Until I was 13 years of age I was a 'normal' girl with hair below my shoulders, disciplining it everyday with a hair band. It was an interview of Kiran Bedi on TV that inspired me to think that it was time for me to cut my hair short.
Many opinions
My parents didn't have a problem with it and there I was on a Monday morning at school, after getting my hair cut during the weekend.
Some of my friends liked it and some did not. But I liked the way I was and so I continued to have short hair after that.
As years rolled on, people could not resist asking this question to me. “How long are you going to be like this? Don't you want to grow your hair?”
I had never thought of growing my hair, and I would say I would remain with short hair all my life. The moment I say this a question springs up.
The same question from everyone irrespective of sex and age. “How will you get married without growing your hair? What will you do with your hair on the day of your marriage if you have it this short?”
I found this question absurd. I simply could not see the logical link between long hair and marriage and so I would reply, "the man is going to marry me and not my hair" and this only made them think I was weird.
Acceptance
People are made to think that stereotypes are standards and anybody who deviates is abnormal.
Do I have to be Kiran Bedi or Indira Gandhi to have short hair and still be accepted by society? Can't I have my own identity?
V.SARADHA,III B.A. English Literature, Women's Christian College
