Hair.  It’s a defining feature of most people.  The color, the cut, the style; it all tells a story about you.  

One of my roommates is an artist, and the other day we discussed how hair is a defining feature.  It’s something she emphasizes and always notices when drawing someone.  I’ve had long hair almost my entire life-- only a few times have I had short hair.  As I’ve tried to redefine myself this year from the boring, complacent person I tend to be, I’ve thought about risking a new hair cut.  Something has always kept me from doing it, though.  Is it that guys don’t like short hair?  Why don’t guys like short hair?  Is it because short hair is a danger sign?  A sign that a girl can’t be controlled?  Or is it a sign that she’s adventurous?  She likes new things?  She doesn’t like spending time on her hair?  As we go through the media, the perception of women with short hair is markedly different from those with long hair.

I was flipping through a magazine the other day and I came across the picture on the left.  It is an advertisement for JBrand jeans.  Besides the obvious fact that the model has extremely long legs and is trying to sell jeans, I noticed she had a trendy jacket on and very short hair.  Her style looks very laid back and relaxed because she has a more messy, undone hair style.  This style could have been portrayed with long hair, but the advertisers chose a model with short hair.  Short hair indicates a more trendy and adventurous style without working too hard.

When the pop star Rhianna was considering cutting her precious locks, her producer told her it would ruin her career.  Her career was hardly ruined when she decided to take this bold move.  Rhianna has been the icon of how to make short hair sexy.  The sexiness of the look comes from breaking the traditional mold of women’s style.  She showed her adventurous personality and stunning confidence by cutting her hair short.  Women who emulate her are attempting to portray the same thing:  I’m a strong woman who doesn’t need hair to make me beautiful.

If you look in the “Hair&Beauty” section on Pinterest, you’ll see two looks:  extremely long hair and extremely short hair.  There is rarely a happy medium.  While there may rarely be a happy medium, Pinterest is often more realistic in their styles than advertisements or celebrities.  The short hair on Pinterest represented an easy, roll out of bed style that is still extremely trendy.  Short hair is aimed towards the girl who doesn’t have much time for hair but still wants to be up-to-date.  While some of the styles represented a more young, girly look, all of the styles still screamed non-traditional and a girl looking to be different.  

The media rarely represents a woman with short hair who is a common beauty.  Women with short hair are, in short, different.  Media rarely takes the time to represent the woman who is just finishing chemotherapy and is just beginning to grow hair again.  The rarely represent the older woman who sees long hair as something for young women.  They rarely represent the woman who simply likes short hair better because it suits the shape of her face more.  When I have been thinking about cutting my hair, I’ve subconsciously been thinking about the single story line I want to present.  I limit myself from being sweet and conservative to being daring and stylish in one snip of the scissors.