I recently read a story on the Huffington Post, in the Style section, about a woman who dyed her hair blue and immediately started seeing a difference in the way people treated her.
It got me thinking, do people really think less of me because of the colour of my hair?
Blondes are meant to be bimbos (sorry ladies) and brunettes are meant to be boring (my apologies again) and people with pink hair aren’t supposed to care – but do people really play into these stereotypes?
THINK PINK . . . at the moment my hair is a pale pink
In my time as as a reporter I’ve rubbed shoulders with some pretty important people (well I’ve interviewed them and shook their hands, rubbing was out the question) and I’ll admit I’ve always made an effort to smarten up – though I did interview David Cameron in a fringed leather jacket from Missguided, the rest of the outfit was less adventurous.
But if I had showed up to interview the Prime Minister with pink hair would he have turned me away?
Would he have thought me unprofessional or inept at my job based on my hair colour?
A smart person would never write someone off based on their appearance, would they?
In life it’s never nice to compromise who you are for anyone but sometimes common sense must prevail – though I’m more at home in a halterneck crop top, I’d never dare turn up to work in one.
PURPLE POWER . . . flashback to 2013 when I had a lilac locks for a few weeks
That being said I don’t think dying my hair pink has made my employers think I’m less capable at my job, made shop assistants more prone to ignore me or fellow drivers think I can’t tell a stop sign from a green light.
Maybe some people think you can’t hold down a professional job with pink hair or it offends their eyes or they just can’t understand why someone would want a pink barnet, but I don’t feel I’m treated differently, if anything I think it makes me more eye catching, in a world filled with so many shades of grey I think it’s nice to have a flash of pink.
In 2015 do people really still judge others by the colour of their hair?
If so, is it time to give up our preconceived notions and start thinking pink?