new thread
Hello Everyone,
The link is an article about tonsurephobia, which can be brought up by colleagues at work, or parents, as an excuse that the desire for long hair by a man is a kind of a disease.
I do clip my nails, shave but refuse to cut my hair, not because I am afraid of scissors, or even salons, but because I find long hair aesthetic on a man. I like my hair the way it is and am not willing to change it.
Some "pop-psych" people can lay guilt trips by stating fear of haircuts, or tonsurephobia.
In some environments, or longhair friendly places like Seattle, San Francisco, Vancouver or Montreal, tonsurephobia may be a nonissue, as a guy who wants long hair may have more options. It may be an issue in more conservative area, or may be brought up by authorities like employers or school principals to manipulate people into complying.
Has anybody been forced to see a shrink because of his choice of hairstyle?
Have a good day,
Georges in Montreal
Clinicizing the desire for long hair?
Well at least when I get a job I can just say "I have tonsurephobia!" when they tell me to get a haircut.
LoL I love it!!And I have *SHIT* digital *BASTARD* terrets.
Georges,
Thanks for posting this nonsense. A child may develop fear about hair cuts, but that does not mean it is a phobia. The solution is to let the child's hair grow until he or she wants a trim, if ever.
Parents can insist on clean, but not on cuts. "Cuts" can have symbolic meaning to a child who has not mastered the complexity and ambiguity of language. Etc....
Caledonian
Clinical Psychologist.
Hello Everyone,
I'll top-post, since Caledonian has. I bow to his professional knowledge concerning what is or is not a phobia.
However, I would say that this probably doesn't apply to any of us, as a psychological problem only exists if the person wants to have their hair cut but is afraid of the process of cutting. Even then, being afraid that the stylist will simply cut off too much hair is also not a psychological problem, as it has an entirely rational basis, i.e. they usually do that, so it is supported by experience.
I don't think that the article was trying to say that everyone who chooses to have long hair has tonsureophobia, only those who want a haircut but are afraid to, unless I'm reading it incorrectly. Mind you, the line about how it could affect appearance was funny. Yes, it could improve their appearance by keeping their hair nice and long.
I think that the name of the phobia is a bit humourous, though. I thought a tonsure was a monk's haircut with the top shaved and a surrounding fringe. Truly a scary haircut! Tonsureophobia sounds to me like it should mean fear of monks, LOL! (OTOH, an old friend of mine once had a job at the London Dungeon waxworks in which he was paid to dress as a monk and jump out on people to scare them, so truth is often stranger than fiction).
The "tonsure" part of the word is from the Latin verb "tondeo" meaning to "clip, shear, or shave" which turns into nouns like "tonsus," meaning "haircut" or "tonsor," "barber." Add that to "phobia" from the Greek meaning "fear" of something and voila.
Salut Georges
I suspect this is not even a "real" web site. One of the latest web tricks is auto-generated content. Based on the site's layout and how it reads, I think it exists solely for search engines and Google AdWords.
That said, I hate getting my hair cut!
It sounds very much like a disease invented by the Mormons, ultra right wing Christian Groups, the Military and Ross Perot!
"Haircut phobia or tonsurephobia is a sense of fear and anxiety before a visit to a hair salon."
Here is a radical thought: maybe it is a deep seeded fear and
anxietty that the Ego driven hair care professional will do
what he/she wants instead of what the customer wants.
Over the years i've had of too many isntances where
I go into have an inch or two cut and
the ego driven stylist who knows all decides I meed
to have fourteen inches of hair removed.
It would be akin to hiring a contractro to add
a room to your house and the contractor adds four rooms.
Or you go and hire a contrator to mow your
Or maybe it is akin to going to xxxxxxxxxx.com and
ordering a DVD of Babylon 5 and the people packing the
shipment decide they know better and ship you Desperate
Housewives insteasd.
lawn and the contractor mows your lawn and
a half dozen on your street.