Lipp- Red Hair

I knew I was heading down a destructive path, but I did it anyway. Two bowls of toxic burgundy goop later, I was no longer a quiet brunette but a ferocious, mysterious redhead. Or at least that’s how I would be viewed for the next year and a half. I was prepared for splitting ends, pink bathtubs and pesky roots, but what I wasn’t prepared for was the increased sexual harassment I had to endure.

It was the reason I questioned the intentions of any friendly conversation a man started with me, it was the reason I parked a fifteen-minute walk away from work instead of just riding the bus, it was the reason I had to find alternate routes to work. I was simply fed up with being catcalled and subsequently being called a bitch for ignoring catcalls.

After two damaging applications of ColorOops, my hair was back to a more natural, subtle shade of strawberry blonde, and the catcalling stopped. It causes me to believe that women with red hair are sexually harassed more often than women with any other hair color. This stood true with my natural hair color as well; I was never harassed before I dyed my hair red.

Why is it that a woman’s hair color affects the amount of harassment she must go through on a daily basis? The issue doesn’t lie in the woman’s appearance at all. Instead, it lies in the harasser’s perception of women.

Blogger FlossieLou on The Big Group Think writes that, although she has sported myriad hair colors, she got catcalled the most as a blonde. She believes this is because society views this hair color as a sign of sexual promiscuity or receptivity, and there may be appeal in this assumed “type” of woman who would dye her hair this color.

FlossieLou also writes that with red hair she received the second-highest frequency of harassment, as red and blonde seem to attract a certain “niche” of creepers. Other bloggers responded that they felt the same way—their red or platinum blonde hair was a magnet for “that guy.”

That explains why hanging out with my best friend always entails some sort of uncomfortable encounter. Her bleach blonde mane and paired with my fiery locks never failed to end up in stories we had to share with our coworkers. Old men stopped to take pictures of us, some suggested that we make out and other employees nodded and muttered about how they liked the way we ate bread.

This niche of creepers isn’t obsessed with us, or our hair. They are obsessed with the idea of us. We dye our hair daring colors, and we are therefore seen as the manic pixie dream girls that will satisfy their wildest dreams. We relish attention from strangers, just like we relish skydiving, painting naked and whatever other adventurous activities we please. In reality, you are more likely to find your alleged dream girls hiding from you than giving you their number.

Works cited:

“Hair color and frequency of street harassment.” The Big Group Think. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.

http://groupthink.kinja.com/hair-color-and-frequency-of-street-harassment-1368122487