FIERCE FLOW

Being an innately long haired being since I was a child, but not always being able to express that right I have now had my hair long for a decade this Fall and it has been one of the most life affirming things I have done for myself.

I have suffered the indignity of others at my own expense simply for how I wish to wear my hair. It sucks! I have been bullied, abused, shamed, guilted and otherwise coerced over my right to bodily integrity. It is so surreal how many projected fantasies and realities are placed upon men with long hair. It's just a preference. Does partaking in or enjoying pop culture make an intelligent person dumb? No, it doesn't! It just makes you more popular at parties.

I've felt a myriad of projected experiences and emotions placed upon me, construed as apart of my personal narrative that were never an instrument of it. In a nutshell, I have had to deal with so much psychic garbage that quite possibly am immune to group think just for surmounting it in spite of the slurs.

All of these were attempts to strip me of my personal autonomy and they've all failed, so far, as of yet. Hair has as much importance as you give it and unwittingly I have been forced into this position of declaration, because it was just long hair to me all along – that's it. How troublesome it all is!

Hair isn't merely clothing you adore, it is an instrument of power or lack of it just from my experienced, force observance of this twisted truth. Hair just isn't hair and that is astounding to me, because that's all I thought it was as a young child: my hair, long. But, I was always a willful, independent person. You face scrutiny for that wherever you go. I've always been shrouded in anomie so therein also lies a poignant piece of all of this. I never met to cause controversy.

Having long hair is a fervent reminder to me of my personhood and how hard it can be to maintain. Long haired males are less than 5% of the population and it is a great way to feel the societal hatchet chipping away, whittling you down for some paroxysm you choose to partake in.. even though, you know, it was never about being rebellious or counter culture in the slightest, but dealt with that contrivance I have (I'm not a martyr or a victim).

Hair doesn't harm anyone, but it does! We might as well be doing quantum physics with it. And should long hair ever become in fashion again for men, which it seems to be doing, please remember the struggle, because it is real. It isn't a man bun: it's just a bun! You know, hair in a wad on your head to keep it out of your face while being active and stuff. I really don't want it to be a testament of martyrdom, before or after it was a trend, it is erasure all the same. We don't go around calling women with buns womb buns, do we? It's just so banal. Hair is everyone's right, it doesn't need to be sanctioned – just allowed to exist without pretense.

You were just being you, and this itself is a revolutionary thought. So I encourage you all to do you, and not let the do, out doodoo you. Also, top knot is a way better term if you want to start creating a male space so that women don't have to condone or pardon your appropriation of 'their' hairstyle (sorry to get a bit ideological all of a sudden). Men across time and space have worn their hair long and proud, because it's just natural to do so. Hair never stops growing, neither should you.

Moar manes, mang!