For those men who haven’t experienced hair loss it can be an amusing condition. The obvious physical differences seem to encourage mockery and ridicule without any real concern for the feelings of the person who’s getting the ribbing.
Women suffering from hair loss are less likely to become the butt of a joke but the effects of non-conformance to the ideal of female beauty and the ignorance of people who assume there is something “wrong” can be even more traumatic and isolating.
Life-changing effects
Male pattern baldness is very common and will have affected at least half of all men to some extent by the time they hit their mid-thirties. It’s by no means the only reason for hair loss though. There are various forms of alopecia which can occur in both sexes as a result of the body’s immune system turning on itself. Hair loss can also be brought on my nervous conditions and of course as a result of chemotherapy. Whilst it’s true that some people can take it in their stride many cannot and can suffer life changing reductions in confidence and self-esteem.
Make baldness more socially acceptable
Jade Jarvis, 24 from Eastbourne has had alopecia for nearly ten years, resulting in patchy hair loss of varying extents. For years she tried to hide the condition but is gradually coming to terms with it and regaining her confidence, sharing her experience with other via a day to day blog she’s been writing.
Whilst she’s been posting her Instagram pictures she noticed there wasn’t a bald emoji to accompany her images and has since started a petition to have one added. Her rationale is simple, ”I feel that by adding a bald male and female we could spread awareness and make this sensitive subject more socially acceptable.”
Whilst it may seem like a small gesture Jade has a point. Anything we can to remove the stigma associated with hair loss and encourage other people to have some understanding and empathy for its sufferers is clearly a step in the right direction.
