And, yeah, there's a nationwide consensus in Japan that you call bald people skinhead because in katakana their word for bald is スキンヘッド, pronounced su kin he do.
They actually adopted the term from the Brits, who are the only English-speaking individuals, to my knowledge, who continue to use the derogatory word to describe a bald person.
This means Prince William and Jason Statham probably call themselves skinheads.
My retort over the years: "No. Calling someone a neo-Nazi is what’s offensive to the rest of the world, except in the UK because..."
Quick lesson for English language learners.
(credit)
(link)
Gave 'em this kind of gaze:
(2012)
Still, I denied that my hair was actually thinning.
(Early 2013: smoking a Cuban in Costa Rica)
(Late 2013)
Survey says women generally find bald guys attractive.
(credit)
Katakana is a version of English that Japanese use to avoid actually speaking English.
Someone in the media decided that bald people in Japan are called skinheads, and the derogatory word spread like a virus throughout the country.
In general, the Japanese believe all English speakers, rather than just Brits, call bald people skinheads.
They have other terms, but this is the agreed-upon one the general public uses.
A few times, I've told Japanese friends, "Just say bald."
"That's offensive," is what I always heard back.
A few times, I've told Japanese friends, "Just say bald."
"That's offensive," is what I always heard back.
My retort over the years: "No. Calling someone a neo-Nazi is what’s offensive to the rest of the world, except in the UK because..."
Quick lesson for English language learners.
This is a skinhead:
(credit)
These were thirty-minute conversations that often went misunderstood. The listener pretends to care, and they still say "su kin he do," in Japanese like it's not offensive.
Plus, there’s a stigma that comes with bald men:
We all have a low self-esteem about it.
My friends cackled as if they had me there or something.
To make jabs at me, my pals decided to go after
something I genuinely don’t care about.
They have a misconception that all bald guys hate not having hair.
For me, it’s the opposite.
My journey started when I was twenty-six years old.
I had complained to my brother about my character defects, adding, “What’s
next? I start losing my hair?”
I laughed.
My brother dramatically touched my shoulder. “Actually, your hair is thinning in
the back.”
He acted like I had a fatal disease.
First, I denied it was happening at all.
Time went on.
More people made comments about my hair loss.
I saw a guy with a Mohawk
and said to a friend, “I could grow one of those. That'd look cool.”
“Not with what you’ve got going in the back,” he
replied. “You should shave it off,” was his unsolicited advice.
I ignored him, thinking he was just picking on me.
No way
I was losing my hair.
(link)
When I was seventeen, it touched my shoulder blades and still would if I wanted it to.
(Late '90s)
I got it cut short at twenty to look more professional.
(early 2000s)
I wore newsboy caps all the time and walked around in the rain
without an umbrella.
Plus, I smoked for fifteen years.
To my knowledge, there’s no scientific proof that any of the factors cause
baldness, but there's far and wide speculation.
I took my hair for granted and started to pay the price without realizing what was going on.
(2011)
When I noticed, perhaps a little . . . tiny . . . minor . . . minuscule bit
of thinning, I tried to save it, pleading for tips from family and friends on how to keep my precious where it was.
(link)
My hair was so rad, others would ask for treatment tips.
Reflecting, it was actually too pretty for a guy as ruggedly awesome as me.
Reflecting, it was actually too pretty for a guy as ruggedly awesome as me.
Nonetheless, I demanded hair treatment prescriptions from a doctor, and spent hundreds of dollars for two years
on baldness prevention products.
Still, I denied that my hair was actually thinning.
At 30, I got a terrible haircut and snapped at the stylist who mutilated me because he went shorter than I'd ever had it.
I paid
and tipped out of guilt for my attitude.
The truth... it was the
first time I saw for myself what was happening to me.
January 19, 2014, I turned 31 and went clothes shopping.
There
I was, in the changing room, with mirrors on all three walls, and finally got a good look at
the back of my head.
Indeed, I had begun to form what’s known as a balding crown.
Like the Naked King, the problem was obvious to everyone except me.
So I went to the nearest barber shop.
My intention was to get
my hair short enough to make the thinning appear unnoticeable.
Only, no matter how
short the poor lady trimmed my dead cells, it was clear I was still
losing stuff up top.
Told her, “Shave it all off.”
Never seen someone so terrified. “Are you sure, sir?”
“It’ll grow back if I don’t like bald, right?”
“Um, I think so,” she replied not so reassuringly.
“It’s only hair. Do it.”
You know what?
My head’s never looked
so good.
I was meant to be bald.
It’s now difficult to wear newsboy caps, for which I once never went without, because I enjoy showing
off what I’ve got.
(2014-15)
Yet, for some reason, people think it’s negative that I don’t
have a head of flourishing hair. If I wear a hat, friends of mine assume it’s because I want to hide
the fact that I’m bald.
Most notably, someone asked, “Did you wear that cap the
other day because you’re embarrassed about, you know, being bald?”
“No, it’s because I’m cold up there sometimes.”
My brother made a wish—he’d trade hairstyles if it were possible because he views baldness as a problem.
“But I love being bald.”
Shaving's also fun now. I went all out and bought a
special badger brush and a Heavy Duty Double Bladed Safety Razor for guys like me who
are serious about what they use to shave.
These days, instead of people asking me how I got my hair to look so good, they say, “Bald looks amazing on you.”
Plus, studies show men lose their hair because
they have tons of testosterone, which leads to longevity during intercourse.
Sorry, folks, but what’s there to have a low self-esteem about here?
Want to talk about how women feel about bald men, as my friends did the other day?
Survey says women generally find bald guys attractive.
Talking the Mister Clean
style shave, not Crown and Glory.
(link)
Word on the street is a lack of confidence is a turnoff, not a cleanly shaven head.
There’s a lot about my looks I’d change if possible.
Being bald isn’t one of them.
Being bald isn’t one of them.
Personally, I’m stoked to be in the same club as bros like
Patrick Stewart 
,
,
Vin Diesel
,
,
Bruce Willis
,
,
Jason Statham 
, and basically the entire male
cast of Breaking Bad 
.
, and basically the entire male
cast of Breaking Bad 
.
To top it off, one of my greatest mentors happens to be bald.
Future reference to my bar buds, if you’re going to
tease me about something, bald-bashing won't work.
