I went to a summer camp at a prestigious university this summer, and one of my advisors was a PhD student who is also going to be a teaching assistant this upcoming school year. She has bright blue, pixie cut hair that’s shaved on one side, and no one batted an eye on it. In fact, she said that the people who complimented her hair the most were her collegues, which were most often professors that were 10+ years older than her. when asked about it, she simply just said she wanted to try something new. She was probably one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, not to mention extremely intelligent and extremely passionate about the scientific research she was doing!
If a school/employer judges you on your appearance and how you decide to express yourself, you probably should choose a different school/place to work. Don’t ever let someone dictate how you choose to express yourself!
I had to see why this thread was still going, and I am sorry I did. OP seems to have left the building, but in case she is still reading, please assume that 99.9% percent of the people you meet in life will not be like Mr. Van Dorn. And as for kicking my kids out of the house, I think it would have to be something pretty egregious that would cause me to do that. Perhaps something along the lines of judging people with blue hair.
@Pizzagirl I’m sure you are familiar with the television show The Dukes of Hazard, in which the kindly Duke boys, Bo and Luke, have a car with a Confederate flag painted on the roof. At the time this series came out there was no hue and cry that Bo and Luke were “racist” for displaying a Confederate flag, because at that time it simply wasn’t considered a racist symbol. Anything can be used as a “racist” symbol if displayed or used for the purpose of causing offense.
With that said, I would do everything in my power to prevent one of my children from attending a job or college interview wearing a shirt emblazoned with a Confederate flag, or other Confederate flag totems. Not because they are racist, but because close-minded, uneducated, non-Southerners might misinterpret them.
The OP runs no risk of creating offense by having a decent haircut with natural-colored hair. He does with blue hair. I freely admit that I grew up in a small town in the Deep South, and that blue hair is so far out of the norm as to cause a visceral response. If the OP is applying to schools where such hair color is common, he can wear it as he wishes with little fear. But I would urge caution otherwise.
EVD. People laughed and snickered at the Dukes of Hazzard. No one with any class or sophistication wanted to be them or emulate them. They were laughable rednecks watched for amusement in the same way that monster truck rallies and the lifestyle portrayed in Honey Boo Boo are redneck. Trust us, we’ve all thought the Conf flag was racist and tacky for years. It’s kind of the equivalent of the swastika - and like the swastika, it signals white trash (unless it’s being displayed in a museum or other historical context).
Did your small town in the south not have television? Did you miss Cyndi Lauper and Boy George and the colored-hair fads of the 1980s? Heck, this month’s AARP issue features Cyndi Lauper on the cover.
Now, I’m pretty traditional and mainstream in my personal appearance, I don’t personally care for blue hair and I’d give my kids light-hearted abuse if they got blue hair. But to suggest that it’s “offensive” - but a Conf flag isn’t! - is really just laughable. Blue hair is a stylistic choice that says nothing about one’s character or heart. I can’t say the same about a Conf flag.
And actually, no, I’m not really familiar with the show Dukes of Hazzard other than a vague knowledge that it existed. Really, it wasn’t what was done in my social circles. Lol.
Dukes was a joke to many. Redneck humor may have entered the mainstream for a while, but now there’s plenty of backlash about stereotypes of the Deep South, including assuming they’re all “rednecks.” Times change. That’s the thing, Earl, times change. And many are sensitive today to how symbols they accept can convey other messages to others.
You not liking blue hair-- the non-conformity will bug some who want everything lined up, as it always has been, status quo, no sandals or sleeveless after Labor Day, no matter the weather. Personally, I often find accepting can open our worlds more than sticking to status quo (today’s or the past’s.)
So what, if a blue haired kid shows up? DH had hair down to his waist, as a younger person, and evolved into a tweed jacket sort. One of my favorite anecdotes was a friend who owned a shop frequented by extreme Punk kids, hair spiked 8" out. Her comment? How polite and respectful they were, how much she enjoyed meeting them.
There was plenty of cry-out over the Dukes stereotypes. I’m sure there still are people who assume about Mississippi. Think about it.
Edited: never mind. My post won’t change anyone’s thinking who thinks that since there was no outcry against a TV prop car, that the Stars and Bars have only recently become viewed as a recent symbol of racism.
When it comes to employers, the last thing they care about is your freedom of self-expression. It is really not about what you want, but about what you can do for them. While blue hair is be fine for serving fast food or coffee, it is distinctly not ok for many professional jobs.
Know what? I think, for now, it’s fine. OP hasn’t said she’s headed to college this fall. For all we know, she’s got all the time to think about this, maybe go to college with color closer to her natural, then decide if she wants a change. I don’t think she’s even mentioned what sorts of colleges, other than possibly studying business, some early interest in arts or music. Nothing says to me that she’s looking for a stodgy law firm or top clearance govt work. She can be a kid a while longer.
Blue hair - my oldest son had it last school year, and red the year before that. Blue Afro - turns heads to be sure.
The nicest moment came when I took him to a West Indian restaurant on a Sunday and an older Black man dressed in his Sunday best opened the door just as we were entering. Took one look at my son and remarked with the broadest, warmest smile on his face, “Hmm. Never seen that one before. Looks good on you.”
The sideways looks of his father meant nothing to my son after that.
95% of colleges will not care about the color of your hair. Most decisions are based on your app /grades/scores. Even during a interview you should be fine. The exceptions would be ultra conservative schools and the service academies. It is not something I would worry about at this time. Now internships and job interviews is a whole different ball game. I normally wear a beard but it gets shaved off whenever I go on a job interview. A company may or may not care but I am not willing to take that chance. College is a time for being yourself. Wear your blue hair in good health.
I know an extremely successful, 50 year old professional blue haired woman. In fact she just got a big promotion at a company you would all recognize. This is the most ridiculous discussion ever.
I don’t think it ridiculous, not at its inception, especially. There was a young person who was simply seeking to discern if he/she would be blowing an opportunity for approval by a college or university if the interviewer were to immediately to be turned off by the student’s appearance.
I’m with LF, and the blue haired ladies of the upper years. We all know and love them.
It’s also distinctly ok for many professional jobs. Software companies and dotcoms learned long ago that the cheapest and most effective perk is to eliminate dress code. When I worked in those areas, plenty of developers had, um, eccentric looks, and why shouldn’t they? They were well above the customer-facing sales staff on the company hierarchy anyway.
We just returned from zip lining as a family. In front of us were two young girls (twenty something) with blue and hot pink hair. One little girl was afraid to zip line. And these girls “talked her down” very nicely and sweetly. Are they going to take over corporate America like that, probably not, but kick them out of my house? Ridiculous.
Completely OT but @Pizzagirl how is it that you know this with such certainty? You’ve stated this view as absolute fact but IIRC, you grew up mainly in the northeast and as we all know, the thinking in one limited area of the country does not really represent the thinking in the other 80%. I didn’t actually watch that show but I was aware of it’s popularity and I believe that some years later, a feature film was made based on the tv show. You seem to be very confident that everyone (or at least with “class or sophistication”) shares your view.
This is true. And more generally, people in the back-office have more freedom in how to dress than people who deal with customers.
This varies from company to company. I was in tech early in my career and in the companies where I worked, the sales guys drove the organization and made far more in terms of salary and bonus than the developers (although some of the early developers had much more wealth due to stock options).
But back to the OP. While in college, do what you want with your hair. Unlike say tattoos, hair color is temporary.
