It is true that people refer to buzzcuts as a shaved head. Years ago I went from, like a 2" haircut to a 1/2" haircut and was at work and my coworker came in from another room, looked at me, and said "Oh, Suzie said you shaved your head!" in a disappointing tone because I had only buzzed my hair.
It's annoying to me when someone refers to a buzzcut as a shaved head. Would you refer to a woman with 1/2" growth of fur on her legs as an ape woman or a woman with shaved legs? Would 1/2" of hair on the face be a smooth baby face or a beard? It's ridiculous!
BUT, on the plus side it does prove to the nervous that people people really don't pay that much attention to your hair. So if you've got 1/2" and are too afraid to take it off, do it because not only will people probably not give you bad reactions they might not even notice at all.