Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Need some input for a possible fic idea.

I have a germ of an idea for a possible future fanfic, but in it Lois would have to suffer having her hair cut against her will.

Now I know what you all are thinking. Tank? Thinking of having Lois get her hair cut in one of his stories? Unheard of! Even so, I am contemplating it.

That's were I need some input. A little help from the gentle readers.

Now, I have no doubt that I can describe the physical action behind such a scene, but not being a woman, I need some help with the psychological aspects. I need to play up Lois' reactions to the act more than just the obvious.

I don't expect that any of you out there has ever had your hair forcebly cut against your will, but maybe some of you could still help.

If anyone has experienced a 'traumatic' haircut experience that they could relay, I'd greatly appreciate it. What I'm looking for is your emotional state both during and after the deed. What kind of thoughts were going through your mind, and what feelings did you wrestle with.

Any help with this would be much appreciated.

Tank (who thinks that if anyone has had their hair cut agains their will... even better )

When I was about 7, I had my hair cut short for the first time. By choice, so nothing traumatic about that. But not long afterwards I went into a shop to buy sweets (or whatever it is that 7-year-old me spent my pittance of pocket money on), and the woman at the till said something along the lines of...

"What can I do for you my boy."

I was mortified!!!

And even now - and let me stress that I am in no way mannish - whenever someone say's "can I help you, ma'am" a very small part of my brain goes 'Yes'!

Not necessarily helpful, but hey, it's an anecdote.

I've never had my hair cut by force but in college when I had my hair cut from almost to my waist the hair stylist (a man) asked me if I wanted a bullet to bit on because of the look on my face. I wanted it cut but it was such a big step that even once he started and it was to late to back out I was terrified as to what it would look like and had I made the right decision. So if you can picture the look on my face that made him asked me if I wanted a bullet to bit and maybe that will help you to picture Lois.

When I was about five my mom cut my hair SHORT and I was devastated.

However, my hair is currently down to my waist. It's taken me six years to get it this long. If someone were to cut it, especially against my will, I would be devastated. And then if the person had done it intentionally against my will, I'd feel violated as well. Its apart of me, maaaan!

And, even if the haircut was my idea, there would be tears!

-Catherine, who is SUCH a baby about her hair...

Ditto. Not against my will but as a senior in HS was cut MUCH shorter than I intended. I cried. I had the 'boy i the girls' bathroom thing in 3rd grade which scarred me for life.

Tears... lots of tears...

Carol

Thanks to those who have shared so far... more.

Maybe if someone could go visit Catherine and sneak up on her and chop her hair off while she's not looking, we can get a good reaction.

Tank (who was just offering a suggestion?)

GASP!!!

Fortunately, I am guarded well!



And there's a whole bunch more of em! But sadly I can only show 8 at a time :p

I'm a masochist with a touch of living on the edge, so I cut my own hair sometimes when it gets too split-endy. And there have been a couple of times when I cut it too short.

I wasn't traumatised, per se, but it wasn't pleasant. Also, when I was little, I always wanted long hair, but my mom and my grandma liked me with shoulder-length hair, so that's mostly where it stayed. Although now that I think about it, that was my fault for never actually telling them I don't want a haircut. And that was what prompted me to grow out my hair as long as possible as a teenager... though, sadly, I never quite managed to grow it as long as Catherine's. <g>

I also agree that having my hair cut against my will at this point would be traumatizing.

Julie

When I was around 8 or 9 I loved having long hair and when it was 15 inches below my shoulder (it wasn't that long, I know but my mother adn her sister thought otherwise...) my mom wanted to cut it at least at my shoulders level and my aunt to try to convince me told me that if I didn't go to have it cut she would come at night and cut it so the next 2 nights I tried to be alert so they wouldn' t do it , silly I know...

Never my hair has been cut against my will but when the hairstyilst would cut too much for my taste I use to give her an if-looks-could-kill, it was frustrating, I felt so frustarted when I felt it was cut too much...

Hope this helps,

Carolyn

I had long hair while I was growing up and always wanted to get it to my knees. I finally did and then, after nagging from sister/cousins/etc, got it cut-cut (as opposed to 'trim the nasty split ends off') for the first time when I was 20.

I planned it in advance - for weeks, actually, having made the decision to do it after my birthday. Went in, put it in a ponytail (so that I could donate it) and she snip-snipped the ponytail off.

I cried. Just stood there (it was too long for me to sit in the chair) and cried. She was really nice about it, and then trimmed what was left (still below my shoulders). I only cried that once, while she was cutting, but one thing that I do remember is afterwards, every time I brushed it/washed it/etc, I would keep going down, expecting more hair, and it would just stop. And it didn't make me upset anymore, but it was a shock every time.

Then six months later I got it cut into a 3rd season Lois haircut and people literally didn't recognize me until I talked. That was fun. But again, I would wash it and be surprised at how little there was (which would have upset me more had it been forcibly cut) and I *hated* styling it short. Took *way* more time and effort than having it long. Which seems backwards, but it's true. I've never gone that short/layered again. (I have gone for the 1st/2nd Season Lois bob since, but never the short short layered look. And never will. ...until I get the guts up to shave my head and need it styled as it grows out. )

Bethy

Bethy, that would be perfect.

You already have the Lois season 1-2 bob, so all you'd have to do is get it all shaved off and you could tell me how you felt during the experience.

That would work... wouldn't it?

Tank (who is just offering another suggestion)

The closest I can recall is when I had lice as a kid and had to get my hair whacked off. There was always a sense of disappointment, since I have a thing for long hair. I'd always refuse to let my hair be cut more then an inch when I was a child (and even now, come to think of it).

When it was cut, I'd feel kind of sad. Set back. Maybe robbed? but I don't know if that word is too harsh. And of course, there's always the mild sense of powerlessness since I was a kid having to do what Mom told me to. I imagine an adult would feel something related.

I drew comfort from Mom's insistence that it would grow back longer, and now that I know that strands die after a certain time anyway, I don't feel like it was such a permanent deal.

My $0.02

I also have never had my hair cut off against my will, but I do have long hair cut short about once every two years so I can donate it (cutting 12-15 inches every time). I always have my husband do the cutting. It's not as traumatic since I do it often and my hair grows quite fast, but since I just went through it a few weeks ago, the sensations are fresh.

For me, the hardest part is that no matter how long he cuts it, it always feels like he's cutting right at my scalp and I'm terrified it's going to be boyishly short - and since my hair is very thin, no one has ever found a style on me that really works, so I would look like a little boy. I would imagine this fear would be highly magnified if someone were forceably cutting my hair.

This time he cut it much shorter in the back than normal (but kept the front a bit longer so I can't really tell), but this means that I'm constantly running my fingers through the back of my hair to check that it's still there. (And my hair even cut short is still a bit closer to Lois' bob than the short hair of later seasons.)

Other things that are important for after the hair cut is that after you have a lot of hair cut off your head feels much lighter and at least for the few days until you get used to it, this means that you are super-aware of your hair all the time (or at least I am). And for the first few weeks I always use too much shampoo and conditioner when washing my hair, even when I think about it, it just doesn't look like enough until it's too much.

A few years ago I shaved my head for cancer, and even though I knew exactly what I was doing going into it, I still cried when the razor came close to my head. I did it with a friend though, so it wasn't as traumatic as it could've been, but I could imagine how awful having your heair cut forcibly would be. My spotty background in history is telling me that some group during some historical time period used to shave the heads of female traitors as punishment rather than executing them. It would be a social stigma that they would have to live with for months.

I also decided to go with a pixie type cut when I was nine, which was a huge mistake because I had a similar experience that other people mentioned where everyone thought I was a boy at first. Very traumatic for a prissy girl who had only learned to wear pants a short while ago.

I've had my hair seriously cut twice. The first time I went for this shoulder lenght style with a silly pony that was 'in' at the time. I was fourteen, with hair half way down my back. It was what I wanted, so I didn't mind it much at the time. In the shop, it even looked really good. But oooh, the next day! Boy, did I regret it a lot. I had it grow immidiately again.

The second time, I was 22 and thought it'd be neat to have a shorter style, so I didn't spent all that much time getting it ready. Well, was I ever wrong. It took me even longer, and it was too short to make a decent pony tail out of it. So yeah, I regretted that one as well, and my hair is now past my shoulders again.

For me, the hardest part was the regret afterwards. I cut it off because I wanted it, only to be miserable with the result in the long end. Kinda goes in the 'you don't know what you have until it's gone' category. I'd be devestated if my hair was cut without my approval.

Saskia

Sas - that's one thing I've always been afraid of. Whenever I get my hair cut that short [couple of times, regretted it both of them], I tell them it has to be long enough to put in a pony tail. Especially now, with 4 small kids, no pony tail isn't an option.

*shudder*

Carol

Up until I was about 9 or 10 I had hair till about mid back. However my mothewr grew tired of me never tying it back (except for school) so she made me get it cut. I didn't mind it though now I keep my hair short and the longest I've had it since then would be about shoulder length. I like keeping it short because it is so much easier to manage.

Tank said: LOL. I don't actually have the bob right now. That was a year and a half ago. Now it's past my shoulder blades and the goal was waist before I cut it again.

Not to mention the whole law school, old-fashioned fuddy-duddy interviewers and judges and all that jazz... I'm not sure how detrimental it would be to shave it now. I'm trying to schedule the calendar - possibly this fall will work. I'll let you know.

Bethy

Tank, there's actually a movie where this little boy wants to be a girl, and has longish hair so that he actually looks a bit like a girl. His parents forcibly cut it at one point, and he's pretty traumatized. It's called "La Vie En Rose." Of course, that's just fiction.

I've also read stories about girls with braids and somebody cuts off part (or all) of a braid, forcing them to cut the rest of their hair to match. Or Anne of Green Gables, who tries to dye her red hair black, ends up with green, and has to have *very* close-cropped hair until the green grows out. But, again, most of the stories I know are fiction, so that doesn't give you the *real* feeling.

What if you imagined something that were roughly the equivalent? Something done to yourself that is either irrevocable, or at least long-lasting, and changes the way you look or mars the way you look for a long time. Like somebody forcibly giving you a tattoo, or cutting your face and you fear that it will scar. Maybe those are slightly more permanent than a haircut (although tattoos can theoretically be removed and scars may be improved with cosmetic surgery), but it's something that would take considerable time or money to fix, and meanwhile would leave you looking different.

Meerkat said: Is it sick that the first thing that popped into my head was how a male might feel about circumcision? Of course, that's pretty irrevocable, so doesn't equate to a haircut.

If you don't have a beard (something inside me says this could be a possibility as a bass-playing mountain man from the edge of civilization, Minnesota), maybe ask Marcus how it would feel if someone shaved his beard while he was sleeping?

BJ