There’s A Reason Some Boys With Long Hair ”˜Look Like Little Girls”˜

shutterstock_139164509I have never been a fan of little boys with long hair. This has absolutely nothing to do with sexism and the way that a little boy should or should not look, but I personally do not like the way it looks, at all.

Unfortunately, if I had seen blogger Jennifer Canvasser’s young, adorable, long-haired son in real life, I might just have been one of the people who judged him, even though she has a heartbreaking reason for keeping his hair long.

According to Jennifer, her son is often mistaken for a little girl. Strangers, friends, and family ask the question, ”Why is his hair so long?”

Very few people understand what my family and I have been through, and that seemingly insignificant things — like a little boy’s hair — actually hold deep meaning to a mother who lost her son.

Zachary’s hair is long because Micah’s never will be. When my son Micah was born, he had a head full of thick, beautiful hair. When Micah became critically ill with necrotizing enterocolitis and end stage renal disease, he lost all of his hair. Micah went bald. Seeing Micah bald, after he had a head full of gorgeous hair, was a constant reminder of how fragile and sick he was. As Micah’s health improved, his hair grew back and thickened. When Micah’s health declined, his hair fell out and thinned.

I love this blogger’s honesty, and if she ever reads this post link back to hers, I just want to say to her: Thank you for putting yourself out there and sharing your difficult story, even with the huge potential for criticism and backlash. Trust me when I say that I know how hard it can be to stay open as a blogger.

If someone had asked me how I felt about long hair on little boys, I would definitely have had an opinion about it. But Jennifer has given me something to think about. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with the fact that I do not find long hair on little boys (and I’m over my high school love for greasy rockers too) aesthetically pleasing, but my opinion has nothing to do with this woman’s family.

I’m going to remember her story and think about it the next time I want to share a pointless opinion. It never ceases to amaze me that even something so small could have a deep meaning for someone. We never know what someone is going through, until we ask them.

(Image: Zurijeta/Shutterstock)

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