual enough for Jerry to remark "Is he from the future?"
rgoulter 6y ago
I decided I liked a buzz-cut when I was in university. My mother's reaction when she saw it over a videocall was that I looked like a criminal.
- ddoolin 6y ago
  My mom liked so-called "clean cut" guys (military background), so she made my brother and I buzz our hair growing up. Now my hair is now over a foot long and her reaction is that I also look like a criminal.
  - the_only_law 6y ago
    Heh, my father is a military man and growing up we always had our hair cut short. Several years ago I started growing my hair out and was ready for barrage of “hippie” jokes or whatever else would come with that. Surprisingly it never happened. In fact my parents were really surprised. My youngest brother (nearly 20 year age difference) has a very curly head full of hair and it turns out mine also gets very curly/could with some length. Never new that was in our genetics.
dan1234 6y ago
As a tall, skinny white guy who also likes leather jackets, I fear if I shave my head I'll be lumped in with the neo nazi sympathisers.
- sep_field 6y ago
  Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice got you covered. Just get some SHARPs patches on your jackets and have fun punching nazis :) Helps also if you get steel-toed boots. Was quite the thing back in the 80s punk scene.
- jacob2484 6y ago
  So you think every skinny white guy who also likes leather jackets is a neo nazi sympathiser? Don't assume/worry what others think about your look
  - novok 6y ago
    Your look is a message, it's something you chose and thus he should be aware of it.
foolinaround 6y ago
in indian culture, one shaves the head when one is mourning, lost their dear ones (parents). also, there is the practice of tonsuring one's head to offer the hair to the gods (as a sign of humility) and, historically, losers have their heads tonsured to show their weakness, also a punishment for petty theft, like stealing cattle, etc
- valarauko 6y ago
  In the Indian culture, it was also expected for the Priestly caste to shave their heads (with the exception of the shikha. Side note: when Brahmins would mourn for the death of their parent, they wouldn't shave the shikha, it would instead be left open & unknotted) - there's a certain traditional cultural cache in India with shaved heads.
Someone 6y ago
The Islamic State forbade shaving one’s beard, but I don’t think they had similar rules for shaving one’s head. If they had, they must have made exceptions for pilgrims, as shaving one’s head after one is part of the rituals around (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ihram#Behaviour_and_cleanliness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ihram#Behaviour_and_cleanlines...)
pessimizer 6y ago
Wasn't common for white guys until relatively recently. It was a common hacky baldness joke in the 80s and 90s to say "if I was a black guy, I'd shave it all off!" Probably increased at around the same time as the hipster beard thing.
aksss 6y ago
>has it ever been not socially acceptable to shave your head...? Yes, if you took the Nazarite oath (think Samson in the Bible).

BitwiseFool 6y ago

"You can't fire me, I quit!"

ljf 6y ago

Only anecdotal, but my father always tells that the original skin heads when he was a young man were so transgressive as the hair cut was usually one of weakness. It was the cut of prisoners, insane asylum inmates, prisoners of war etc. At the time it was in no way considered manly or even threatening. It was truly a statement that we likely can't imagine now.

SyzygistSix 6y ago
But it rapidly became the haircut of the working class, especially factory workers. It's really nice to have very short hair in dirty, greasy environments.

hn_throwaway_99 6y ago

It's definitely more socially acceptable now than it was in earlier times. Do you remember the bald guy episode from Seinfeld? While it was not shocking that the guy had a bald head, it was certainly unusual enough for Jerry to remark "Is he from the future?"

rgoulter 6y ago

I decided I liked a buzz-cut when I was in university. My mother's reaction when she saw it over a videocall was that I looked like a criminal.

ddoolin 6y ago
My mom liked so-called "clean cut" guys (military background), so she made my brother and I buzz our hair growing up. Now my hair is now over a foot long and her reaction is that I also look like a criminal.
- the_only_law 6y ago
  Heh, my father is a military man and growing up we always had our hair cut short. Several years ago I started growing my hair out and was ready for barrage of “hippie” jokes or whatever else would come with that. Surprisingly it never happened. In fact my parents were really surprised. My youngest brother (nearly 20 year age difference) has a very curly head full of hair and it turns out mine also gets very curly/could with some length. Never new that was in our genetics.

dan1234 6y ago

As a tall, skinny white guy who also likes leather jackets, I fear if I shave my head I'll be lumped in with the neo nazi sympathisers.

sep_field 6y ago
Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice got you covered. Just get some SHARPs patches on your jackets and have fun punching nazis :) Helps also if you get steel-toed boots. Was quite the thing back in the 80s punk scene.
jacob2484 6y ago
So you think every skinny white guy who also likes leather jackets is a neo nazi sympathiser? Don't assume/worry what others think about your look
- novok 6y ago
  Your look is a message, it's something you chose and thus he should be aware of it.

foolinaround 6y ago

in indian culture, one shaves the head when one is mourning, lost their dear ones (parents). also, there is the practice of tonsuring one's head to offer the hair to the gods (as a sign of humility) and, historically, losers have their heads tonsured to show their weakness, also a punishment for petty theft, like stealing cattle, etc

valarauko 6y ago
In the Indian culture, it was also expected for the Priestly caste to shave their heads (with the exception of the shikha. Side note: when Brahmins would mourn for the death of their parent, they wouldn't shave the shikha, it would instead be left open & unknotted) - there's a certain traditional cultural cache in India with shaved heads.

Someone 6y ago

The Islamic State forbade shaving one’s beard, but I don’t think they had similar rules for shaving one’s head. If they had, they must have made exceptions for pilgrims, as shaving one’s head after one is part of the rituals around (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ihram#Behaviour_and_cleanliness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ihram#Behaviour_and_cleanlines...)

pessimizer 6y ago

Wasn't common for white guys until relatively recently. It was a common hacky baldness joke in the 80s and 90s to say "if I was a black guy, I'd shave it all off!" Probably increased at around the same time as the hipster beard thing.

aksss 6y ago

>has it ever been not socially acceptable to shave your head...? Yes, if you took the Nazarite oath (think Samson in the Bible).