Monday, November 11, 2013

Heather Gray

So it's been a while - like a really long while - since I posted anything. I've been meaning to post a big update, but it just hasn't happened yet. In the meantime here is a random observation that I have made recently. 

This is me. 

I have gray hair. I really like it. 

 In moving to a new city I was curious to see how people would react to it when they met me for the first time. I feel like this is a pretty obvious and unique trait - I mean, you can't miss it. 

Yet no one mentions it.

If I had bright pink highlights I think more people would comment on it. Perhaps they think that it's something I'm self-conscious about, and they don't want to bring it up. I can see that, but I feel in our culture having gray hair is a pretty clear choice. Dying your hair is the norm rather than the exception. 

There is a very small handful of people who have actually commented on my hair since I've been in Boston. But here's the interesting part - they are all men. 

I still can't figure out what I think this means. Maybe men are less worried about hurting my feelings (not that it would). Or maybe they aren't as culturally biased against gray (in every case the comment has been "you have the coolest hair"). Or maybe there isn't any significance to it at all...