An edgy look does not mean I’m a delinquent

When you come into a room and you see a girl with a short haircut, tattoos and some piercings would you assume that she’s a rebel or a rule breaker? If your answer is yes you need to reevaluate everything you’ve ever thought about an edgy look. As a girl who’s had a pixie cut, has four tattoos, and a piercing on my lip known as a “monroe” and I can tell you that the stigma that girls with an edgy look are delinquents and trashy is just not the case.

The short hair

Short hair is a sign of confidence. Somehow girls with short hair have gotten a reputation as being these bitchy and cold creatures who hate men and this stigma has dominoed into men not approaching women with short hair and women not befriending women with short hair. Meanwhile, a girl with a short cut is expressing herself by not being afraid for her gorgeous face to show itself to the world at all times. It’s a cut that offers vulnerability so by deeming women cold and bitter to the world for having the guts to chop it all off, we are making women self-conscious to liberate themselves from a long haircut that they don’t feel connected to.

Women deserve to feel comfortable in their own skin. I know that I personally feel a connection to short hair. I feel more myself with it short and the longer it gets the more distanced I feel from the who I am when it comes to my style. Hair is a choice not a requirement. If I want to shave my head then I shouldn’t have to be afraid of the consequences of society when I choose to do so. No it doesn’t mean I went through a heartbreak and I’m a mess so I went to a pixie; it means I decided to choose confidence as a lifestyle instead of fear.

Tattoos

Tattoos are art. Art is such an important way for people to express themselves in a world where the abstract is still not so welcomed. My tattoos are a way for me to put meaningful art on my body that reminds me of my family and the lifestyle that I always wish to lead. I never understood why something so meaningful to me would possibly hinder me from being able to get a job one day. Our bodies are a canvas that can say so much if we allow it to. Now tattoos are not for everyone but if you feel drawn to filling up your canvas with designs that draw you in and fascinate you, you shouldn’t feel anxious about what the world will think of you afterwards.

My tattoos do not make me a badass or more susceptible to sleep with a guy. My tattoos are for me and me only. I didn’t get beautiful designs on my body so that men think I’m sexy or so that society thinks I’m dangerous. I got them because I wanted to. It’s really as simple as that. You don’t owe any explanations for what you choose to do with your own body and a tattoo does not make you any less qualified for a job. How does ink make me dangerous? How does a tattoo mean that I’m uneducated. I am currently attending Boston University and they didn’t ask me about my ink in my application process because it doesn’t change my accomplishments or what I’ve chosen to do with my life. So please if you try to use “you’re different” as a pickup line because of my look, rethink that decision.

Piercings

Piercings are a personal preference. I didn’t say you have to like them but you do have to respect somebody even if they choose to pierce themselves if you want to be considered a decent human being. Piercings are jewelry and people pierce parts of their bodies that they want to celebrate with some bling. All a piercing says is “hey I love this part of my body and I want it to always shine.” It most certainly does not detract from my beauty let’s get that straight. I was in New York City on a night out with my friends when a guy approached me just to tell me that I’m a beautiful girl and that I didn’t need that stud on my lip ruining it. Ruining it? I felt more than confident celebrating my plump lips by making them have a hint of sparkle when I talk.

Piercing shouldn’t hurt me from an office job, serving job, or a spot on broadcasting television one day. I’ve been told my piercing is unprofessional but I’ve never been given a real reason why. Instead of allowing customers to be frightened and intimidated by people with piercings, shouldn’t we change the stereotype by allowing us pierced citizens to work in fancy job places in all our sparkling glory?

The stereotypes that people have created around women and men with edgy looks has created a world in which only one particular look to be successful and is that really what a free country looks like? If I don’t feel comfortable looking that way should I really be denied success in my life? The bad connotation that the edgy style has surrounding them may not exist in the movies when everybody falls in love with the “badass” looking character, but in the real world it hinders the creative people from reaching their full potential everyday.