The bald and the beautiful, thats the way to go

Bald women and sexy? Has she lost her mind? What brought this on? These are a few of the questions that are generally asked when a woman shaves her head. But the image of a woman with absolutely no hair packs a visceral punch. For a woman shaving her head is still considered taboo by many people. If you are a guy and you shave your head, no one says anything. Unfortunately though, if you’re female, the sight of a woman’s bare scalp still makes society’s hair stand on end. It was exactly what happened when model Diandra Soares, actress Shabana Azmi and Antara Mali decided to show the world that they would have their way and went bald. Diandra Soares, well known for her dark ringleted locks, shocked everyone when she shaved her head completely. Also, Shabana Azmi, the Indian actress chopped off her hair for the controversial film Water, directed by Deepa Mehta.Having said that, a shaven head is becoming fashionable, as skinheads have eventually lost their shock value. Bald and beautiful is the new saying! “Shaving my head was in my mind for some time. So, once when I crossed a barber shop, I turned to my friend and told her that I want to go bald. Before going completely bald, we made  an ‘S’ on my head and a Mohawk too,” says Shilpa Krishnan, a Chennai-based journalist.  “The day I went bald, my parents were shocked. My brothers loved my look, but my grandmother was appalled. The feeling was very liberating,” she adds.“I enjoy doing stuff that is unconventional. So one night, I thought, what’s stopping me from shaving my head? Lot of people didn’t think it was a big deal, which was great. But I remember someone didn’t want to see me! I guess if a woman goes bald, it’s just too uncomforting for some,” says Kuzhali, a writer.Despite how far we’ve come, beauty and sexuality remain tied to a woman’s hair. “My bald head made heads turn, which wasn’t the case when I had hair,” affirms Jamuna. She went bald during her trip to Ladakh. “I felt close to myself and honestly, I started spending less amount of time in front of the mirror,” smiles Jamuna, who works at an NGO, Railway Children. For celebs such as Demi Moore, Natalie Portman and Ellen Page, a shaven head was accepted as a symbol of women being in control. “Obviously, a woman shaving her hair at Tirupati earns more points than a man. When I shaved my head, I received comments on the roundness of my head,” says Shilpa Krishnan. These women are a living proof of the fact that you can be beautiful even without your hair.sruthi@newindian express.com