Lydia Johnson On: Being (almost) bald (From Hereford Times)

Lydia Johnson On: Being (almost) bald

12:52pm Friday 11th January 2013 in Lydia Johnson On...? By Lydia Johnson

IT is almost one week since I shaved my head for charity.

Most responses have been positive - it’s only a woman shaving her hair off after all - but there have been several reminders of how shallow people can be, and how it is ingrained that ‘a woman’s looks are everything’.

I was out with friends last night when a woman approached me and said: “Why have you shaved your head? My friend thinks you look like a complete freak but I said ‘she can’t have done it for no reason’.”

One man thought it would be complimentary to tell me ‘I imagine when you had hair you were really beautiful.’

Not only is it astounding that some people immediately assume you’re a freak or instantly think you’re ugly because you don’t have hair, but that many people don’t mind saying something rude and possibly hurtful to the face of someone they have never met.

Thankfully I am fairly thick-skinned.

With many people spending probably too much time on social networking sites and being so used to hiding behind a computer when saying hurtful things to others, is it possible that many are just losing the ability to empathise with other people, and to really think before they insult someone?

Despite the idiocy you may be confronted with on some occasions, I totally recommend a head-shave to every woman - time spent showering is massively reduced and I’m ready for work in five minutes.

Besides, it is just another hairstyle.

• So far £900 has been raised to split between The Sophie Lancaster Foundation and Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research. The hair was donated to the Little Princess Trust. If you would like to donate to either of these charities, visit justgiving.com/account/teams/Lydia-Johnson2.