Boy, I have a totally different perspective. My mom cut my hair short every summer until I was a freshman in high school, so I never had long hair until then. Moreover, my hair grows so slowly that my hair could never get further than mid-back length before the old hairs died. As a result, I usually get tired of the intermediate stages and cut it again. So I can't even imagine feeling traumatized by having my hair cut.
I throw this in, Tank, so you realize that the reaction will depend on the character. As far as it being a forcible act, I think a character like Lois (who almost shrugs off escapes from death--i.e. she doesn't need therapy to deal with it) might compare it to what she had feared would happen (rape, torture) and figure she'd gotten the good end of the bargain. That doesn't mean she wouldn't be mad as hell at whoever did it and make plans to get her revenge as soon as she is free, but, frankly, Lois doesn't get traumatized by stuff that would send the rest of us into therapy for the remainder of our lives. Picture "Return of the Prankster": under that yellow light, Kyle and Victor undressed her and posed her in the middle of the newsroom, and all she did was take Clark's offered jacket and say, "Jimmy, give me back my dress," as she stormed off to plot how to have her revenge on Griffin when they captured him.
Just my 2 cents.
