What does cutting hair after a traumatic event
mean non verbally?
No matter what the length our
hair it tells the world who we are, without us having to say one word. Hair cutting can then symbolize any transition. It makes
sense that when our outside lives change, we have been hurt, we end a
relationship, we get ready for our wedding or perhaps a long trip to the outback
or a new job that we change our hair, one of the first things people see and
notice about us. What’s on top of our
head reflects are thoughts and our emotions.
Some women who
have been traumatized, victimized cut their hair as a symbolic self-beating or
mutilation to show the world their pain, their victimization. It says, “I have
been scarred and cut on the inside, so let my head show my inner hurt.”
Sometimes its bulk and ability to cover us, makes it a security blanket, or
shield that protects us from close observation and harm and cutting it away can says, “I am vulnerable
to harm, I cannot protect myself.”
Historically,
hair was seen as a holding power, some even going so far to believe it acted as
a sense organ or antenna and or held memories. Across ancient history you find
often that when people where conquered or enslaved their hair was cut to show
others they were enslaved. It was understood that hair show power and that
cutting it would serve as punishment. Think of the biblical story or Sampson
and Delilah cut Sampson hair and the undefeatable Sampson was defeated. So cutting your hair brutally would
symbolically say, “I have no longer have power.”
For many
women, long hair is a fantasy women, “I am a fairy tale princess feature. We
were raised on the perfect fantasy princess and Cinderella, Sleeping beauty,
Snow White, and Ariel, they all have long hair. Sometimes our long hair feels
like a beauty fantasy builder, Evolutionary psychology research shows that
women’s hair is a signal for mate selection, there is significant correlation
between hair length and age, (younger women tend to have longer hair than older
women) and hair length and quality can act as a cue to a women’s you and
health. So if a women has been sexually abuse would want to cut off what she
may mistakenly believe her is the part of her that attracted harm so it says, “I cut my hair to show I am not longer want
to be sexually attractive, in fact I am ugly so be repelled”
Finally, some women cut their hair to
symbolically cut off the old and start anew. The hair cutting for them can is a symbolic
freeing from chains, a liberation or merely shedding of an “old skin” or
simplifying, making life easier and gaining time. So symbolic a women that cuts
her hair can be symbolically shedding of the societal standards of beauty,
cutting off expectations that she will act like a traditional women, changing how
she looked in the past, and embracing a new self.
Patti Wood, MA - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at www.PattiWood.net. Check out Patti's website for her new book "SNAP, Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language and Charisma" at www.snapfirstimpressions.com.
