This August 31st, I'll be shaving my head in public for the 5th year in a row for Bald Solidarity, the nonprofit that I started in 2008. For anyone reading this who hasn't heard me prattling on about it for five years, here's what we do:
Our participants raise money to support organizations globally and locally that address gender inequity, especially the kind of inequity that results in violence or death to women. What exactly do we mean by that? We've raised money to fight human trafficking, female genital mutilation, and maternal mortality. We've also raised money to send girls to school, which is one of the best ways to combat poverty and make sure girls and women aren't vulnerable to this kind of discrimination.
Why do we do this? For me it was born out of a reaction of shock when I realized just how great the distance was between my privilege and the deprivation of women and girls in the poorest regions of the world. I live in the wealthiest country in the world, and I have the ability to raise my voice for those whose voices are muffled or ignored.
This year, I'm personally asking everyone to join me. If you've talked to me about this, you know I haven't been pushy. Shaving your head is...well, it's a pretty personal decision. But this year, I'm asking. I challenge you to think seriously about shaving with us this year.
Here are my reasons:
This year, I'm personally asking everyone to join me. If you've talked to me about this, you know I haven't been pushy. Shaving your head is...well, it's a pretty personal decision. But this year, I'm asking. I challenge you to think seriously about shaving with us this year.
Here are my reasons:
10. It will save you money on hair products for months.
Shampoo (here's one that costs 320 Euros!!!). Conditioner. Hairspray. Crew hair gel. That new straightener/defrizzer/blowdryer/curling iron/curlers...whatever. Throw it all in a bag and tuck it away, my friend. You will not be capable of having a bad hair day for at least a couple months.
9. Late summer in Seattle is always so much better with a buzz cut. Trust me.
No explanation needed here beyond advice about SPF and sun hats for the first few days.
8. Every year, when you’ve seen pictures of my pale bald head, you’ve thought “Maybe next year,” or “Maybe I should do that.”
You're already on board. You get it. Gender inequality and poverty makes you mad. Human trafficking moves you. Empowering girls and women is something you're passionate about. But every year you think, "What will my job think?" "What will my boyfriend think?" "What will I think?"
Ask them. Ask your boss. Ask your boyfriend. Ask yourself. If there's really a hang-up to you doing something gutsy to embody the activist inside you, confront it head-on. Why not today? Why not now? The world doesn't wait for you to feel perfectly comfortable with taking a leap.
7. When you think about all the injustice in the world, you want to DO something, but you feel overwhelmed.
Think about the worst problem you can think of. No, really. What is it? Global warming? Starvation and malnutrition? North Korea's missiles? Barack Obama?
Now think about the power you have as an individual to address that problem. Wait. Before you go to that place of feeling helpless and overwhelmed, remember this. You have a voice. You live in a country where you can say anything you want. You are a moral agent, with infinite possibility to create good in the world.
But why should I shave my head, you say? Good question.
First, because when you put poverty and gender together, you get some of the most widespread human rights abuses our world has ever known. For a brief and inspiring summary (no, really--it's inspiring!), check out this TED Talk by Sheryl WuDunn, co-author of "Half the Sky." Take the "missing women" phenomenon, for example. Now, with the estimates that include gender-selective abortion, the total of women who are gone from the population simply because they are female has reached 160 million. This number is more than all the deaths from all the wars and genocides of the 20th century. And it has happened quietly. We're willing to shave our heads because we don't think it should happen so quietly anymore. We don't think it should happen at all.
Second, do it for yourself. Do it because you want to shout with us. Do it because volunteering and giving makes us happier. Do it because SCIENCE.
First, because when you put poverty and gender together, you get some of the most widespread human rights abuses our world has ever known. For a brief and inspiring summary (no, really--it's inspiring!), check out this TED Talk by Sheryl WuDunn, co-author of "Half the Sky." Take the "missing women" phenomenon, for example. Now, with the estimates that include gender-selective abortion, the total of women who are gone from the population simply because they are female has reached 160 million. This number is more than all the deaths from all the wars and genocides of the 20th century. And it has happened quietly. We're willing to shave our heads because we don't think it should happen so quietly anymore. We don't think it should happen at all.
Second, do it for yourself. Do it because you want to shout with us. Do it because volunteering and giving makes us happier. Do it because SCIENCE.
I'm guessing so many of you reading this are already doing super awesome things to save the world. If so, YAY! Don't give up. Don't get discouraged. And if you currently need a place to put your passions (or develop your passions), YAY! Do it with us! Whether or not you're moving your own mountain, I'd invite you to consider helping me move this one (the gender inequity one). ESPECIALLY if you've been looking for a place to put your energies. Keep reading for the reasons that have motivated me to do it.
6. Charlize Theron says it’s liberating and every woman should try it. (We agree, and we think men should try it too).
I can verify this. I actually snorted with joyful surprise when I caught that first glimpse of my bald self in a mirror four years ago. It wasn't because I thought I looked good. It was because, maybe for the first time ever, I felt like I could really see myself. And I felt so free.
This speaks to something very deep in us, namely the need to be ourselves without fear of criticism (from ourselves or anyone else). Which brings me to my next reason...
5. Our culture tells us that being beautiful (or handsome) matters – maybe more than anything else. [It doesn’t.]
From Snooki's weight loss to Reddit's "Lady Boners" to critical comments about Angelina Jolie no longer having breasts after her choice to undergo a double mastectomy, it is obvious that we as a society are obsessed with looks. And we can all be honest with ourselves--this affects us. It affects the way we think about ourselves, and the way we perceive others, and it takes a lot of effort to choose a different mindset. I have started telling my son something about beauty that I read recently (and loved): that there are no ugly people. That ugly is an attitude, something that lives inside rather than outside. I want him to grow up valuing himself and others for their character, and I want to remind us both of how important this is as often as possible.
I didn't intend Bald Solidarity to serve as a vehicle for pushing against this cultural norm, but it turns out that it challenges it at the core. Or at least it has done so for me, and for others who have participated with Bald. And I hope it has enabled us to be a few more voices among many calling for a new way of defining beauty in our culture.
I didn't intend Bald Solidarity to serve as a vehicle for pushing against this cultural norm, but it turns out that it challenges it at the core. Or at least it has done so for me, and for others who have participated with Bald. And I hope it has enabled us to be a few more voices among many calling for a new way of defining beauty in our culture.
4. You care about women (your wife, girlfriend, mother, sister, daughter…yourself), and you think every woman should be free from bodily harm and encouraged to reach her potential as a human being.
This is the easy one. We can all recognize that no person should have to face starvation, child marriage, a denial of basic education, or the threat of violence. Yet this is the reality for so many girls and women around the world, simply because they are girls and women. Let's not neglect to act on their behalf just because they're far away. A lack of proximity to injustice does not erase our human responsibility to see that it ends.
This is the easy one. We can all recognize that no person should have to face starvation, child marriage, a denial of basic education, or the threat of violence. Yet this is the reality for so many girls and women around the world, simply because they are girls and women. Let's not neglect to act on their behalf just because they're far away. A lack of proximity to injustice does not erase our human responsibility to see that it ends.
3. Actions speak louder than words. Some actions speak louder than others.
Americans are givers. Many of us have a cause or two we volunteer some time to, a few humanitarian organizations we have liked on Facebook, and a few charitable deductions on our tax returns. These humble, behind the scenes commitments are at the core of what makes humanity beautiful, and we shouldn't stop doing them. However, the state of things on the planet calls for us to ask some fearless questions about what it would take to solve some of the problems we care about, and then base our actions on those answers. We should beware of defeatism or cynicism that says that injustice is the way things are, if that in any way dampens our determination to fight against it.
To be sure, we can't all be full time activists. But all of us can be part-time activists. We can all prioritize speaking up for the vulnerable. Part of my thinking behind starting Bald Solidarity was that despite the good efforts of many good people, global poverty (and the human rights abuses that result from it) still causes several billion people to live without the most basic resources that we take for granted. Like clean water. If we are to have a world where everyone has a shot at life, we have to make it known--to ourselves, to our communities, to our government, and to the world--that we will settle for nothing less. That requires stirring the pot and getting people to pay attention. Shaving our heads isn't a stunt. It's a statement. I have come to believe that loud statements, from many, many people in the developed world, are critically necessary.
Americans are givers. Many of us have a cause or two we volunteer some time to, a few humanitarian organizations we have liked on Facebook, and a few charitable deductions on our tax returns. These humble, behind the scenes commitments are at the core of what makes humanity beautiful, and we shouldn't stop doing them. However, the state of things on the planet calls for us to ask some fearless questions about what it would take to solve some of the problems we care about, and then base our actions on those answers. We should beware of defeatism or cynicism that says that injustice is the way things are, if that in any way dampens our determination to fight against it.
To be sure, we can't all be full time activists. But all of us can be part-time activists. We can all prioritize speaking up for the vulnerable. Part of my thinking behind starting Bald Solidarity was that despite the good efforts of many good people, global poverty (and the human rights abuses that result from it) still causes several billion people to live without the most basic resources that we take for granted. Like clean water. If we are to have a world where everyone has a shot at life, we have to make it known--to ourselves, to our communities, to our government, and to the world--that we will settle for nothing less. That requires stirring the pot and getting people to pay attention. Shaving our heads isn't a stunt. It's a statement. I have come to believe that loud statements, from many, many people in the developed world, are critically necessary.
2. It will change the lives of girls and women who are among the most vulnerable people on the planet.
"To the men who buy us, we are like meat. To everybody else in society, we simply do not exist." This is Ayesha's story, third in Equality Now's Survivor Stories series. She talks about being tricked into prostitution by a human trafficker who promised her a job and then sold her to a brothel.
Because of some amazing advocacy surrounding the issue of human trafficking (see here and here for two great organizations in Seattle), this is a familiar story to many of us. But every time there is a new face and a new name attached, it reminds me that their lives are just as detailed and real and human as mine, even though we're separated by thousands of miles and incredible differences in opportunity. And it just seems so deeply wrong that so many years of her life were stolen because someone took advantage of her in such a despicable way, and that my life has been a story of receiving endless support from others (family, teachers, mentors) and pursuing a wealth of opportunities.
The money that we raise goes to organizations that strike at the root of situations like Ayesha's. They provide advocacy, education, and refuge to women and girls just like her. Though you will probably never meet the people you help with us, you can know that because of your willingness, there will be someone who won't be treated "like meat." That's enough for me.
The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights says in Article 22 that we are all entitled as human beings to dignity and free development of our personalities, and that our culture--and the economic opportunities afforded to us within that culture, should facilitate this. Let's keep this standard in mind when we think about what we want for our world. For everyone in our world.
1. It will change your life. You’ll never see yourself—or your world—in the same way again.
I recently read this article on CNN called "Six tips from your future self." It was based on an in-depth study of 1,200 older people, and was a condensed list of the biggest mistakes young people make. Number 6 was "passing up opportunities." The respondents to the study said they regretted things they hadn't done much more than things they had done.
Our tagline for Bald Solidarity's website used to say, "Your hair will grow back. Their lives will be changed." It's true. Hair grows back. Mine has every year, without fail. And it turns out I'm still me, even with this odd little yearly ritual.
So what am I saying? Do something crazy that will change your perspective. You won't regret it.
Phew...that's it.
If you've made it to the end of this...thank you. I can't tell you how much it has meant to me that people have supported Bald Solidarity in a hundred different ways. If I've convinced you, and you're ready to shave with us, that's great--please don't hesitate to sign up. If you still think I'm nuts, but you're willing to support this kind of insanity, please consider donating. You'll have my deepest gratitude and the gratitude of those whose situations call for our action.
I recently read this article on CNN called "Six tips from your future self." It was based on an in-depth study of 1,200 older people, and was a condensed list of the biggest mistakes young people make. Number 6 was "passing up opportunities." The respondents to the study said they regretted things they hadn't done much more than things they had done.
Our tagline for Bald Solidarity's website used to say, "Your hair will grow back. Their lives will be changed." It's true. Hair grows back. Mine has every year, without fail. And it turns out I'm still me, even with this odd little yearly ritual.
So what am I saying? Do something crazy that will change your perspective. You won't regret it.
Phew...that's it.
If you've made it to the end of this...thank you. I can't tell you how much it has meant to me that people have supported Bald Solidarity in a hundred different ways. If I've convinced you, and you're ready to shave with us, that's great--please don't hesitate to sign up. If you still think I'm nuts, but you're willing to support this kind of insanity, please consider donating. You'll have my deepest gratitude and the gratitude of those whose situations call for our action.
