Female buzzcuts have been in our history for decades, worn by women from all walks of life. It is stereotypically related to a rebellious/punk-like attitude. In history, the female buzzcut is an important symbol in both black and queer culture. This year many creatives are experimenting with the limitless possibilities of the buzzcut, read more to find out the Buzzcut Hairspiration of 2020.
For females, deciding to rock a buzzcut can be a tricky decision. There is the decision to go for short hair, then, there are buzzcuts - leaving absolutely no hair so you look pretty much bald.
Female buzzcuts have been in our history for decades, worn by women from all walks of life. It is stereotypically related to a rebellious/punk-like attitude. But in history, the female buzzcut is an important symbol in both black and queer culture - it's been used as a method to combat gender norms and white ideas of femininity.
The buzzcut has been long embraced by women of colour, black icons such as Grace Jones and Pat Evans have been proving that conforming to white beauty standards is not a must. Pat Evans, the highest-paid model of the '70s chose to shave her head in defiance against an industry that did not embrace black beauty values. In an interview with Ben Arogundade, she says "I decided to make the strongest aesthetic protest she could — by adopting a bald-head shave."
The blad-looking hairstyle is also integrated greatly with queer women and the battle against heteronormative beauty ideals. Not every queer woman has short hair, and not every short-haired woman is queer, but short haircuts have regularly become connected with queer identity. Women are holding on to their locks to hold on to their femininity. Women are still, even in 2020, implored by market forces to attract men with their bodies. Actress/producer Lena Waithe, shaved off her dreadlocks in 2018 and commented to Variety saying “I felt like I was holding onto a piece of femininity that would make the world feel comfortable with who I am.” But once she had done it she said: “I'm so free and so happy and so joyful”.
With celebrities across the world such as Jessie J, Adwoa Aboah, Angelina Jolie, Halsey, Slick Woods following the buzzcut trend, it’s something that is becoming more and more enriching on our social media feeds. Today's buzzcut hairspirations are more much more lucid and inclusive, with anybody being able to rock the hairstyle without being stereotyped. As hair is chopped off, creativity grows. This year many creatives are experimenting with the limitless possibilities of the buzzcut, from painting shapes to writing words and even glamming up the hairstyle with gems or flowers.
One Instagram account that is proving the endless amounts of hair-fun is Rebecca (@mateydesr) from Ukraine. She provides bold and cutesy colours with nostalgic designs. Rebecca has had the chance to collaborate with HypeBeast for a buzzcut pink leopard-print tutorial as well as combining mother nature into her work and inspiring thousands across Instagram.
Another buzzcut hairspiration account is @janinazais, a striking hair artist with a passion for outstandingly detailed designs. From painting a head-sized ying-yang to a 'no photos' labelled buzzcut for fashion brand Ground Zero Clothing. The most iconic hairspirations on the account have proven to be the pink sad face, batman and optical illusion designs - which have made it onto leading creative accounts such as Dazed.
The last buzzcut hairspiration account is owned by a freelance hairstylist from Moscow called @sevanova. Using natural elements such as leaves, flowers and grass the hairstylist can create an Alice in Wonderland-like forest from less than 2inchs of hair. Combining glitter and gems into her projects the creativity shines right through. A personal favourite of the designs is the #goldboy pin post, sticking loads of golden cork-board pins onto the buzzcut to create golden-metallic strands of hair, sharp to the touch.
Words by: Izabel Rose