Lifestyle
It takes a pretty bold person to be able to defy gender expectations without the slightest bit of fear or shame. But imagine being at the tender age of six and refusing to let society force you into being someone you don't want to be. Well, that's exactly what one six-year-old girl has done.
In fact, the girl's mum is opening up about her decision to allow her six-year-old to shave her head - a decision she doesn't regret in the slightest.
Credit: Paige Lucas-Stannard
But Paige Lucas-Stannard, from Salem, Ohio, certainly wasn't all for the idea when her daughter Aellyn first suggested it. Yes, despite having written a book on Gender Neutral Parenting, Lucas-Stannard had hoped that Aellyn would soon forget about wanting to get rid of her locks.
"My deep, gut feeling about my daughter shaving her head sounded something like this: 'DEAR GOD NOOOOOOOO!'" the mom wrote on her blog.
Aellyn told her parents that her dad's shaved head had inspired to get a cut just like his. And, after much discussion over the next couple of days, they finally allowed her to get it done.
Credit: Paige Lucas-Stannard
When Lucas-Stannard explained to her daughter that some people would think that having a shaved head isn't appropriate for a girl, Aellyn very reasonably responded: "Girls can have their hair anyway they want".
And when she was told that some people might think that she's a boy, she said: "That’s okay mom, I’ll just tell them I’m a girl."
Since getting her head shaved, Aellyn has been thrilled with the results and, as Lucas-Stannard explains, she has absolutely no regrets.
Credit: Paige Lucas-Stannard
"The idea of regretting something as stupid as hair would probably never cross her mind. To her, this was FUN!," she wrote.
"I will take the discomfort of seeing my daughter without hair over teaching her that she is a doll to be dressed up for others’ pleasure or that any future relationship she is in she should allow someone to manipulate her or dictate her appearance."
Eventually, the doting mother came to the conclusion that as far as her daughter's appearance is concerned, it's only her opinion that matters.
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