Reactions from other balding men

[Rusty Shackleford]

It's funny because guys sometimes fear that they'll be accused of being a skinhead by shaving their head, but in reality that doesn't seem to happen.  What does seem to happen is that guys who are going bald will ask in disbelief why I shave my head.  A few weeks ago a guy I knew asked me when I started going bald because he assumed that I shaved because I was going bald.  When I told him I had a full head of hair he really seemed annoyed that I shave it off.  I could tell he was being nice and trying to stay out of my business while also being in such disbelief that he had to say SOMETHING.   

I do feel bad for guys like him because it's got to be incredibly irritating to have genetics that kill off the hair that you used to have and continue to like, and then you go around and see a guy with a full scalp of hair shaved to the skin.

[Dome of Steele]

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I do get the impression that shaving the head isn't a very "middle class" thing to do. I think it stems from the image of skinheads/thugs. Though saying that in a business environment it seems that shaving ones head combined with shirt and tie type of dress gives more the impression of someone who is smart and orderly in their appearance. I guess how the shaved head is recieved depends on many other things as well. 

Yeah, I think alot of it is from the movie "American History X" and others.  But it's been 10-15 yrs since it's came out and with more and more people going sly the association between shaved heads and white supremacy is fading as fast as some of our hairlines. 

[D.A.L.U.I.]

Okay, I probably shouldn't even write this out, but for those who even think Sly is in any way, shape or form a "blue collar" deal [assuming as I do not that there is anything bad about no tie work], let me tell you, that in the City of New Orleans, that just isn't the way it is.  I just got back from a very nice--spelled nice drinks, good wine, great food--lunch at a famous restaurant.  Several Sly Guys, and that doesn't even consider the waiters if you please.  No, Sly isn't a "class" limited thing, and the only Sly's that could even cause any of us to pause are those who aren't working, aren't interested in looking for work, and don't have any independent unearned income to support such a life.  Is that clear .  Don't want to hear any more of that manure.

[Antimidas]

I apologize Saint if I did not explain my position adequately or implied that Sly was specifically a blue collar style.  I also am not trying to start a fight.  I make over 6 figures and am a Director for an IT company - a very white collar job with very white collar pay.  I was stating that in my experience with customer interactions since shaving my head, the people who are more negative about my bald head are traditional white collar businesses.  The people who are more accepting are traditional blue collar businesses.

I do not see it as a white/blue collar look.  However, there is still a perception that people seem to retain (call it a stereotype or whatever) based on past perceptions.  You still find the same bias with race, nationality, religion, tattoos, gender, sexual orientation, piercings, anything that is outside of a select group's social standard.  I am not saying that justifies any of it.  It is an inherent trait in people I meet on a daily basis.  That they remark on it in such a way as they have eliminated it as being my perception alone that makes me feel that this is the case.  And perhaps it is something regional or isolated.

All that being said, it provides me with the opportunity for discussion with those individuals to break the stereotype that they have.  I welcome those discussions because it breaks down barriers that these individuals have created based on appearance of an individual rather than who that individual truly is.  There is a bias out there as indicated on these forums by people who have encountered difficulty with potential employers.  This is not necessarily in all regions of the world or even the United States.  It seems to be more compartmentalized as most biases are.

[Razor X]

  I never thought of it as a class issue, but there is a pattern emerging.

Sorry to hear that is your experience, mine is quite the opposite. 

Same here.  I'm seeing more and more guys at work who are ditching the horseshoe and shaving smooth.  A couple of them have been sporting horsehoes for years and they weren't really buzzed short, either.  The kind of guy who's been bald so long that I figured if they hadn't shaved by now, they never would.  But one by one, they're slowly coming over from the dark side.  It's almost to the point now where an MPB guy who doesn't shave is the one who looks a bit off.

I do think that 10 or 15 years ago it was more of a blue-collar/white collar thing, simply because the blue collar guys adopted the look first.  Typically they have more flexibility in the workplace when it comes to personal appearance.  Or at least that's what white collar guys think.  Many of us, myself included, hesitated for a long time thinking that we couldn't shave because it wouldn't be accepted at work, only to find afterwards that it was not a problem at all.  Often the obstacles are all in our minds.

[Rusty Shackleford]

It's almost to the point now where an MPB guy who doesn't shave is the one who looks a bit off.

That's so incredibly true from my experience.  I remember seeing those horseshoes of hair quite often when I was a kid, but they are extremely rare now.  And when someone does have that hairline and doesn't shave it, they usually keep it very short.

[ycartt]

I've buzzed my hair with at least a #2 or #3 for the last 5 or 6 years and then started going down to a #1 then finally last fall to no guard.  So when I went completely shaved back in February it was no shock to anyone.  Several have asked me about my routine as well.

[SultanofSwing86]

I had the best reaction from a balding guy the other day at work, he was walking behind me in the corridor and then came upto me and started rub the back of my head and said he was trying to figure out the future.... It was quite funny and not done in a rude/offensive way, though I don't think that he will drop the horseshoe look anytime soon 
There probably isn't much hope trying to convert my brother anytime soon, he also seems to be happy with the dead animal on top, though I reckon he would look awesome sly and probably atleast 10 years younger.

[D.A.L.U.I.]

I had the best reaction from a balding guy the other day at work, he was walking behind me in the corridor and then came upto me and started rub the back of my head and said he was trying to figure out the future....

You're a very understanding guy, if he'd done that to me he would have woken up next week.   

[marty22]

Rusty: Do u have  a pic?

[aarrggh]

I had the best reaction from a balding guy the other day at work, he was walking behind me in the corridor and then came upto me and started rub the back of my head and said he was trying to figure out the future....

You're a very understanding guy, if he'd done that to me he would have woken up next week.   

   
NOTE TOO SELF ::::NEVER RUB THE BACK OF SAINTC HEAD !

[Rob]

I had the best reaction from a balding guy the other day at work, he was walking behind me in the corridor and then came upto me and started rub the back of my head and said he was trying to figure out the future.... It was quite funny and not done in a rude/offensive way, though I don't think that he will drop the horseshoe look anytime soon 
There probably isn't much hope trying to convert my brother anytime soon, he also seems to be happy with the dead animal on top, though I reckon he would look awesome sly and probably atleast 10 years younger.

Perhaps he was 'trying to see his future' as being SLY!

[SultanofSwing86]

You're a very understanding guy, if he'd done that to me he would have woken up next week.

I suppose it sounds worse on here than the moment. It was done out of harmless jest. If I didn't know the guy and if he didn't have an awful bozo the clown look going on then It may not have gone down well.

[D.A.L.U.I.]

You're a very understanding guy, if he'd done that to me he would have woken up next week.

I suppose it sounds worse on here than the moment. It was done out of harmless jest. If I didn't know the guy and if he didn't have an awful bozo the clown look going on then It may not have gone down well.

It does sound hard, but then it sounds weird to me that some random guy, whether he knows you or not, putting his hands on your head--it's just beyond what's acceptable IMO.  If I'd been in that situation and he asked what if felt like, probably ok, but unannounced handling my head, yes, it could turn out not so nice depending on my mood. 

[Timmay]

doesnt matter to me if you have it shaved skin close or not...I like em shaved, stuble, slicked back, ponytailed, afro'd or cousin It......enjoy lol