# Why are toupees ridiculed and scorned? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 26, 2010, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513 "2010-08-26T08:59:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/21 "2010-08-26T16:45:51Z")
> [@qpw3141](#): > > [You could apply the same logic to just about anything anyone does that affects their appearance. > > … > > By your logic, anyone who uses any technique to make a receding hairline less obvious - or any woman who uses subtle makeup - is a liar. > > Seems a bit extreme! No, it applies to people who TRY to improve their appearance but do it so ham-handedly that it looks awful, in fact, much worse than if they had just left things alone. The equivalent is a 80 year old woman who slaps on foundation with a trowel, and puts on so much cheap pink lipstick she looks like $2 hooker. It shows bad judgement and self-delusion in an extreme way. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/22 "2010-08-26T16:55:33Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Frank Sinatra made no secret about his wearing a toup. He owned dozens of them, and had a full-time employee dedicated to their upkeep. That’s actually a big part of it. People don’t make fun of good toupees, they make fun of bad toupees, and most toups are really bad. Look at actors like Shatner and Burt Reynolds. Back when they had good toupees, no one really cared. Then they suddenly had curly hair and more hair than before. On an old episode of the _Dick Van Dyke Show_, Alan Brady was outed as wearing a toupee. On his desk he gathered all his different models, including the “you need a haircut” style and the “ooh, he’s losing his hair” style. Few men make that kind of effort to keep their toupees looking natural. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/23 "2010-08-27T09:51:16Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > No, it applies to people who TRY to improve their appearance but do it so ham-handedly that it looks awful, in fact, much worse than if they had just left things alone. The equivalent is a 80 year old woman who slaps on foundation with a trowel, and puts on so much cheap pink lipstick she looks like $2 hooker. > > It shows bad judgement and self-delusion in an extreme way. Exactly the point I intended to make. There is “making yourself look nice” and then there is “thinking that you’re making yourself look nice when actually you’re turning yourself into Scary Clown Lady”. ---
**Author:** ![qpw3141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/6bbea6/32.png) [@qpw3141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qpw3141)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/24 "2010-08-27T10:01:59Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > > [@qpw3141](#): > > > > [You could apply the same logic to just about anything anyone does that affects their appearance. > > > > … > > > > By your logic, anyone who uses any technique to make a receding hairline less obvious - or any woman who uses subtle makeup - is a liar. > > > > Seems a bit extreme! > > No, it applies to people who TRY to improve their appearance but do it so ham-handedly that it looks awful, in fact, much worse than if they had just left things alone. The equivalent is a 80 year old woman who slaps on foundation with a trowel, and puts on so much cheap pink lipstick she looks like $2 hooker. > > It shows bad judgement and self-delusion in an extreme way. So, you’re only a liar if you lie so badly that everyone immediately knows it’s a lie? 😕 > [@Gyrate](#): > > > [@Hello\_Again](#): > > > > No, it applies to people who TRY to improve their appearance but do it so ham-handedly that it looks awful, in fact, much worse than if they had just left things alone. The equivalent is a 80 year old woman who slaps on foundation with a trowel, and puts on so much cheap pink lipstick she looks like $2 hooker. > > > > It shows bad judgement and self-delusion in an extreme way. > > Exactly the point I intended to make. > > There is “making yourself look nice” and then there is “thinking that you’re making yourself look nice when actually you’re turning yourself into Scary Clown Lady”. With all due respect, it wasn’t. You said: > [@Gyrate](#): > > I’ll go for the “liar” option. > > Toupees fall into the same category as combovers. Either the person is so deluded that he thinks it really looks natural, or else he thinks everyone else is too clueless to notice that it’s fake. > > In short, he’s either lying to you or himself. Neither conveys trustworthiness. You claimed that toupees and combovers indicate untrustworthiness. Now you seem to be saying it only indicates untrustworthiness if it’s noticeable. I can’t see the logic in saying that how good you are at covering up a lie can be taken as any indication of trustworthiness. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/25 "2010-08-27T11:11:33Z")
> [@Captain\_Midnight](#): > > Toupees are seen as fake, and people hate fake and equal it to being a liar or untruthful. Toupees are fake. I hate fake, but I don’t think that’s a prevailing view. The prevailing view is that faking is pretty much fine if you can pull it off. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/26 "2010-08-27T11:12:03Z")
It depends. A former coworker had an “off the rack” toupée that didn’t match his own hair at all. Plus, it had a part in the middle that didn’t go in the same direction two days in a row. This was of course ridiculed and scorned. Actually \*\*\*everything \*\*\*about the guy was ridiculed and scorned. On the other hand, one of my cousins wears a toupée, and it’s totally natural looking. He spent a fortune on it (he can well afford to), and he replaces it periodically as his own hair grays. I have never heard anyone ridicule his toupée. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/27 "2010-08-27T11:23:08Z")
I have a question…two actually: in the 18th century, most wealthy men wore wigs-they had their heads shaved, and wore wigs instead-why was this? Second: does Rod Blagojevich wear a wig? He appears to have a dead animal atop his head…same for Donald Trump! ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/28 "2010-08-27T11:48:28Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I have a question..two actually: in the 18th century, most wealthy men wore wigs-they had their heads shaved, and wore wigs instead-why was this? Hair lice? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/29 "2010-08-27T12:14:19Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I have a question..two actually: in the 18th century, most wealthy men wore wigs-they had their heads shaved, and wore wigs instead-why was this? > Second: does Rod Blagojevich wear a wig? He appears to have a dead animal atop his head..same for Donald Trump! Trump does not have a rug. He had an amazingly complex comb-over. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/30 "2010-08-27T12:25:38Z")
> [@qpw3141](#): > > With all due respect, it wasn’t. It was indeed the point I intended to make. I just didn’t make it very well. > [@](#): > > You claimed that toupees and combovers indicate untrustworthiness. > > Now you seem to be saying it only indicates untrustworthiness if it’s noticeable. > > I can’t see the logic in saying that how good you are at covering up a lie can be taken as any indication of trustworthiness. Because of the aforementioned added layer of delusion. The person who engages in personal beautification presumably does so for aesthetic reasons. But the person who does so and only manages to make themselves look blatantly worse, as I said, is either self-deluding or thinks that you are too stupid to notice. It’s not just “lying”, it’s lying about lying in the face of obvious truth. I think that’s Blago’s actual hair. [Trump’s too.](http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01106/Donald_Trump_1106836c.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/31 "2010-08-27T12:26:10Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > It’s not because people with toupees are equated to being liars. It’s because they wear toupees out of vanity and conceit instead of accepting their age, yet most toupees don’t fool anyone. Which makes them prime targets for The Funny, since they accomplish the exact opposite of their purpose, i.e. make someone who wishes to be more beautiful look ridiculous, and draw attention to the man’s baldness combined with the fact that he can’t deal with it and/or cares about his appearance. > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > In general, though, it’s also expected that women will do artificial things to alter their appearance, but not men. It’s expected that women will wear makeup, but not men. Vanity is seen as a de facto feminine trait. Therefore vanity in men is seen as effete and unmasculine – as weak. > > A rug, in particular. is seen as effete because it shows vanity over a particularly “feminine” issue – hair. I think these two snippets pretty much sum it up for me. Us men are all going to age, and some of us will start losing hair. Deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/32 "2010-08-27T19:20:44Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I have a question..two actually: in the 18th century, most wealthy men wore wigs-they had their heads shaved, and wore wigs instead-why was this? When the king goes bald, everyone at court had better start wearing a wig, so he blends in. And in the 18th and 19th century, there was a lot of syphilis going around, which makes your hair fall out. ---
**Author:** ![PunkyPoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@PunkyPoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunkyPoo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/33 "2010-08-28T21:14:02Z")
Hhhhmmm. There are only a few things that socially we’re allowed to make fun of – toupees and people who are overweight. Not really sure I understand why making fun of either is appropriate. Now let me get back to cleaning my rug and my hoho. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/34 "2010-08-28T21:20:41Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > a) Toupees are almost always very clearly a toupee, and as such look peculiar. See the uncanny valley effect. > b) Television can be quite forgiving. From what I’ve heard, [KITT](http://www.alvionharris.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/mickael-and-kitt.jpg) from the old Night Rider show had nearly all of his panels held on with black duct tape. On TV, you couldn’t tell. That Shatner is wearing a toupee may not have been obvious to you, seeing him on TV, but meeting him in real life it may be glaringly obvious. Seen a candid photo of Hugh Laurie on his way to the grocery store lately? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/35 "2010-08-28T21:28:49Z")
Charlie Sheen. Good hairpiece, but I vote hairpiece nonetheless. If you are going to be a liar about something, at least have the courtesy to the rest of us to put an effort into it. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/36 "2010-08-28T21:42:14Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I have a question..two actually: in the 18th century, most wealthy men wore wigs-they had their heads shaved, and wore wigs instead-why was this? > Second: does Rod Blagojevich wear a wig? He appears to have a dead animal atop his head..same for Donald Trump! Blago is Serbian. He’s genetically prone to having hair with the same density as a sea otter. See a google image search for Serbian hair: > **[serbian hair - Google Search](http://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl=en&biw=796&bih=652&tbs=isch:1&q=serbian%2Bhair&oq=&tbm=isch)** ---
**Author:** ![clarkstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@clarkstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clarkstar)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/37 "2010-08-29T10:32:01Z")
because most look stupid ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/38 "2010-08-29T17:51:38Z")
I’m guessing there are a lot more guys that DO wear toupees, but because they are better quality, you don’t notice. But when they’re cheap and bad, you DO notice. And it looks ridiculous. Unflattering. Same with make-up. It’s not meant to look “fake”, but flattering. Yes, you know a woman is wearing make up, but it’s not supposed to make her look like a clown, but to flatter her natural skin tone, shade of hair, etc. It’s not the fact that it’s a toupee – but whether it’s a cheap, crappy looking toupee. Same with make-up, clothes, etc. Combovers, however, almost ALWAYS look bad. I remember when I was in high school, and I worked at a local groccery store. We had this one guy who came in with the mother of all bad combovers. He only combed the FRONT PART of his hair over, so he had this big bald circle in the middle of his head, and since he was seriously balding, it looked so ridiculous. People, it’s not so much about _fake_, but _fashion_. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/39 "2010-08-30T00:00:51Z")
Another female’s perspective: If they’re well-fitted and tasteful, why not? I’m personally sick of the bar bouncer bald look that even younger men have been sporting for several years now. Yes, I have seen many atrocious examples of hairpieces. Technology and time will eliminate the dead animal look! ---
**Author:** ![Stoneburg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Stoneburg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoneburg)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513/40 "2010-08-30T00:34:19Z")
I really had to stop and think about this question, because I had never considered it before. What I came up with, before I read the replies was: Maybe it is because caring about your appearance is considered un-manly. And men on some level find “un-manliness” or femininity in other men disturbing. So we use ridicule to distance ourselves. Basically we joke about men who are wearing toupees to signal that we’re not vain, because being vain would be close to being feminine/gay. Of course you can also make fun of toupees because they’re of bad quality or just makes people look funny or stupid, but that’s not as interesting. The interesting question is why we make fun of toupees that look good and realistic, or the phenomenon of wearing toupees. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-toupees-ridiculed-and-scorned/551513.md?page=3)