Ethnicity and Evolution of the Naked Dome

[samoanseb8]

It was just a thought I'd had recently about stereotypes and social acceptability in our society...(an odd topic to be pondering, I know...) and how the shaved head has evolved from obscurity to acceptance and eventually to an aesthetic style, that is a bold statement of individuality. Since I have started to shave my head, I inevitably began to notice other guys that were shaving their heads. It is interesting to see how many Caucasian men have followed suit and turned their supposed misfortune into a fashion statement. In the past, it seems that it has been socially acceptable or even stereotypical for Black men as well as men of other ethnicity with darker colored skin to bear the naked scalp. I can't speak too much for trends in the past since I'm only 23, but It seemed a much greater portion of Caucasian men may have turned to rugs, plugs or even the dreaded combover to avoid being called "kojack" or "cancer patient." As society evolves as it does, and people challenge traditional social values, it seems there is a growing army of white men who are turning to the razor. And since there is still no real cure for baldness, I think the look will never go out of fashion. With all the crazy technology we have these days, and there is still no cure, i think it's time to embrace, not replace (the hair that is).
Well that is my two cents for today, I'd like to hear everybody else's!

[Danny]

I think a big reason why men are shaving it all off nowadays is the acceptance of celebs who have done the same. Stone Cold Steve Austin and Bruce Willis for examples are both seen as tough guys and as sex symbols and both are bald.  So women are more open to dating bald men and men are more open to shaving it all off.

[J Digory]

Well, I don't know that bald celebrities has anything to do with white folk going bald...I know that they personally had nothing to do with the many white guys I know who have a shiny head. BUT, it is true that it SEEMS to be more acceptable for darker skinned people to do it. It seems to be changing, but some people just get hung up on stereotypes. Someone with a closed mind would be flabbergasted at my church...we have a number of shiny heads and most are white guys, but we also have some darker skinned guys with bald heads.

[bubbadave3]

I'm 100% Middle Eastern, (and my ancestors have all been Christian for centuries), and I've been shaving my head for a dozen or so years now.  I can remember when there were only about 2 of us with shaved heads in downtown Boston.

[hammerdrill376]

Well..not to rain on one thinking one culture following another but I didn't shave my head to be like another group, an attempt to be sexy or because its fashionable. I shaved my head for one reason and one reason only........my hair was falling out!

[Brkeatr]

I'm with Hammer.  The only reason I shaved my head was because of hair loss. 

[Papa Don]

I'll have to agree with the fact that shaved heads are becoming more acceptable in everyday life. Not because of skin color or religious belief etc.  For me, it was because I hated the texture of my hair.  I am not real happy with the frontal shadow, but it is better than what I had. 

[tomgallagher]

IMO African American men, especially atheletes should be credited with a lot of the current shaved head fad.

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

And since there is still no real cure for baldness,

The concept of CURE is totally out to lunch.  MPB is in the genes, it's not an illness.  I, for one, don't think of my MPB as a disease.  I just chose to leave a "dying" hair style, bald spots, and all behind.  It's my hair style for the hair I have.  It's cut short, to the scalp by a blade, every day.

[Mikekoz13]

Nice topic... and some good points by all.

I too was pushed to shaving by MPB. And where one time I looked at MPB as an unfortunate card dealt to me in life, I now look at it as a blessing. MPB helped to make the transition to SLY an easy one for me.

I do agree that at one time caucasion men were looked at differently when they had shaved heads. I think much of that had to do with both the Biker and the Skinhead personna. Both ridiculous prejudices.

The bottom line to me is that you need to embrace the cards that you have been dealt in life. Take those cards and do the very best you can with them and even enjoy them. You have been given every single thing in life for some reason. Accept each thing given to you as a precious gift.

[Phil Man]

I think its becoming slowly more accepted through all ethnic lines. To be honest one of the things that first made want to shave it when I was receding was seeing Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) do it in 2003 (little did I know he would try and growing it back again).

I think the more people see it on someone similar to them, the more they are willing to accept it. I mean I'm pretty much the first bald guy in my father's side of the family and I pretty much changed their attitudes from it being something only freaks would do to something that is "normal" 

[Boots]

Telly Savalas was the man!  Take being called Kojak a complement!  Anyone who can look cool kicking your arse with a lolly pop in his mouth is sly.