Knowingly or unknowingly
and whether you like it or not our Society
places a lot of importance on appearance and
youthful image. Baldness connotes
unattractiveness, physical weakness and old
age in our image-oriented society.
When is the last time you saw a bald television
or film star? In the bible, Sampson's strength
is attributed to his hair. In England, judges
and lawyers still wear wigs to signify power.
According to Chinese tradition, hair loss
or baldness is a sign of punishment by the
devil.
The person with full head of hair is usually
rated as handsome, strong, and attractive.
The person with a balding head of hair is
rated weak, dull, and unattractive. There
is unintentional employment discrimination
based on a person's appearance. A man with
full head of hair will get the job that a
bald person was just refused, both with the
same qualifications. Since hair loss is a
sign of age and weakness people with hair
loss do not get the opportunity in some companies
who wish to promote a youthful image and strength.
These society standards are very frustrating
and upsetting bald people for generations.
Hair loss evokes feelings of vulnerability,
loss of self-esteem, embarrassment of self-image.
Single men and women who had begun losing
hair in their early twenties are more likely
to suffer from an extremely low self-esteem.
They feel less attractive than others by looking
older than their actual age. Balding men reported
glancing in the mirror constantly and wearing
hats even in warm weather. Many feel self-conscious
and worry constantly that others are looking
at their thin or balding hair. A low self-esteem
stems from individual's own perception of
what a beautiful body image should be, all
due to our society expectation of beauty and
power. No wonder hair loss has a negative
emotional impact on the balding individual.
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