People often attach a lot of importance to their hair, since it’s usually one of the first things others notice about them. Unfortunately, some folks have very strong opinions about gender roles and how people should style their hair, which can lead to uncomfortable situations.
This is what one woman faced after donating her long locks, only to be publicly shamed by a homophobic man who believed women shouldn’t have short hair. Since he was being so rude, the lady taught him a lesson by making him think she had cancer.
More info: Reddit
Whatever hairstyle people choose is their personal preference, and they shouldn’t be shamed for it
Image credits: kuprevich / Magnific (not the actual photo)
The poster shared that many years back, she cut her long locks and donated them to charity, and also decided to shave her head bald to raise more money
Image credits: freepik / Magnific (not the actual photo)
After six months, when the woman’s hair grew back into a pixie cut, she was shocked when a random guy at the pub called her disgusting for having such a hairstyle
Image credits: freepik / Magnific (not the actual photo)
When the poster questioned why the man was being so rude to her, he explained that only lesbians have such short hair, which made her realize he was a bigot
Image credits: lookstudio / Magnific (not the actual photo)
The woman then decided to teach the guy a lesson and showed him a picture of her when she was bald, which made him presume that she had cancer
Image credits: Best_Corgi2385
Even though the poster felt bad for using a serious illness to teach the guy a lesson, she felt justified in doing it to shut him up
The woman explained that around ten years ago, she had grown out her locks and decided to donate them to charity. She was able to give quite a big portion to a trust for them to use, and she also figured that by shaving her head bald, she would be able to raise even more money for the cause.
What a lot of people don’t know is how beneficial hair donation can be to people with illnesses like cancer or alopecia. According to professionals, when folks lose their locks due to a disease, it can be very traumatic to them and even impact their self-esteem, which is why such donations can really boost their confidence.
The poster was definitely very happy with her decision, and when her hair started growing back into a short pixie cut, she went out with her friends to the pub. That’s when a rude man began insulting her looks and saying that her hairstyle made her look disgusting and unnatural.
Although it can seem quite bizarre for someone to get so mad over how another person chose to style their locks, experts explain that this can be because of people’s feelings about gender roles. That’s why, if they believe in traditional ideas of how men and women should present themselves, they might find short hair on a lady very threatening.
Image credits: tsyhun / Magnific (not the actual photo)
Eventually, the poster grew tired of the man at the bar insulting her, and she asked him why he was behaving so rudely. That’s when he shared that he believed only lesbians have short hair and that she shouldn’t try to fool anyone, which made the OP realize what a bigot he was.
In such cases, when dealing with an unstable person, safety experts advise making sure that you aren’t under any threat, and that you have people to physically support you present nearby. Rather than trying to handle the violent or aggressive individual alone, it’s best to distance yourself or prioritize safety instead.
In this case, since the poster and her friends were only 19 or 20 years old and felt threatened by the rude guy, she decided to stand up to him. She did that by showing him a photo of herself when she was bald and asking why some women might need to shave their heads, which made him stop in his tracks.
He must have thought that she had been suffering from cancer, which is when his demeanor immediately changed, and he started apologizing for his behavior. This made the OP glad, but she also felt a bit guilty about using a serious illness to teach the entitled guy a lesson.
What do you think about her actions, and do you feel she was justified in pretending like that? We’d love to hear what you think about this situation.
Most folks sided with the woman, and some cancer survivors told her that they fully endorsed her actions
