Head shaving, also known as being Bald by choice,
Early history
The earliest historical records describing head shaving are from ancient Mediterranean cultures such as
Ancient Egypt,
Ancient Greece, and
Ancient Rome. The Egyptian priest class ritualistically removed all hair from head to toe by plucking it.
Religious significance
Many
Buddhism and Vaisnavas, especially Hare Krishnas, shave their heads. Some
Hindu and most
Buddhist monks and nuns shave their heads upon entering their order, and Buddhist monks and nuns in Korea have their heads shaved every 15 days.
[Geri Larkin, First You Shave Your Head, Celestial Arts (2001), ] Muslims men have the choice of shaving their heads after performing the
Umrah and
Hajj, following the tradition of committing to
Allah, but are not required to keep it permanently shaved.
As a symbol of subordination
Enslaved peoples
In many cultures throughout history, cutting or shaving the hair on men has been seen as a sign of subordination. In ancient Greece and much of
Babylon, long hair was a symbol of economic and social power, while a shaved head was the sign of a slave. This was a way of the slave-owner establishing the slave's body as their property by literally removing a part of their personhood and individuality.
Military
The practice of shaving heads has been widely used in the military. Although sometimes explained as being for hygiene reasons, the image of strict and disciplined
conformity is also accepted as a factor.
Upon the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II, some Allied soldiers shaved their heads to deny any
Nazi Germany the opportunity to grab it during hand-to-hand combat. For the new military recruit, it can be a rite of passage, and variations of it have become a badge of honor.
Prison and punishment
Prisoners commonly have their heads shaven to prevent the spread of
lice, but it may also be used as a demeaning measure. Having the head shaved can be a punishment prescribed in law.
[ "Article 87 ... shall be sentenced to flogging, having his head shaven, and one year of exile ..." , The Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran] Nazis punished people
Rassenschande by parading them through the streets with shaved heads and placards around their necks detailing their acts.
During and after World War II, thousands of French women had their heads shaved in front of cheering crowds as punishment for either collaborating with the Nazis or having sexual relationships with Nazi soldiers during the war.["Shaved Heads and Marked Bodies: Representations From Cultures of Trauma" Kristine Stiles, Duke University (1993) Duke.edu]["Shorn Women: Gender and Punishment in Liberation France", ] Some Finnish women also had their heads shaved for allegedly having relationships with Soviet prisoners of war during the war.[ "Ryssän heilat ja pikku-Iivanat" ]
Practicality
Sport
Competitive swimmers, sprinters, and joggers sometimes seek to gain an advantage by completely removing all hair from their entire body to reduce drag while competing.
Baldness
People experiencing
hair loss may shave their heads in order to look more presentable, for convenience, or to adhere to a certain style or fashion movement. Those with
alopecia areata or pattern hair loss often choose to shave their heads, which has become exponentially more common and socially acceptable since the 1990s.
Notable people
Real
This list includes only public figures for whom a shaved head is an important and recognizable part of their public image; it is not a list of every celebrity who has shaved their head at some point in their life.
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Andre Agassi, American tennis player
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Kurt Angle, American professional wrestler and Olympic athlete
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"Stone Cold" Steve Austin, American professional wrestler
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Charles Barkley, American basketball player
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David Bateson, English actor
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Jeff Bezos, American businessman
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Dee Dee Bridgewater, American singer
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Kobe Bryant, American basketball player
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Yul Brynner, Russian-American actor
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Yura Borisov, Russian actor
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Bill Burr, American comedian
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Dave Chappelle, American comedian
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Michael Chiklis, American actor
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Phil Collins, English musician
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Common, American rapper
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Billy Corgan, American singer and musician
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Terry Crews, American actor
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Chris Daughtry, American musician
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Vin Diesel, American actor
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Taye Diggs, American actor
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Domenico Dolce, Italian fashion designer
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Anthony Fantano, American music critic
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George Foreman, American boxer
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Tyson Fury, English boxer
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Peter Gabriel, English musician
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Bill Goldberg, American professional wrestler
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Pep Guardiola, Spanish soccer manager
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Roberto Guilherme, Brazilian actor and comedian
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Rob Halford, English singer
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Rick Harrison, American businessman
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Steve Harvey, American television host
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Phil Heath, American bodybuilder
[ Phil Heath on Instagram: "The attack of the bald heads lol. Always fun hanging with these guys."]
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Evander Holyfield, American boxer
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LL Cool J, American rapper and actor
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Samuel L. Jackson, American actor
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Dwayne Johnson, American actor and professional wrestler
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Magic Johnson, American basketball player
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Michael Jordan, American basketball player
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Keegan-Michael Key, American comedian and actor
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Ben Kingsley, English actor
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Anton LaVey, American author and Satanic Church founder
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John Malkovich, American actor
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Howie Mandel, Canadian comedian and media personality
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Floyd Mayweather, American boxer
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Moby, American musician
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Dean Norris, American actor
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Northernlion, Canadian streamer
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Shaquille O'Neal, American basketball player
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Pitbull, American rapper
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Ving Rhames, American actor
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Flo Rida, American rapper
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Joe Rogan, American podcaster
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Rick Ross, American rapper
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Telly Savalas, American actor
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Tupac Shakur, American rapper
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Brian Shaw, American strongman
[ Strongmen Read Mean Comments | World's Strongest Man - YouTube]
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Big Show, American professional wrestler
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Johnny Sins, American pornographic actor
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Skin, English singer
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Chris Slade, Welsh drummer
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Kelly Slater, American surfer
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Jason Statham, English actor
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Patrick Stewart, English actor
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Michael Stipe, American musician
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Corey Stoll, American actor
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Mark Strong, English actor
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Stanley Tucci, American actor
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Dana White, American businessman
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Bruce Willis, American actor
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Zinedine Zidane, French soccer player
Fictional
In modern fiction, shaved heads are often associated with characters who display a stern and disciplined or hardcore attitude. Examples include characters played by
Yul Brynner,
Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson,
Telly Savalas,
Sigourney Weaver, and
Bruce Willis, as well as characters such as Agent 47 (whose physical appearance was based on his actor, the aforementioned David Bateson), Mr. Clean, Kratos,
One-Punch Man, and Walter White. Baldness is sometimes an important part of these characters' biographies; for example, Saitama wanted to be a superhero and lost all of his hair in exchange for receiving superpowers. Shaved heads are also often associated with villains in fiction,
such as Ernst Stavro Blofeld,
Colonel Kurtz,
Lex Luthor,
Thanos, Bullseye, portrayed by
Colin Farrell, and
Alex Macqueen's version of the Master. A notable exception is
Daddy Warbucks.
A goatee, usually of the Van Dyke variety, is often worn to complement the look or add sophistication; this look was popularized in the 1990s by professional wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. For most of the crime drama series Breaking Bad,[Sources that refer to Breaking Bad being praised as one of the greatest television shows of all time include:
] Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston) wore a Van Dyke with a shaved head.
In futuristic settings, shaved heads are often associated with bland uniformity, especially in sterile settings such as V for Vendetta and THX 1138.
It is less common for female characters to have shaved heads, though some actresses have shaved their heads
Modern subcultures
Skinheads
In the 1960s, some British working-class youths developed the
skinhead subculture, whose members were distinguished by short cropped hair (although they did not shave their heads down to the scalp at the time). This look was partly influenced by the Jamaican
rude boy style.
It was not until the skinhead revival in the late 1970s—with the appearance of
punk subculture-influenced Oi! skinheads—that many skinheads started shaving their hair right down to the scalp. Head shaving has also appeared in other youth-oriented
such as the
hardcore punk,
black metal,
metalcore,
nu metal,
hip hop,
techno music, and
neo-nazi scenes.
Sexuality and gender
A sexual fetish involving head shaving is called
trichophilia. While a shaved head on a man is often seen as a sign of authority and virility, a shaved head on a woman typically connotes
androgyny, especially when combined with traditionally feminine signifiers.
have sometimes adopted shaved heads to express a
genderqueer image. In the
BDSM community, shaving a submissive or slave's head is often used to demonstrate powerlessness or submission to the will of a dominant.
Fundraising and support
Cancer
Baldness is perhaps the most famous side effect of the
chemotherapy treatment for cancer, and some people shave their heads before undergoing such treatment or after the hair loss starts to become apparent; some people chose to shave their heads in solidarity with cancer sufferers, especially as part of a fundraising effort.
Covhead-19 Challenge
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many countries imposed strict lockdown procedures and actively encouraged members of the public to self-isolate. Many people, particularly men, began to shave their heads during lockdown due to boredom and/or being unable to have their hair cut as barbershops were forced to stay closed.
[ "Why are so many people shaving their heads?"] In the UK, a fundraising effort began to support its National Health Service, which suffered from the enormous pressure of the pandemic. The effort was started on
Just Giving with a goal of £100,000; it encouraged people to shave their heads whilst also donating money to the NHS and was dubbed the "Covhead-19 Challenge". Various celebrities also took part.
See also
