What an odd thing to blog about but here we go! I got my hair cut today. I was meeting a friend for lunch at 1:30 and I had 45 minutes to kill so I decided to get my hair cut (naturally). Let me just say, getting one's hair washed/dried/cut/styled is one of those things that women do and it may look for all the world like vanity-- but comeon. We know what it's really about.
History lesson. So back up hundreds/thousands of years ago and men are the hunter/gatherers and women are the social ones who keep the hearth and home and raise the kids, etc. I know I'm simplifying things here, but back in the day, things were much more community-oriented. We lived closer to each other, we worked closer with each other, we were much more involved in each other's lives, etc. In our culture, we are much more separate. We have separate homes with huge yards and we drive our own cars and raise our own kids, etc. Needless to say, we are missing out on something very organic and personal and essential to us as humans and I'd argue that we are missing simple basic human contact. And thus we pay people to touch us (masseuse, hairdressers, personal trainers, etc). I don't mean this in a sensual way, but in our heart of hearts, we need to be touched. We need people to invade our personal bubbles. We need to have that human connection. As young girls, we had our sisters or friends brush, braid, etc our hair. Friends hugged us. Friends snuggled next to us in tents on cold Girl Scout retreats. As adults, that touch is mostly lost to us. Which is what brings me to having my hair cut today.
Ladies, think about why on earth we pay $35 to have somebody wash and cut our hair? My stylist's name is Tiffany. Tiffany washed, rinsed, conditioned, rinsed and then blow dried my hair. That personal connection-- Tiffany standing inches or millimeters away, combing out and blow drying my hair (much like my mother used to) is a completely comforting experience. Now, I try to respect American Cultural norms, but in general, I don't have a very large personal space bubble. I enjoy people standing close to me. It makes me feel incorporated and grounded. I don't mind people brushing elbows with me or reaching for the same latte at the same time and our fingers meeting for a fraction of a second. To me, that's just a Human Experience. In America, however, it's taboo. I think it's all the Puritanical whatnot still running rampant underneath the surface of our society. Anyway. Moving on. There is something True and Real about being in close proximity with another human being and sharing the same space. And there's something about trusting something so personal with another relative stranger like the cut and crop of my hair that makes me feel so in union with with rest of my brothers and sisters-- it's a Holy experience for me.
Needless to say, Tiffany gave me a most excellent cut and fulfilled a deep, cultural need inside me to feel connected to all of humanity.
Crazy?
Maybe. But for all you ladies out there who have felt the same way but have never known how to express it, can I get an Amen?
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