A few months ago, I got a haircut and I cut my hair really, really short, shorter than I've ever cut it before.
And since then, one of my favorite topics of conversation has been my haircut.
If it was up to me, every conversation would be about my haircut.
I absolutely love talking about it.
I love talking about how I've been styling it.
I love talking about how I feel about it on a personal, deep, emotional, spiritual level.
I love talking about how people are responding to it.
I love talking about how scared I was and then how rewarding it was to do.
I love talking about my goddamn haircut, but unfortunately I don't get to talk about it that much because people have other interests.
They don't want to talk about my haircut more than once.
Sometimes they don't want to talk about my haircut at all.
And that's hard for me.
Today, I'm letting myself indulge.
Today, I'm going to spend probably the next hour talking about my haircut.
And you know why that's appropriate?
Because I just got my haircut again, and I got it cut shorter than I ever have in my entire life.
The haircut I just got is a full -on pixie, okay?
It was sort of pixie adjacent prior, but it was more of like a little short shag.
I have a full pixie now.
like my hair is the same length as my dad's it's short short and I don't know to me that's like an excuse to talk about the haircut again I briefly pause this episode to let you know that this episode is presented by Westin hotels and resorts Westin hotels is designed with your well -being in mind with more than 200 destinations around the world Westin hotels makes it possible to keep up with your wellness routine while traveling.
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Now back to the episode.
Now you're probably wondering like, Emma, why do you love talking about your haircut so much?
Like who cares? I think the reason why I love talking about it so much is because of how much of a plot twist it is, okay?
When I was a kid, I absolutely hated, hated the look of short hair on women.
It didn't have anything to do with like societal, you know, norms like femininity norms.
I really genuinely in my heart of hearts do not believe that that had anything to do with it.
Well, maybe that was part of it.
You know what? Maybe that was part of it.
I just genuinely didn't like the way it looked.
I think because, you know, in the early 2010s, the pixie cut...
that was trendy was not cute.
I still don't like it.
Like it was sort of like a comb over.
It was like a side part and like a comb over, like not my style.
Okay. It never, I always felt like it wasn't flattering.
I just couldn't comprehend it.
And it's funny because my own mother had a pixie cut.
In fact, she's had a pixie cut my entire life and I still didn't like it.
Although that actually might have made me hate the haircut more because when we're like tweens, teens, we like rebelling against our parents.
Any kind of authority, I was rebelling against it.
And it's funny because now all of the things that my mom loved, you know, her pixie haircut, her favorite color was olive green.
And she loved, you know, olive green, like cargo pants and, you know, like buying an olive green purse.
It's always been like her favorite color.
Now it's one of my favorite colors.
It's somehow involved in almost every outfit.
Anyway, it's funny.
I've come full circle and now I love all of the things that my mom loves.
But anyway, I was rebelling against her probably as a teen tween and it probably didn't help with how I felt about the pixie haircut.
But anyway, I absolutely fucking hated it.
I thought it was hideous.
I couldn't understand it.
Like Katy Perry had a pixie.
Who else? Pink. I don't know, like Anne Hathaway had a pixie at one point.
Like there was just a lot of pixies going on.
And I just was always like, I don't like that.
I just don't like it.
I think it's not cute.
And I just remember thinking to myself as a young person, like I will never do that.
And then, you know, interestingly enough, my taste shifted and it shifted in such an intense way.
I don't think my opinion has ever shifted so strongly about anything in my life okay and I've I've changed my mind about quite a few things but this was one of the like biggest changes I went from hatred to obsession like it felt like overnight suddenly I just loved the way it looked I feel like what really happened was my sense of style just simply evolved.
And the pixie haircut was one of the things that became beautiful in my eyes.
And I mean, there's been so many things that over the years I've grown to really love and appreciate.
Like I can give you some other examples.
Honestly, like flat shoes.
Like I used to hate flat shoes.
Thought that they made the foot look too small and narrow.
Anyway, I absolutely love them.
Now, one of my favorite types of shoes, capris took me a while to like.
And now I absolutely love a capri.
You know, long skirts.
I hated a long skirt for a long time.
And then one day I was like, wait a minute, that's really chic.
The list goes on. There's been a lot of things that have taken me a while to fully appreciate.
But just through developing my taste, I've ended up really liking them.
And I think the Pixie Cut is a part of that.
But it's almost like the Pixie Cut was like, it was this thing that I just never thought I'd like.
So it's so shocking.
Over the last few years, I've scrolled on Pinterest a lot.
I've seen a lot of, you know, runway shows.
I've looked at a lot of fashion books.
Like I've just exposed myself to a lot of fashion, not even necessarily more than the average.
Well, probably more than the average person just because it's something that I like.
And yeah, so for whatever reason, I've really grown to love the Pixie Cut.
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yeah eBay the place to buy and sell new pre -loved vintage and rare fashion some of the references that really stood out to me were number one Audrey Hepburn okay Audrey Hepburn had a cute little pixie I feel like no one's talking about it people are probably totally talking about it I didn't ever remember her as being somebody who had a pixie and I'm not a big Audrey Hepburn fan but I just didn't even know she had one and then I like noticed it and I was like wow it looks so good on her.
It looked so natural on her.
I didn't even process that it was a pixie.
So that was really sort of moving.
Also, Twiggy, the 60s mod icon, of course.
Edie Sedgwick, another one.
These are like two, you know, model it girls of like the 60s.
Winona Ryder in the 90s, such a good pixie cut.
All these pixie cuts are timeless, subtle, and just so just elegantly done.
unlike the pixie of the 2010, that to me was a catastrophe.
It was a catastrophe.
It was like this sort of like faux punk, like neon, like pixie.
It was just not cute to me.
And it still isn't cute to me.
Oh my God. Rihanna had a pixie too.
Although hers was actually one of the best of the era.
I don't know. Like felt the most timeless.
It was still trendy, but it felt the most timeless.
But yeah, I like just saw a lot of those girly pops on my Pinterest and eventually I just grew to love it.
But I think there was also a bit of a fantasy around having the short hair because I hated styling my hair so much and I've just never been good at it.
You know, some people are so good at styling their hair.
I'm just not one of those people.
I knew short hair would be easier, right?
Like how hard could it be?
Like you don't need to like go get a blowout when you have a pixie like i mean i guess you could but i don't know what it would even look like so it just felt like it would be easier and i think i i had an another fantasy about it being sort of like an accessory like it would access it would elevate every outfit it would make every outfit feel chiker and more interesting more intriguing it's like if you have a ballsy haircut the outfit will read differently because i think a pixie cut is a bit ballsy so like that takes an outfit that maybe to start is like a bit, it's like, it's interesting.
It's intriguing. It's maybe a bit outside the box.
But then if you pair it with a pixie, it's like everything feels intentional.
I don't know. So that's how I felt.
Those were sort of the thoughts whirling around my head as I suddenly found myself loving the pixie haircut.
But then I remember seeing a video and this is just how crazy the algorithm is today because I don't think I even Googled, well, maybe I was looking it up on Pinterest.
So somehow YouTube recommended to me a video and the video was titled something along the lines of why do people hate women after they cut their hair off or something of that, of that is something of that nature.
Let me try to find it so I can credit the woman who made it.
Okay. I found it. I found the video.
Why do we hate women after they've cut their hair off, a video by Jordan Teresa.
So this video pops up on my YouTube, uh, explore page.
And I was like, Oh God.
Oh no. Is this a horrible idea?
Like, is everyone going to hate me now?
What is this? So I briefly skimmed through the video because I was like, I don't want to deter myself from getting this haircut because for some reason, people hate women who have short hair, apparently.
Like, I want to make my choice for me.
So I'm not going to let this fuck with my head.
So I briefly skimmed through it.
It was basically about how the pixie haircut is sort of controversial, how a lot of, you know, pop culture figures, celebrities have gotten their haircut into a pixie and then seemingly fallen out of favor shortly after.
Whether it's related, you know, it's kind of up for debate.
But that was sort of a point.
And, you know, she sort of discussed societal norms, femininity, all of this, right?
It was very, very well done.
So go check that out if you want.
I found this video to be equally frightening because I wanted to get the haircut and interesting.
And it sort of stuck with me, this idea that people don't really like women with a pixie cut.
Like it kind of traumatized me, this sentiment.
But I was also like, I can't let this stop me.
If I want to get this haircut I'm gonna get this haircut and I dug in deeper to try to figure out like why people hate the pixie cut and why are people so afraid of it like there are so many people who are so afraid of of getting a pixie cut like people who even really love a pixie cut who are like oh I would never do that like why is it such a big deal right and so I did a bit more research into it and it seems like people dislike short hair on women for a few reasons now this is according to the internet.
Okay. This is not according to me.
I am simply the messenger.
This is what the internet told me.
Number one, it goes against the feminine beauty standard.
Okay. And that makes it uncomfortable to look at.
I can't even blame people for that.
Right. Like I can't, like I felt that way probably.
Although I don't know.
I think I genuinely didn't like it because I thought it was unflattering for the most part, but, but you know what, who knows?
I might've also not liked it because it was going against the norm.
Right. I feel like that wasn't the case, but it could have been it probably was at least a portion of it right i also read that people associate short hair on women with independent strong women and that this is particularly threatening to men because it's a risky choice you know it's it's definitely like going against what you know men stereotypically straight men stereotypically find attractive so like if you get your hair cut short you don't give a fuck about what men think about you you know and so it's sort of making a statement in that way.
I thought that was kind of fascinating.
And I was like, huh, you know, that's not where my head was at, but I was kind of like, oh, that'll be interesting to see if that ends up happening in my life.
Like if, you know, I'm intimidating to men, I guess, like, okay, we'll see.
Uh, or if they don't like me or less attracted to me because of the hair, some people see women chopping all their hair off as a sign of mental instability, which I thought was funny because like most of us, I am mentally unstable sometimes.
And I talk about my mental instability a lot on the internet.
And so I was like, oh, people are probably going to think I'm having a meltdown.
I do think that mental instability can lead to extreme measures.
Like I've been tempted to like take extreme measures in my life when I'm mentally unstable.
Like, you know, yeah, like chop my hair off or like, I don't know like cut off everyone I know and run away like you just when you're mentally unstable you you you can have a tendency to to say fucking and like do something extreme but I think when it comes to short hair I think majority of women with a pixie cut just have a pixie cut because they like it I actually don't think that that's an accurate representation of like why women get a pixie cut so that's basically why people hate the pixie haircut at least according to Google in that video I watched, right?
And all of this to me was like, oh my God, everyone fucking relax.
It's like, oh my God, I just want to like chic.
Like I just want a chic little haircut and I want to like hop out of the shower and I want my hair to dry in like five minutes and I want it to like, you know, look cute and spiky and edgy.
And I want to be able to like, I don't know, like it just like, it sounds fun to me.
It's not that deep to me.
And I do think that that is sort of a modern perspective.
Right. I think today getting a short haircut is like no big deal.
Who cares? It's not really as edgy.
It's not as big of a deal as it once was.
But I do think that there's some lingering tension around it right from the past and whatever.
But I ultimately decided that I didn't care.
Well, I guess I wouldn't say that I didn't care, but I I ultimately decided that I was going to do it anyway because it's what it's what I wanted to do.
But I definitely was bracing myself for what might happen.
Am I going to fall out of favor with people?
Are boys not going to be attracted to me?
Are people going to find me ugly?
What's going to happen?
But I ultimately make decisions based on what I think is going to be chic and fun.
I'm the one who gets dressed every morning.
I'm the one who styles my hair every day.
Like I think I'm pretty good about making fashion choices for me.
And I'm also aware of like making a mistake, you know, not getting it right the first time.
Like, and I was kind of okay with the fact that, you know, the haircut might not look good on me and I might have to, you know, figure that out or it might not be right the first time or whatever.
Like I was ready for all of that because I was excited about my new hairstyle journey.
And so I did it. I cut it off and it's been a few months, okay?
And I've had varying lengths.
I've had like a shorter shag, a longer shag.
Now I have a full pixie and I've had it for long enough that I've been able to fully analyze everything, okay?
How it makes me feel, how I truly feel about it, the people in my life and, you know, people in real life, maybe people I don't even know, but like just real life responses and then of course, online responses.
and I've had enough time to fully experience the response.
And I wanted to share what I've observed with you all because I went into it definitely very frightened.
And I guess I would have loved to have heard all this when I was considering the haircut.
My mom has had a pixie cut her entire life, but like, she doesn't care.
Like, she's not analyzing.
She's like, it's so not that deep for her.
Like, we didn't even have this conversation.
You know what I mean?
but I'm, we have a different brain.
Like I love analyzing things to death.
She is like, she doesn't necessarily think that way.
Yeah. This is just something I would have wanted to have heard when I was considering the pixie, like a true life experience.
What's it really like?
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Let's start out with my personal feelings and experience.
I will say to start, I was kind of pussying out like I wasn't fully getting a pixie, right?
I was doing more of like a short shag and it was sort of still a pixie, but not quite.
That I think was a mistake.
I should have gone full pixie because number one, I never felt fully satisfied.
I was always like, oh, it's too long.
It's too long. But when I was sitting in the chair, you know, my hair colorist was like, don't go too short because then it's like a bit more risky, you know, for bleaching.
I don't know. You can like damage your hair more easily when your hair is short and you're bleaching it because you have to bleach over bleached hair.
It's a complicated thing.
But anyway, he was like, you know, you have more risk for breakage and, you know, but you can still do it if you want, but there's more risk for breakage.
And then I was like, oh my God, it's going to be so short.
Like, is that going to be too short?
So I kept pussying out and I regret that because going really short, I think it's all or nothing.
If I could go back, I would have gotten a short pixie from the get go, even though it's a bit more of a risk when, you know, cause I'm bleaching it, even though it's a bit more risk.
I think if you're going to go short, don't like go a bit longer than you want because you're too scared.
Like just fucking do it.
Just do it. Okay. It took me a few months to fully commit to the full pixie, which is what I have now.
And I just wish I would have done it sooner.
So that's, that's my first observation.
Second observation, it is the easiest hairstyle I've ever had in my fucking life.
Okay. I fucking love it.
It is unbelievable.
It is so convenient.
It's amazing. Okay.
Let me tell you my hair care routine right now.
I wash my hair once a week.
That's it. Now I will say I have bleached hair, so I treat my hair a bit differently than if I had non bleached hair.
Uh, I'd probably have to wash it more because it would get oily quicker, but I literally wash my hair once a week the other days I just rinse it get it wet so I have like a fresh slate for styling it but I wash it once a week with purple shampoo and purple conditioner or whatever I use uh like a hair mask that helps with like you know the strength like bonding the ends I don't know how it works and then I use a little bit of hair oil and that's it every single day when I get it wet sort of to style it, I just let it air dry.
I don't even have to fucking blow dry it.
I don't use heat on it at all.
In fact, if I want it to be like flat to my head and like a super flat, like whatever, I'll brush it down and then I'll put on a balaclava or a hood or something, have some sort of hood on, let it dry with the hood on.
And then I have like really cute flat sort of like pixie.
If I want it to be a bit more voluminous, I'll let it air dry free, like just let it free.
And then if it's like at most I'll put like a little bit of grooming clay in it to shape it a bit, but like, I don't have to do anything.
You guys, it's the ease.
It's amazing. I don't do anything.
And I mean, I will say that that's, it depends on your hair texture and just like if it's bleached or if it's not like there's a lot of factors, but for whatever reason, this is the easiest hair I've ever had in my life.
It's unbelievable. And so I'm having an incredible time.
It dries so quickly.
It's so nice. I love it.
You know, there are moments when I'm a little bit self -conscious about it.
Okay. Like, especially if I'm not wearing makeup.
Yeah. I get a little insecure sometimes when I'm not wearing makeup and I'm out in public and like I'm running errands or something, or I'm at yoga or something and I'm not wearing makeup.
Like actually yoga less so, but even yoga, like I do get a little self -conscious sometimes because I do feel like, oh my God, you know, I have really short hair and I'm not wearing makeup and you know, I don't look the most feminine right now.
Right? Like stereotypically, I do love like masculine silhouettes in clothing sometimes, you know, like that my style is not hyper feminine at all.
I do tend to like lean a bit more perhaps androgynous with my style.
just that's just who I am and it's what I've always liked and I've always like enjoyed fashion not because of its this is about to sound so oh my god I sound I again I feel like I'm gonna win a Nobel Peace Prize for what I'm about to say I've always liked fashion without like the the gender association like I just like fashion if I like it I sometimes like hyper feminine things I sometimes like hypermasculine things.
I sometimes like androgynous things.
I don't like something because, oh, it makes me feel super girly.
I guess sometimes I like that, but my fashion preferences have almost never been based on their gender association.
And this is not because I'm trying to do that.
That's just how I process fashion.
It's how I've always been.
So a lot of people are like, Emma's a tomboy.
Emma dresses in masculine cloth.
that's just what I like I it's not it has nothing to do with gender or anything it's just simply because that is what I like and there there's moments when it's like Emma is hyper feminine I'm you know mini skirt little tight little top like that's that's a moment for me sometimes but I also love love love like a big boxy fucking suit and like a big loafer and like you know and short hair.
Like I love that shit too.
So to me, gender has nothing to do with fashion or is very, I can't say nothing, but it's like, it is not a huge factor in like how I judge in perceived fashion, especially now.
And so all of that to say, like, sometimes I really like masculine sort of outfits, like traditionally masculine outfits.
And that paired with a pixie, I'm like, Oh my God, I am a girl, like I I'm a girl, but I look pretty masculine, you know?
And so part of me, you know, at times is like self -conscious about that in a way, because I feel like am I misrepresenting myself in a way, but then also too, if I'm like super comfortable, right.
I'm like in my pajamas and then I'm like wearing it.
Then I'm like, Oh my God, I look horrible.
I don't know. There are moments when I think about how I'm being perceived and they ultimately do not dictate my decision -making.
They don't dictate what I wear.
They don't dictate, you know, whatever.
But there are moments when I do think about it.
There are moments when I am kind of self -conscious about it.
And it is ultimately who I am and how I want, it's how I like to dress.
It's how I like to do my hair.
And when I'm fucking comfortable and whatever, like, that's how I look.
Who cares? You know, so I don't know.
But it is something that I think about sometimes and I am self -conscious about sometimes.
On the other hand, I fucking love styling it.
Okay. I think it looks sick with a hyper -feminine outfit, with a more masculine, it doesn't matter.
I love styling the hair.
My suspicion that like the pixie would be an incredible accessory was correct.
Okay. I think it elevates every single outfit.
It changes the vibe of every single outfit.
It is the maraschino cherry on top of the ice cream sundae that is my fucking outfit.
Without that cherry, it looks made.
Okay. It looks all right.
The ice cream sundae looks all right, but it looks a bit beige.
You pop that little maraschino cherry on top.
Boom. It looks elegant.
It looks chic. It looks retro.
It looks cute. It looks yummy.
It looks delectable.
Okay. Do you get what I'm saying?
Say what you want. Say what you fucking want.
I think it's fucking chic.
And especially now.
I do think the shag was a bit less chic.
It took a few cuts for me to figure out what haircut suited me the best.
So thank you all for your patience over the last few months.
Because, yeah, I don't think I got it right the first time.
By the way, this was all my bad.
I was showing a reference to my hairstylist and saying, let's do this.
And he was saying, great, and he would copy it exactly.
And the first, you know, let's say four cuts, I was doing a bit longer, more of a shag that would then grow out into something that was a bit mullet -esque kind of maybe – not mullet, not mullet.
What would be the word?
I don't know. I don't have the word.
But, yeah, it took a sec.
But I finally figured out my haircut, and it's really exciting.
I also think that there's something weirdly empowering about taking a risk like this.
Like I felt empowered by the situation, not because, and not, actually not for the reasons that you would assume, right?
Like I think, you know, going back to the reason why the people, the people tend to hate the pixie cut, because it is sort of a statement.
Like, I don't care what men think about me.
That's a reason why people do it.
That's a reason why it might be empowering for some people.
For me, it was empowering because it was scary, right?
It was just simply scary.
It was frightening.
Okay. I was afraid of getting this haircut because I was afraid of potentially being judged.
I was afraid of perhaps finding myself ugly, right?
Like looking in the mirror every day, me like, I look hideous, having a hard time looking at myself in the mirror.
I was frightened for those reasons.
And you might think to yourself, those are far more shallow than the other reasons.
I don't care why you think that they're shallow, okay?
That's why I was frightened.
I'm being honest, okay?
I'd love to say that they're deep and they're political and they're, oh my God.
But no, they're not.
I was frightened for those more surface level reasons, but that was still frightening for me.
I did it and I lived to tell the tale and it ended up being rewarding because there were so many things about it that were so great.
So I think what was empowering about it was trusting my gut, doing what I wanted to do and it paying off.
That was rewarding.
That was empowering.
And my last observation over the last few months has been, I don't think I can ever go back.
I'm so much like my mom.
I'm growing to be more and more like my mom in a way that is good.
My mom and I are very, very different in a lot of ways, but we actually are also the same in a lot of ways.
Like we have a very similar, our style is weirdly melding.
Like I'm starting, my style is starting to sort of, I don't know, mirror my mom's.
And she definitely is less into fashion than me, but she actually is a fashionable woman in her heart.
Even when she wears hokas, you know, like around, which I would never do as a fashion statement, even when she wears hokas with cargo pants, like which again, yeah, like it's like, I still am seeing my mom in my style.
It's fascinating, but anyway, my mom has had a pixie my entire life.
At her longest, she's had like a shack, you know, but she's had short hair my entire life.
And I think I might be the same way.
Like I'm thinking about my future children and I'm like, they are going to grow up the same way I did with a mom who has short hair and they're probably going to fucking hate it just like I did.
And they're going to wish that their mom had long, beautiful hair, like all of the other moms at the PTA meeting.
But then I think my kids are going to grow up and be like, damn, my mom is cool.
I have a cool mom. That's why her hair is short because she's cool and she's fashionable.
And I just didn't understand her because I was fucking basic.
No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding.
Me calling my kids basic.
They're not even born yet.
You guys are fucking basic.
Okay. Now let's discuss responses from people in real life.
Okay. This is strictly in real life.
No internet. That's its own category of analysis.
Okay. This is strictly just interactions with people in real life.
When I first started talking about cutting all my hair off, there was sort of like a 50 -50 split in my life.
Some people, and I'm not going to name any names here, okay?
I'm just going to let everybody remain anonymous here.
I'm not going to be like, my mom said, and then my dad said, and then my best friends said, and then, you know, no, okay?
We're not getting into it.
We're letting everyone remain anonymous.
It was a 50 -50 split, okay?
Some people were like, that's a genius idea.
Like that's sick. You should absolutely do that.
And then there were a few people in my life who were a bit hesitant.
They were like, honestly, Emma, I don't know.
And I don't think that they were saying it for any sort of like mean reason.
I genuinely think that they just were like, Emma, don't trigger a mental breakdown.
You know what I mean?
Like if you cut all your hair off and you hate it, you might have a mental breakdown.
And I think that there were certain people in my life who were afraid of that.
I think there were also, you know, a few people in my life were like, I don't like how a pixie cut looks, but I think for the most part, people were telling me, Emma, I don't know.
I don't think you should do that.
Let's not do that because they were afraid that I would have a mental breakdown.
And they were like, why do that to yourself?
So there was sort of a 50 -50 split.
And I would say most of the responses were pretty like neutral in a way, not neutral, but like, um, not passionate.
You know what i mean there were a few passionate responses some people were like emma you have to do it and some people were like emma really really please don't do that but i would say for the most part when i talked to people about it it didn't evoke like extreme reactions most people were like yeah fuck yeah do it who cares we're like i don't know i wouldn't but you know you've been growing your hair out for a while like why do that but do whatever you want like for the most part, it was chill.
But after the fact, after I got it, everyone in my life loves it.
Every single person in my life.
I'm not kidding, okay?
And they might be lying to me, they totally could be lying to me, but I don't think anyone doesn't like it in my intimate like circle or like in my, not even necessarily in my intimate circle, but like people that I see consistently have only said nice things, You know, like nobody, and I'm not an idiot, okay?
I know when somebody's like, oh, that looks really good and they don't mean it because people do that to me.
I've been falsely complimented before.
You know, I know what that feels like and I'm the first one to say like, oh, I can tell that they fucking hate it.
That wouldn't stop me, but I would know that.
I am 90 % sure, we'll leave the 10 % just in case, 90 % sure that people genuinely like it, okay?
Especially, like especially in person, you know?
Like on social media is one thing, but like in person, seeing me with it in person, people have really seemed to like it, okay?
Men and women, okay?
If anything, I actually think I've gotten, you know, more compliments from men.
Like the men in my life love this hair, which leads me to, you know, like are men attracted to me still?
I've had no issue. I've not noticed any, any change in that at all.
Okay. I don't very often get flirted with, to be honest.
Like every once in a while, every once in a while, I'll get flirted with, you know what I'm saying?
Like somebody who has no clue who I am just comes up to me and will flirt with me and I can tell that they have no clue.
And obviously like I am always in a relationship.
That's just Emma. That's just Emma style.
So I can't, I, I, I've never like dated a guy or gone on a date with a guy who's come up and flirted with me because almost every single time has ever happened, I've had a boyfriend.
Um, but it's seeming to happen at the same rate, if not even like a little bit more than it used to.
Like, I think I've been flirted with probably in let's say the last like six months since I got the haircut, I've probably been flirted with in public like twice.
It really doesn't happen to me a lot.
I don't know why. Maybe I'm just an acquired taste.
When my hair was long, when my hair is short, it does not happen a lot.
In fact, in the last few years, I've probably been flirted with in public like three times.
And then in the last six months, it's happened twice that I can remember where like somebody's really made an effort with me.
I'm not sensing an issue.
If anything, I think that the boys are loving me more than ever.
So like with strangers, it hasn't been impacted in my personal relationship romantic that I'm in currently no issue in fact the opposite I feel like it's it's actually like deeply enjoyed and like and actually the that person was like you should absolutely get that haircut that's sick and it's gonna look so fucking cool and then I got it and then they were like this looks great and you look hot and gorge and like a baddie I've only gotten positive responses is I've been getting more compliments from strangers than I've ever gotten in my life okay on the hair but also just on my style and I think
it could be sort of like a combination of things I think it could be the hair I think it could also be the fact that I feel like I've really honed in on my personal style a lot recently I do think that I'm in a really good like exciting, inspired place with my own sense of style.
I'm feeling really good about it.
I'm like loving it.
I love what's in my closet.
I love styling what's in my closet.
Everything feels cohesive.
Everything matches.
It's sort of like just it's like a fucking playpen in my closet for me.
I just go in and I play and everything looks really good with the hair.
It's just like equilibrium.
It's just homeostasis.
It's just, it's balance.
It's happiness. It's joy.
It's fulfillment. I'm loving, I'm loving it right now.
I'm really loving it.
And I'm feeling fulfilled by it and happy with it.
Is the hair a part of that?
Yes, it is. Is it the sole reason I'm getting compliments?
I don't think so. But I think it's an integral part of why I'm getting more compliments recently, because I think it's a part of this sort of finding myself in my style.
you know I've never gotten a lot of compliments in person on the internet yes whereas now it's funny because I feel like I'm actually getting more compliments in real life and less on the internet perhaps because I'm not showing as much of my outfits on the internet I need to show more of my outfits I feel like I've just been oh my god just cooking I've been cooking I like I've been putting together such good outfits but nobody takes a fucking photo of me in these goddamn of my outfits.
I'm too busy living in the moment, looking cute in the moment.
Okay. But anyway, I just have been getting a lot of compliments and I'm not trying to brag.
I'm not trying to brag.
Okay. I can't, I can't help it.
I'm just telling you what I've observed.
Okay. The people love me.
Listen, I'm about to talk about people making fun of me soon.
So just let me enjoy this moment.
Let me relish, let me relish in this.
I've also been receiving compliments that are sort of praising my bravery.
People being like, oh my God, your hair looks so cute.
Like I wish I could do that, but I'm too scared.
Oh my God, your hair looks so cute.
But like, oof, like I would look so bad if I did that.
You're so brave. A lot of that.
And I think that's because a lot of people underestimate how flattering short hair actually is.
People are like, oh my God, it would look so bad on me.
And no, it wouldn't.
No, it wouldn't. I don't care who you are.
If you're a girl and you have short hair.
Yes. You know, like I, like when I'm not wearing me, I'm not wearing makeup right now.
If you're watching the video episode of this, you'll see that I'm not wearing makeup.
If you're watching the video episode, I'm putting away.
It looks cute, but yes, I look maybe perhaps a bit, a bit boyish stereotype.
Who cares? Shut the fuck.
Who cares? I encourage you if you love short hair and you really want to get it to look past, to get past that, to push past that.
That is not a reason not to do it.
I think it's worth a try because I think you'd be shocked at how flattering it is.
And I think you'd be shocked at how you can pull it off, especially, especially if you love fashion, it just makes getting dwelled up even more fun.
You know, anyways, last but not least, uh, my favorite interaction that I've had in person was when I was, I think I was at a store or like at a mall or something.
I was somewhere in public and a little kid walked past me.
Little kids are just unhinged.
A little kid walked past me and I don't think I was wearing makeup.
I don't think I was wearing makeup.
I don't remember. I don't remember what I was wearing.
But anyways, a little kid walked past me and like screamed.
Oh my God, I feel so bad for the parent.
The parent felt so bad.
Luckily, I don't care.
But like if I was somebody who, it was, it could have been a catastrophe.
The little kid was like, hey, you, are you a girl or a boy to me?
And I was like, I'm a girl.
I'm a girl. And they were like, oh, OK.
That is fucking funny.
I thought it was hilarious.
I will say for a second, I was like, oh, God, you know, damn.
But then I was like, who cares?
Who cares? And it was a kid and it was like, whatever, you know, it was so that was probably the worst thing that's happened or worst, not even worst, but like the most extreme thing that's happened.
And even that wasn't that big of a deal.
But now let's discuss the responses on the internet because I will say the responses on the internet have been the most bad.
However, you know, don't let this deter you.
Okay. Because if you're somebody who's not a public figure, you're not on the internet like that.
Then you really have nothing to worry about because all of my IRL in real life experiences have been a delight.
Even the one with the kid was funny.
I laugh about it now.
It's a funny story.
I think that my list of observations from my IRL experiences should motivate you to get the pixie because it's been such a beautiful experience.
The internet, people think I look like Ellen DeGeneres.
Yeah, I mean, I totally get it.
Ellen DeGeneres has blue eyes and a blonde pixie.
I look like Ellen DeGeneres if she maybe liked fashion a little bit more.
To me, Ellen DeGeneres, I'm never seeing her in an outfit that wows me, right?
And that's because I think that that's by design.
Like, I don't think Ellen's trying to impress me with her outfit.
I've never met Ellen.
So I feel like I can talk about her this way because I've never met her.
But yeah, so people are saying that I look like her, which I don't think is necessarily like, that's not inherently an insult because it is like sort of true, but I do think that people are trying to say it to me in an insulting way.
And this is not me disrespecting Ellen DeGeneres.
It's everyone else disrespecting me and Ellen DeGeneres.
They're like trying to say like, oh, you look like Ellen DeGeneres in like a derogatory way, which I, that's fine.
You know what? That's fine.
People are also definitely questioning my sexuality and my gender, people are really perplexed by it.
And it's interesting because that was mostly the case in a video that I posted on my YouTube channel about getting rid of a lot of my clothes.
And I showed all of the clothes that I kept after getting rid of everything in my closet.
In that video, I had my short hair at that point.
And in that video, I wasn't wearing makeup.
I was like just feeling kind of raw and natural because a lot of times that's kind of my vibe on it.
That's just like, I don't like get all dolled up to film a YouTube video for my own channel.
You know, like I get dolled up to go to a fashion show or to a red carpet or, or maybe get dolled up to like go to a wedding or, you know, to go out to dinner or to go on a date or something.
Not even necessarily on a date because I only go on dates when I'm like dating a guy, really.
At least that's the only.
And at that point, I'm like, you know, I don't wear makeup, babe.
We're doing a little bit of lip liner max.
You're stuck with me now.
I'm not fucking putting makeup on for you.
I'm doing my skincare routine before we go out to dinner so that after dinner, I can and brush my teeth and go straight to bed.
Okay. You know the drill.
Anyways, but sometimes I like to, you know, do a little makeup.
But anyway, I, I wasn't wearing makeup in this video.
And so, yeah, like I maybe looked a bit less feminine in the video and there were a lot of comments I noticed just being like, number one, like saying I looked bad, looked ugly, uh, which is mean, but, but more interestingly, you know, just really questioning my sexuality and my gender and all these things, which is fine.
Like, I don't care.
But that's not the most comfortable thing to deal with.
And I mean, I can't even complain about it because there are so many people on this planet who deal with that on a far more extreme, far more challenging scale.
So I'm very aware of that.
However, it's not fun.
It isn't fun. It was kind of like, really?
me not wearing makeup, having my hair undone and short or whatever, is fully making you question things about me that you already know?
It's just fascinating to me.
Everyone knows my sexuality.
Everybody knows my, or not everybody, but my audience, for the most part.
Maybe it's not my audience making these comments.
Anyway, but I just found it interesting that it felt like there were certain people who were like, wait a minute, I thought you were a straight woman.
I am. People are like, she has to be at least bi.
And it's like, you guys, number one, who cares?
Like, actually, who cares?
But number two, like, nothing has changed just because I got a haircut.
I got a haircut. Everybody expresses themselves differently and it doesn't necessarily reflect those things.
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I briefly mentioned this earlier, but people really think I'm kind of ugly when I'm not wearing makeup.
People are really like, whoa, Emma, you have never looked worse.
You look hideous. You look like an old woman.
Lots of mean comments.
Lots of insults about my parents, which I've gotten before.
I've had phases in my career of being a public figure where people have been like, someone's looking ugly.
Someone's looking a bit chubby.
Someone's looking a little too thin.
Somebody's looking a little bit emaciated.
Somebody's looking like they're dying.
Someone looks like they're dying.
I've gotten it all.
It's definitely picked up.
it's definitely picked up a little bit since I've cut the hair.
Um, and you know, people don't, aren't like, not everyone gets it, you know, not everyone likes it.
Not everyone gets it.
And a lot of people are like, like, okay, Emma used to be so stylish.
And then now like she fell off.
Like what? Like the style is horrible.
The hair is horrible.
Emma fell off. But it's the irony of that is that I've never felt more like, okay, I'm, I'm figuring it out.
You know, like I've never felt more me.
And I think it's hit or miss.
A lot of people don't like it.
I think the truth of the matter is this is not a mainstream haircut choice.
I have a lot of creative people in my life, a lot of artists, a lot of people who have exposed themselves to more fashion, perhaps.
People who have exposed themselves to more art in general, perhaps, than the average person.
There's a lot of people in my life who find this stuff interesting.
And so I do think that because of that, there's more people in my life.
Like I maybe have had a better experience, like a nicer response to my haircut in my personal life because I'm just, that's my environment.
Those are the people in my life.
And so perhaps the way the internet has responded is the way that, you know, the average friend group would respond to somebody cutting their hair, the average, you know, community around somebody.
I'm not sure. I'm not sure if that's just the internet or if that's actually how majority of people would respond.
Right. But, you know, it doesn't really matter because I love this haircut so much that it is worth people on the internet, not liking it, not getting it.
It's worth people sort of questioning parts of my identity, perhaps.
I don't care. I have nothing to prove.
You know what I mean?
I don't need people to understand or even know my sexuality or my, like, it doesn't matter to me.
It doesn't matter. The only time that that plays a, it's kind of like relevant is when dating.
Okay. And i'm not dating so i don't fucking care do you know what i mean if i was out and dating if i was like yeah then maybe it's like okay well you know this is something that i guess is going to be more relevant in my life or whatever but but even then even then you fucking like who cares you figure it out you talk to people and you learn about them and you figure out if you're compatible you know what i'm saying whatever whatever i don't care i don't care like it doesn't matter so anywho i love my fucking short hair i love my pixie i'm gonna keep going shorter and fucking shorter until I
have a goddamn buzz cut, because I love having short hair so much.
I think it is one of the best things I've ever done.
I love it. I absolutely love it.
And it is absolutely worth it.
And I'm grateful. I'm grateful to live in a time and to live in a place where, I don't know, I can cut my hair.
There's definitely, you know, some cultures and religions that don't believe in cutting hair on a woman or don't believe cutting a woman's hair.
And I'm not disrespecting at anyone.
Okay. But I'm just saying, I'm just grateful that, you know, I, I get to do that.
Um, if you, this is your sign.
Oh my God, here I go.
This is your fucking sign to get that pixie cut.
Okay. This is your fucking sign.
If you've been thinking like, oh my gosh, I get a pixie cut.
This is your fucking sign.
Me right now telling you this.
Um, anyway, that's all I have for today.
My pixie cut update, if you will.
That's it. That's my update.
Um, I hope that you all enjoyed this episode if you did new episodes of anything goes every thursday and sunday listen anywhere you stream podcasts watch video on spotify and youtube okay anything goes on social media at anything goes my personal social media is at emma chamberlain and check out my coffee company at chamberlain coffee .com or at chamberlain coffee on social media or sprouts whole foods where else sprouts whole foods albertsons target go pick up chamberlain coffee in a store near you.
Check out the store locator to see where we are close to you.
And that's it. Thank you all for listening to me talk for the last, I don't know, hour.
It's always a pleasure.
I absolutely love hanging out with you all.
It is so much fun. And I am just grateful for you all.
I appreciate you all.
And I love you all.
And I will be talking to you pretty soon.
Okay, so you won't have to miss me.
All right. I'll be back.
Bye. Love you all.
