Villanova Student Shaves Head to Fight Hair ‘Privilege,’ ‘Oppressive Gender Norms’

A Villanova University undergraduate, who shaved her head on St. Patrick’s Day, explained on Tuesday that her move was, in part, targeting “society’s oppressive gender norms.”

On Wednesday, the right-leaning website HeatStreet covered the feminist activism by Yvonne Nguyen, who is also the leader of the student group Villanovans Against Sweatshops.

Nguyen first posted the video of the head shaving on Facebook on March 17, 2017, and included an explanation consisting of three points. She revealed in her first point that “daily, for over the past two years, I’ve wanted to shave my head. Society’s gender norms have tried to define me, my actions, thoughts, my feelings, and my dress. I am oppressed. But, I’m not going to stand for it anymore.”

On Tuesday, the Villanova student published an op-ed in the campus student newspaper, The Villanovan, where she explained that the “small and constant comments about how to play the role of my gender were burdensome….Throughout my life, I was told how to look, think, feel, act and be a girl in order to ‘fit in.'”

Nguyen also asserted that “shaving my head enabled me to be reflective of the ways society forces me to conform to labels that I didn’t choose. Shaving my head liberated me, as I allowed myself to be faithful to my values and genuine self.” She soon added that “shaving my head allowed me to be in solidarity with people undergoing cancer treatment and take time to identify the privileges that I take for granted.”

The undergraduate activist later underlined that “society’s gender oppression paralyzed me. I didn’t know if I would be able to feel beautiful or societally accepted….Shaving my head permitted me to focus and recognize not just my oppression and privilege, but also my power to change the circumstances for me and others.”

[image via screengrab]