Head shaving
Head shaving, also known as being bald by choice,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is the shaving of the hair from a person's head. People throughout history have shaved all or part of their heads for diverse reasons including aesthetics, convenience, culture, fashion, practicality, punishment, a rite of passage, religion, or style.
Early history
The earliest historical records describing head shaving are from ancient Mediterranean cultures such as Egypt, Greece, and Rome. The Egyptian priest class ritualistically removed all hair from head to toe by plucking it.
Religious significance
Template:Main Many Buddhists and Vaisnavas, especially Hare Krishnas, shave their heads. Some Hindu and most Buddhist monks and nuns shave their heads upon entering their order, and Buddhist monks and nuns in Korea have their heads shaved every 15 days.<ref>Geraldine A. Larkin, First You Shave Your Head, Celestial Arts (2001), Template:ISBN</ref> Muslim men have the choice of shaving their heads after performing the Umrah and Hajj, following the tradition of committing to Allah, but are not required to keep it permanently shaved.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref>
As a symbol of subordination
Enslaved peoples
In many cultures throughout history, cutting or shaving the hair on men has been seen as a sign of subordination. In ancient Greece and much of Babylon, long hair was a symbol of economic and social power, while a shaved head was the sign of a slave. This was a way of the slave-owner establishing the slave's body as their property by literally removing a part of their personhood and individuality.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Military
Template:Main The practice of shaving heads has been widely used in the military. Although sometimes explained as being for hygiene reasons, the image of strict and disciplined conformity is also accepted as a factor.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Upon the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II, some Allied soldiers shaved their heads to deny any Nazis the opportunity to grab it during hand-to-hand combat. Template:Cn For the new military recruit, it can be a rite of passage, and variations of it have become a badge of honor.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Prison and punishment
Prisoners commonly have their heads shaven to prevent the spread of lice, but it may also be used as a demeaning measure. Having the head shaved can be a punishment prescribed in law.<ref>"Article 87 ... shall be sentenced to flogging, having his head shaven, and one year of exile ..." Template:Webarchive, The Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran</ref> Nazis punished people accused of racial mixing by parading them through the streets with shaved heads and placards around their necks detailing their acts.<ref name="Evans2006">Template:Cite book</ref>
During and after World War II, thousands of French women had their heads shaved in front of cheering crowds as punishment for either collaborating with the Nazis or having sexual relationships with Nazi soldiers during the war.<ref>"Shaved Heads and Marked Bodies: Representations From Cultures of Trauma" Kristine Stiles, Duke University (1993) Duke.edu</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>"Shorn Women: Gender and Punishment in Liberation France", Template:ISBN</ref> Some Finnish women also had their heads shaved for allegedly having relationships with Soviet prisoners of war during the war.<ref name="wilms">"Ryssän heilat ja pikku-Iivanat" Template:In lang</ref>
Practicality
Sport
Competitive swimmers, sprinters, and joggers sometimes seek to gain an advantage by completely removing all hair from their entire body to reduce drag while competing.
Baldness
People experiencing hair loss may shave their heads in order to look more presentable, for convenience, or to adhere to a certain style or fashion movement. Those with alopecia areata or pattern hair loss often choose to shave their heads, which has become exponentially more common and socially acceptable since the 1990s.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Notable people
Real
Template:Multiple imageThis list includes only public figures for whom a shaved head is an important and recognizable part of their public image; it is not a list of every celebrity who has shaved their head at some point in their life. Template:Div col
- Andre Agassi, American tennis player<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Kurt Angle, American professional wrestler and Olympic athlete<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, American professional wrestler<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Charles Barkley, American basketball player<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- David Bateson, English actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Jeff Bezos, American businessman<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Dee Dee Bridgewater, American singer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Kobe Bryant, American basketball player<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Yul Brynner, Russian-American actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Yura Borisov, Russian actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Bill Burr, American comedian<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Dave Chappelle, American comedian<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Michael Chiklis, American actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Phil Collins, English musician<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Common, American rapper<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Billy Corgan, American singer and musician<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Terry Crews, American actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Chris Daughtry, American musician<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Vin Diesel, American actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Taye Diggs, American actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Domenico Dolce, Italian fashion designer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Anthony Fantano, American music critic<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- George Foreman, American boxer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Tyson Fury, English boxer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Peter Gabriel, English musician<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Peter Garrett, Australian musician, activist, and politician<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Tyrese Gibson, American actor<ref>https://facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3738115869549315&id=199633956730875&set=a.210952398932364 Template:Bare URL inline</ref>
- Bill Goldberg, American professional wrestler<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Pep Guardiola, Spanish soccer manager<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Roberto Guilherme, Brazilian actor and comedian<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Rob Halford, English singer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Rick Harrison, American businessman<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Steve Harvey, American television host<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Phil Heath, American bodybuilder<ref>Phil Heath on Instagram: "The attack of the bald heads lol. Always fun hanging with these guys."</ref>
- Evander Holyfield, American boxer<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- LL Cool J, American rapper and actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Samuel L. Jackson, American actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, American actor and professional wrestler<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
- Magic Johnson, American basketball player<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Michael Jordan, American basketball player<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Keegan-Michael Key, American comedian and actor<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
- Ben Kingsley, English actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Anton LaVey, American author and Satanic Church founder<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- John Malkovich, American actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Howie Mandel, Canadian comedian and media personality<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Floyd Mayweather, American boxer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Moby, American musician<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Dean Norris, American actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Northernlion, Canadian streamer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Shaquille O'Neal, American basketball player<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Pitbull, American rapper<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Ving Rhames, American actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Flo Rida, American rapper<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Joe Rogan, American podcaster<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Rick Ross, American rapper<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Telly Savalas, American actor<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>
- Tupac Shakur, American rapper<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Brian Shaw, American strongman<ref>Strongmen Read Mean Comments|World's Strongest Man - YouTube</ref>
- Big Show, American professional wrestler<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Johnny Sins, American pornographic actor<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
- Skin, English singer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Chris Slade, Welsh drummer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Kelly Slater, American surfer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Jason Statham, English actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Patrick Stewart, English actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Michael Stipe, American musician<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Corey Stoll, American actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Mark Strong, English actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Stanley Tucci, American actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Dana White, American businessman<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Bruce Willis, American actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Zinedine Zidane, French soccer player<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Fictional
In modern fiction, shaved heads are often associated with characters who display a stern and disciplined or hardcore attitude. Examples include characters played by Yul Brynner, Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson, Telly Savalas, Sigourney Weaver, and Bruce Willis, as well as characters such as Agent 47 (whose physical appearance was based on his actor, the aforementioned David Bateson), Mr. Clean, Kratos, Saitama, and Walter White. Baldness is sometimes an important part of these characters' biographies; for example, Saitama wanted to be a superhero and lost all of his hair in exchange for receiving superpowers. Shaved heads are also often associated with villains in fiction,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> such as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Colonel Kurtz, Lex Luthor, Thanos, Bullseye, portrayed by Colin Farrell, and Alex Macqueen's version of the Master. A notable exception is Daddy Warbucks.
A goatee, usually of the Van Dyke variety, is often worn to complement the look or add sophistication; this look was popularized in the 1990s by professional wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. For most of the crime drama series Breaking Bad,<ref name="greatest">Sources that refer to Breaking Bad being praised as one of the greatest television shows of all time include:
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- Template:Cite web</ref> Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston) wore a Van Dyke with a shaved head.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In futuristic settings, shaved heads are often associated with bland uniformity, especially in sterile settings such as V for Vendetta and THX 1138.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the 1927 sci-fi film Metropolis, hundreds of extras had their heads shaved to represent the oppressed masses of a future dystopia.
It is less common for female characters to have shaved heads, though some actresses have shaved their heads<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> or used bald caps<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> for roles.
Modern subcultures
Skinheads
In the 1960s, some British working-class youths developed the skinhead subculture, whose members were distinguished by short cropped hair (although they did not shave their heads down to the scalp at the time). This look was partly influenced by the Jamaican rude boy style.<ref name="skinheads">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="skinheads 2">Template:Cite book</ref> It was not until the skinhead revival in the late 1970s—with the appearance of punk-influenced Oi! skinheads—that many skinheads started shaving their hair right down to the scalp. Head shaving has also appeared in other youth-oriented subcultures such as the hardcore, black metal, metalcore, nu metal, hip hop, techno, and neo-nazi scenes.
Sexuality and gender
A sexual fetish involving head shaving is called haircut fetishism.
While a shaved head on a man is often seen as a sign of authority and virilityTemplate:Citation needed, a shaved head on a woman typically connotes androgyny, especially when combined with traditionally feminine signifiers.
In the BDSM community, shaving a submissive or slave's head is often used to demonstrate powerlessness or submission to the will of a dominantTemplate:WhyTemplate:Citation needed.
Fundraising and support
Cancer
Baldness is perhaps the most famous side effect of the chemotherapy treatment for cancer, and some people shave their heads before undergoing such treatment or after the hair loss starts to become apparent; some people chose to shave their heads in solidarity with cancer sufferers, especially as part of a fundraising effort.
Covhead-19 Challenge
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many countries imposed strict lockdown procedures and actively encouraged members of the public to self-isolate. Many people, particularly men, began to shave their heads during lockdown due to boredom and/or being unable to have their hair cut as barbershops were forced to stay closed.<ref>"Why are so many people shaving their heads?"</ref> In the UK, a fundraising effort began to support its National Health Service, which suffered from the enormous pressure of the pandemic. The effort was started on Just Giving with a goal of £100,000; it encouraged people to shave their heads whilst also donating money to the NHS and was dubbed the "Covhead-19 Challenge". Various celebrities also took part.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
See also
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- Social role of hair