To the Wilderness Forever / C Print

This piece focuses on the power of a woman’s hair as evidenced in the Rapunzel tale type. While it may seem a very antiquated idea, that a woman’s hair is her crowning glory, I have always been uncomfortable with a woman’s power being associated not with her intelligence, strength or sexuality, but in her hair. We give our children dolls with long hair, we donate our own hair to organizations that make wigs for cancer patients, and we read newspaper articles about violence against women, which often includes an attack on her hair. Is this our power, or is it our weakness? Is it our glory, or our veil? The Rapunzel tale has evolved, and in some versions she is a strong cunning character, in charge of her own rescue but in others she and her hair are treasures to be locked away, and her greatest punishment is when her mother “cut off her hair and banished her to the wilderness forever.” Why does a woman’s long hair become her civilization, while a man’s long hair makes him wild? Is this long hair the ultimate symbol of femininity, and if so, what are we saying about the strength of the woman?
*On a side note, I tried to get my hair cut off last week, and the barber refused, saying that she just could not bring herself to cut my “beautiful” hair. I was so surprised that even today, that someone felt such pending guilt over cutting off a woman’s long hair, and I wondered if that was what she felt was the one thing I had going for me.