Do you love your freedom? Have you ever been told on how you are to look? Well in China at many of the public schools from elementary through high school they enforce a strict hair policy. A Chinese woman, Ripple, informed me firsthand of her experience and knowledge of the students’ loss of freedom with their hair. What I learned flabbergasted me.

Girl’s Hair Policy:

Curly hair is banned.

Some schools enforce NO bangs.

Hair has to be black (If you have natural highlights you must dye it black.)

If you have long hair it must be worn in a ponytail.

If you want short hair it must not touch your shoulders.

Hair accessories are banned.

Boy’s Hair Policy:

Some schools ban bangs.

Hair can not touch the neck.

Hair has to be black.

Bald heads and military cuts are banned.

If You Fail to Uphold the Policy’s Than….

1st offense: You are required to change it. Depending on the school you can be sent home or have a verbal warning to have it fixed by the next day.
2nd offense: Depending on the public school the 2nd offense varies. Some schools will talk to your parents and others will make a public announcement. In addition, the school would make you write an apology letter that will be publicly posted in the school.

Ripple informed me that sometimes if the student is difiant that the

teacher will cut the student’s hair on the spot. 

Ripple’s Personal Hair Story

Ripple regaled me with her personal story of her public school enforcing her to have her hair a certain way. She was on the stairs outside with her friends when the principle approached her and said she needed to dye her hair black because the sun was showing she had natural highlights. Ripple went to school the following day and during the public school assembly the principal announced that Ripple had not upheld the school’s hair policy (Let me stress this, he said this to the ENTIRE school.). After this announcement Ripple dyed her hair black and wrote an apology letter that was publicly posted in the school hallways.

I was completely shocked by her story. I was personally appalled that the schools would use shame as a way to keep students in line. What do you think? If you don’t want to follow strict hair policy’s you just don’t go to that school or go to a better school where policy’s are strict? Those are the options for many students in China. Loss of Freedom comes at a cost.

Note Chinese public schools differ some on these policies.

 If you care about your freedoms in the United States and want to be educated on them then read Reddit to stay inform on your freedoms.

10,000 Smiles

[smugmug url=”http://aprilmaura.smugmug.com/hack/feed.mg?Type=gallery&Data=30331147_tCmSpP&format=rss200&x=1″ imagecount=”100″ start=”1″ num=”100″ thumbsize=”Th” link=”smugmug-lightbox” captions=”true” sort=”false” window=”true” smugmug=”false” size=”M”]