# Why is a clean shaven head considered agressive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 5, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-clean-shaven-head-considered-agressive/577285 "2011-04-05T16:30:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-clean-shaven-head-considered-agressive/577285/21 "2011-04-17T01:45:47Z")
As I recall shaved heads came in first in athletics for members of the swim team back in the seventies. Hair is a PITA when you are swimming in heavily chlorinated water and some guys got tired of wearing bathing caps. I also seem to recall some college football team (University of Georgia?) that shaved their head for some reason and it became a fad. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-clean-shaven-head-considered-agressive/577285/22 "2011-04-17T03:05:52Z")
I used to swim quite a lot and I was never bothered by my hair. I didn’t even bother with a cap. In fact I liked the way the pool water lightened my already blond hair. What is supposed to be the issue with swimming and hair? I find bald and buzz cuts unappealing because I was exposed to a hospice at a young age where many of the patients were young - teens or twenties. The one striking similarity among all of the patients was that they were bald or had very little hair. This was a long time ago and I don’t remember many details. Maybe it was a cancer ward and the patients were showing the effects of chemotherapy. It was all a bit scary for a child as young as I wad. Ever since then I have been unable to shake the connection between being bald and deathly ill. A full head of hair subconsciously conveys an air of health and vitality. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-clean-shaven-head-considered-agressive/577285/23 "2011-04-17T06:21:00Z")
> [@ExcitedIdiot](#): > > This seems to suggest the opposite. > > From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Androgenic_alopecia#Theories_of_male_pattern_baldness): That doesn’t seem to cover deliberately shaving one’s head: clean-shaven seems to refer to facial hair. If you are young enough that you don’t look like you should be completely bald (and that covers a pretty large age), it comes off differently. I find it funny that when I actually see a bit of fuzz showing their receding hairline, I instantly think of them as older–even though I know intellectually that most people sporting this look (around here, at least) are doing it because of that receding hairline. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-clean-shaven-head-considered-agressive/577285/24 "2011-04-17T12:58:53Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > I used to swim quite a lot and I was never bothered by my hair. I didn’t even bother with a cap. In fact I liked the way the pool water lightened my already blond hair. What is supposed to be the issue with swimming and hair? When I was started lap swimming, I had very long hair. Swimming every day left me with a lot of split ends and frizzies, so I cut most of it off. Also keep in mind that members of the swim team are often in the water for hours a day. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-clean-shaven-head-considered-agressive/577285/25 "2011-04-17T15:53:46Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Pleas excuse any prejudice on my part, but it’s because _IT MAKES YOUR HEAD LOOK LIKE A **DICKHEAD.** _ So? Are you saying that’s a negative? And… you’re saying that anything that looks like a penis = aggressive? Do you cower when someone peels a banana? Whoa… paging Dr. Freud… _Here, lie down on zis couch and tell ze good doctor vhy you’re afraid of penii…_ ---
**Author:** ![whereismymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/49beb7/32.png) [@whereismymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whereismymind)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-clean-shaven-head-considered-agressive/577285/26 "2011-04-17T16:08:53Z")
My son who has gorgeous locks came for a visit the other day…had a hat on. i thought nada of it…then he took his hat off and he had no hair! I immediately thought if I didn’t know him and just saw him,first impression would be that of a skinhead.He just loooked like someone that could be really mean all of the sudden. I hope he grows it back out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-a-clean-shaven-head-considered-agressive/577285.md?page=1)