# Why do racist skinheads shave their heads? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 3, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-racist-skinheads-shave-their-heads/495175 "2009-05-03T14:45:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-racist-skinheads-shave-their-heads/495175/1 "2009-05-03T14:45:14Z")
What made the first guy decide “Hey, I’m just gonna cut all my hair off! That will intimidate people!” ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-racist-skinheads-shave-their-heads/495175/2 "2009-05-03T15:02:22Z")
In close-in fighting, it means that your opponent can’t use your hair to pull you off-balance or towards the ground… ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-racist-skinheads-shave-their-heads/495175/3 "2009-05-03T15:49:29Z")
[http://libcom.org/history/1960-today-skinhead-culture](http://libcom.org/history/1960-today-skinhead-culture) > **[Skinhead](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skinhead)** > > A skinhead or skin is a member of a subculture that originated among working-class youths in London, England, in the 1960s. It soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working-class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in the late 1970s. Motivated by social alienation and working-class solidarity, skinheads are defined by their close-cropped or shaven heads and working-class clothing such as Dr. Martens and steel toe work boots, braces, high rise and varying length strai... > **[Skinhead](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skinhead#Racism.2C_anti-racism_and_politics)** > > A skinhead or skin is a member of a subculture that originated among working-class youths in London, England, in the 1960s. It soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working-class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in the late 1970s. Motivated by social alienation and working-class solidarity, skinheads are defined by their close-cropped or shaven heads and working-class clothing such as Dr. Martens and steel toe work boots, braces, high rise and varying length strai... > **[White power skinhead](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_power_skinhead)** > > White power skinheads, also known as racist skinheads and neo-Nazi skinheads, and pejoratively known as Boneheads, are members of a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and antisemitic offshoot of the skinhead subculture. Many of them are affiliated with white nationalist organizations and some of them are members of prison gangs. The movement emerged in the United Kingdom between the late 1960s and the late 1970s, before spreading across Eurasia and North America in the 1980–1990s. > Scholar Timothy S. Br... ‘Skinhead’ started in the 60’s in Britain. It was more or less a working class backlash to the hippies. They worked blue-collar jobs and wore their hair short. Shaved heads came in the late 70’s, when punk got big in England. Racism and nationalism were not part of the skinhead scene until the late 70’s. Not all skinheads are racists. Not all guys who shave their heads are skinheads. Not all skinheads shave their heads. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Philosopher)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-racist-skinheads-shave-their-heads/495175/4 "2009-05-03T15:53:00Z")
Well, a shaven head can be often be intimidating - that’s not something skinheads invented, I think that’s a natural human reaction. Why we find shaved heads intimidating I’m not sure, maybe because hair helps us to humanize and distinguish between people, so a group of skinheads becomes a more inhuman, identical mass of aggressive males, which can be frightening. Another reason is that shaved heads are often mandatory for criminals and soldiers, so it has become associated with physically aggressive young men. Wiki says that ‘rude boys’ (criminals) in Jamaica in the 60’s all had their heads shaved, either because they’d recently been to jail or because they wanted to look like they had. There was a large amount of Jamaican immigration to the UK, where punk rockers adopted the style in the 70’s. Racist skinheads in America probably just picked it up like the punk rockers. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-racist-skinheads-shave-their-heads/495175/5 "2009-05-03T15:57:38Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](#): > > Well, a shaven head can be often be intimidating - that’s not something skinheads invented, I think that’s a natural human reaction. Why we find shaved heads intimidating I’m not sure, maybe because hair helps us to humanize and distinguish between people, so a group of skinheads becomes a more inhuman, identical mass of aggressive males, which can be frightening. Probably true. But on an individual basis, a shaved head is less than impressive if the owner has a skinny, misshapen skull. And [Mr. Clean](http://gingersnaps.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/mrclean1.jpg) still inspires confidence. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-racist-skinheads-shave-their-heads/495175/6 "2009-05-03T16:13:20Z")
> [@BMax](#): > > ‘Skinhead’ started in the 60’s in Britain. It was more or less a working class backlash to the hippies. They worked blue-collar jobs and wore their hair short. Shaved heads came in the late 70’s, when punk got big in England. Racism and nationalism were not part of the skinhead scene until the late 70’s. > > Not all skinheads are racists. Not all guys who shave their heads are skinheads. Not all skinheads shave their heads. I am aware of the difference and probably should have mentioned it in my OP (heck, my roomie shaves his head and that’s just cause he was balding at 24). It just seems odd that they’d know that people might mistake a non-racist for one of their own or vice versa. But it’s quite likely that I’m overthinking this. A shaven head is often shorthand for “scary/evil tough guy”, it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![kultron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e8cbc/32.png) [@kultron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kultron)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-racist-skinheads-shave-their-heads/495175/7 "2009-05-03T16:24:26Z")
I believe it originally started in Germany, as a way for former Neo-Nazis to show their solidarity with each other, and since they couldn’t don the uniforms and symbols of old, they thought of that new one. This with what the previous posters said, I think it evolved seperately within both England/America and Germany. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-racist-skinheads-shave-their-heads/495175/8 "2009-05-03T16:40:18Z")
This is just speculation, but I think it might also have something to do with showing commitment to the group. If you just wear clothes with racist symbolism, you can take them off, put on normal clothes, and no one will be the wiser. But if you shave your head - that’s going to take a while to grow back. It’s not as permanent as a tattoo, obviously, but it still says: This isn’t a game I play on weekends. This is who I am. eta: This is part of why prisoners and other people who society wants to shame have at times had their heads shaved. It takes a while to grow back, and meanwhile everyone can see who the outcast is. After World War II, women who had had relationships with German soldiers (or in some cases were merely suspected of it) had their heads shaved in some places, for just this reason. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-racist-skinheads-shave-their-heads/495175/9 "2009-05-03T16:40:31Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > A shaven head is often shorthand for “scary/evil tough guy”, it’s true. There is a lot of truth to that. Ernst Blofeld, the James Bond villain sported a chrome dome in the 60’s. Telly Savalas portrayed the sociopath Maggott in _The Dirty Dozen_, and Blofeld in _On Her Majesty’s Secret Service_. Professional wrestlers have been shaving their heads for a long time and portraying scary villains in films. I’ve been shaving my head for the last 15 years. I think that a shaved head accentuates whatever physical shape you have; ie, if you’re overweight, a shaved head makes you look like a real fatty, when I’m in shape, I look more buff and when I’m thin, I look really skinny. ---
**Author:** ![Cagey\_Drifter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-racist-skinheads-shave-their-heads/495175/10 "2009-05-03T21:40:21Z")
because they’re going bald. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-racist-skinheads-shave-their-heads/495175/11 "2009-05-03T21:45:10Z")
I thought they all had lice.