"I am my HAIR. It's all the glory I bare"

Hair. It's a big deal. The Vagina Monologues and Lady Gaga taught me that, so when I saw this headline, I cringed. Emma Watson shares that journalists asked her if she was a lesbian after she got a pixie haircut. These questions are problematic because (a) her sexual orientation isn't anyone else's business except for her and (b) why is it assumed that women with pixie haircuts must be lesbians. Hair is gendered, and we need to challenge the assumptions that we make about people based on their physical appearances. These journalists are relying on an old stereotype that lesbians have more "masculine" appearances and short hair like a man. Isn't it about time we start embracing wider views on masculinity and femininity? If we don't do this, children may suffer the mental consequences of not fitting into the gender norms expected of them.

I respect Emma Watson for expressing in interviews that sexiness is subtle, and she doesn't want to flaunt her looks. The way these journalists tried to "label" Emma signifies a bigger issue about needing to label others and place them into convenient categories. I'm not interested in being placed in anyone else's categories. 


*More proof that hair is an important subject...