Does it matter if he looks like a girl?!

I mentioned in my last post that at the age of 16 months, we finally got W’s hair cut.

Why ‘finally’?!

Well ‘people’ have been suggesting I get it cut since he was about 6 months old! His hair grew quickly so by the time he was 1 he was already looking much like a little surfer dude…

I was loving this look, rats tails and all but in a heated moment of madness while he was in the bath, I decided to trim those mullet rat tails but the leave the rest.

Of course, when we got up the next day I realised that I’d totally messed up the back of his head and decided I’d prefer to cut it all off than look at my failed barber attempt every day. An emergency appointment followed, he did really well sitting down for his cut and only cried when the hair around his ears was being trimmed! Weeks later I have grown to love his new cut. He does look more grown-up, he looks totally different. I do miss his long locks though and hope they grow back soon.

He got mistaken for a girl quite a few times pre-haircut, but that didn’t bother me at all! I don’t dress him in the most masculine of clothes (follows his mum with Breton stripe tops, mustard leggings and the like) and he still plays with pink toys, but post-haircut he hadn’t been mistaken for a girl once.

I’m kinda bittersweet about it. Proud of my gorgeous boy looking all grown-up. But sad that society thinks he should have short hair, and that longer hair is a girly thing. Isn’t it a bit sad that we’re already judging them and defining them at such a young age?! Isn’t it a bit boring conforming to norms? Surely this is EXACTLY the age where it shouldn’t matter what he looks like? He has a lifetime of school, work and life’s norms and rules to conform to… So for now, could we let him be? And let his hair be wild and free?!