Hair Has No Gender

By Lauren Means

Our hair plays a big role, sometimes more than we realize, in our self-esteem and personal identity.

When we’re young, we’re told the story of Rapunzel whose long, beautiful hair was going to be her key to escaping solitude from the tower in which she was locked. When she is found to be plotting to escape, her hair is chopped off.

Then there was the biblical figure, Sampson. Sampson was said to have power derived from his long locks. He was tricked into falling in love with Delilah who, for her gain, cut his locks off in his sleep which made him lose his power and become enslaved.

We use our hair to hide things we’re told are flaws, like acne and scars. We dye it, curl it, spike it, and sometimes shave it off completely. Our hair is an extension of ourselves.

So what happens when you’re figuring out your identity? What about when you know exactly what you want to do with your hair but stylists, usually unintentionally, don’t know how to think outside of typical gender norms?

This was a problem for which Kristin Rankin, founder of a program called The Dress Code Project, wanted a solution. Rankin comes from a line of stylists. When discussing their story on their website, Rankin says, “I have a long standing passion for the hair and beauty industry. To me, it is such a rewarding experience knowing that I’m making a difference in someone’s life. It’s a great feeling when the client looks in the mirror transformed and smiling from ear to ear. To give someone that feeling, to make them feel ready to take on the world, it’s a special part of what we in the industry do on a daily basis.”

Rankin, who identifies as queer, acknowledges that this isn’t always a reality for people when they go to a salon. The moment Rankin realized there was a problem that needed a solution was when their salon was tagged in a tweet from a new client. The client, who was a trans woman, tweeted “first time I’ve felt like a woman while getting my haircut.” For Rankin, it was a typical client interaction but to the client, it was an important interaction because it affirmed her.

Rankin knows going to a salon and asking for a haircut that doesn’t conform with gender norms associated with our sex as assigned at birth can be intimidating, scary, and sometimes even a difficult experience. Even they remember not feeling safe going to a salon to get a non-traditional haircut. “When I was young I wanted nothing more than to live like I wanted to and look how I wanted,” explained Rankin.

So they decided to make a change. In 2017, Rankin started an online resource for LGBTQ+ people to be able to find affirming salons and barbershops. They chose the name Dresscode Project because of how the term dress code reflects the traditional clothing for cisgender boys and girls.

With less than 10 participating salons in the southern region and only two in Tennessee, The Dresscode Project is always looking for inclusive affirming salons to join the network. Their goal is “for all people to be able [to] look at themselves in that mirror and smile.”

For more information on the Dresscode Project, to find a salon, or to become a participating salon, visit https://www.dresscodeproject.com.