In an age where gender now stretches so much further than merely ‘male’ and ‘female’, it’s a little surprising that people would take the time to pick on something as trivial as a child’s hair – but mum blogger Chloe Dunstan’s experience proves it’s a major issue for some families.
The mum-of-six, who blogs over at Chloe and Beans, has three sons with ‘fabulous’ long hair – and she can’t quite understand why some people are so quick to judge and pass comment on that very simple fact.
In a Facebook post titled ‘Little Boys’ Hair 101’, Chloe shares her view that your hair should not be dictated by outdated gender norms – and she drives that home with some compelling arguments and personal experiences.
“Sometimes, people tell us it needs to be cut off because it's too heavy, uncomfortable, too hot or unclean when it's long; if that's the case, I'm just wondering why we shouldn't shave girls' hair off too?” asks Chloe, posing an interesting question.
Bullying is also a topic that ‘helpful’ strangers raise, but Chloe has the perfect advice for anyone who is worried her children may be mocked over their hair: “Teach your children not to bully people for how they look. That would be a good start.”
Interestingly, while Chloe is not bothered when people mistake her sons for girls (which happens ’99.9%’ of the time, apparently), what does irritate her, understandably, is the rudeness of replies questioning, “BOYS? ARE YOU SURE?” The cheek!
It’s clear that Chloe and her little ones have plenty to put up with on a daily basis, and the doting mum has a special message for anyone who judges children by their hair: it doesn’t matter!
“My kids are clean, comfortable, kind, healthy, happy and confident with who they are. This is what matters most,” she writes.
We could not agree more.
