There’s something about the boys buzz cut hairstyle that seriously divides opinion.
Check parenting forums around the internet and you will find plenty of topics on the matter. Some advocate that a haircut is a personal choice and that parents shouldn’t be overly controlling while others are resolute that they would never let their child get a buzz cut.
What is it that makes some parents so dead against it? Are all buzz cut kids bad kids? Of course not. But it’s a hairstyle that comes with certain stereotypes.
My lad is still too young to care about his hair, but there are a few kids in his school year already sporting buzz cuts. Knowing I will have to deal with this at some point soon, I decided to look into the subject and share my thoughts with you.
I’ve always had longer hair myself, so I had a lot to learn.
What is a Buzz Cut and Where Did it Come From?
A buzz cut is a style achieved using electric clippers to shave the hair close to the scalp. The name comes from the sound of the clippers buzzing as they cut the hair.
People can get different grades or numbers for longer or shorter lengths. A guard is attached to the clippers to ensure a uniform length all over.
A number 1 is almost totally bald, while a number 8 probably wouldn’t even be considered a buzz cut by parents who are against the style. Usually, when people talk about buzz cuts they mean a number 1, 2, 3 or 4.
Here is what each guard number translates to in terms of hair length:
- 0 Guard: No hair
- 1 Guard: 1/8 inch of hair
- 2 Guard: 1/4 inch of hair
- 3 Guard: 3/8 inch of hair
- 4 Guard: 1/2 inch of hair
- 5 Guard: 5/8 inch of hair
- 6 Guard: 3/4 inch of hair
- 7 Guard: 7/8 inch of hair
- 8 Guard: 1 full inch of hair
You can add fades for style too, so the hair is a little longer on top and gradually fades away as it gets lower towards the neck. This looks neater and is much more fashionable.
Different face shapes and hair types suit slightly different cuts, but it’s up to the individual.
Origins
If people knew where the buzz cut came from, they might be less keen on it.
It’s arguably most famous as a military haircut. Soldiers in both world wars would be given buzz cuts, but it wasn’t to make them look tough. It was for convenience and hygiene reasons. Super short hair didn’t get in the way. It also reduced the chances of lice what with all these men living in each other’s pockets.
How’s that for a fashion statement? Check out my anti-lice hair-do.
Nevertheless, it looked pretty cool.
Post war generations didn’t have to live through the same sort of hardships, so had more time to worry about being fashionable. At that time, well groomed side partings or slicked back styles were common. But as we know, youngsters have an urge to be different and ‘express themselves’.
In the never ending quest to feel edgy, rebellious and unique, young men began sporting buzz cuts as a statement. The thing is, since these were the more rebellious types, they also ended up giving the buzz cut a bad name.
For a while it was the hairstyle of yobs and thugs (think about the skin head subculture), and this unfair reputation still lingers today. Hence why some parents still won’t let their children have them.
Not Allowed in Schools?
I happen to think that when they have a buzz cut kids look rather smart. A boys buzz cut is also a dream to maintain saving precious time getting ready in the morning. However, due to the cultural stereotypes mentioned earlier, some schools have gone as far as to ban them.
That’s right, buzz cuts are not allowed in some schools.
It seems like a misdirected attempt at discipline if you ask me, but thems the rules.
The schools can be absolutely militant about it too. Which is ironic, given the buzz cut’s military roots. I have heard tales of teachers checking hairstyles at the school gates in the morning. Kids with hair that breaks the rules are ordered to change it or sent home.
It’s not just a UK issue either. One school in Colorado, America, sent a 9 year old girl home who had shaved her head. Why had she done it? To support her friend who had lost her hair due to cancer treatment. She didn’t want her friend to feel like the odd one out so she shaved her head and the school punished her for it.
Heart breaking.
The story made headlines and the school thankfully backtracked. It shows how seriously some schools take their uniform policy though!
So if you have given your boys buzz cuts over the holidays, you better hope their school allows them.
Are Buzz Cuts Only For Naughty Kids?
Absolutely not.
It’s madness to claim that a hair cut dictates the character of a child. Put it this way, if naughty kids were given longer hair styles do you think their behaviour would suddenly change?
People who make these assumptions don’t understand the difference between correlation and causation.
That said, if you like the look of a boys buzz cut and want your son to have one, you have to accept that people will judge.
In many ways it’s not their fault either.
We all make judgements. On everything. All day. It’s how we learned to survive thousands of years ago. Over many decades we have learned that, culturally, someone with very short hair is more likely to be dangerous.
Lots of kids who get into trouble sport buzz cuts of one sort or another. Lots of prisoners have them. Military men have them. Boxers and MMA fighters often have them. And I’ve already mentioned skin heads.
All of these people are associated with violence and aggression.
When I was reading the parenting forums, I saw the following words continually associated with buzz cuts:
- Poverty
- Chav
- Poor
- Scummy
- Violent
- Thug
- Yob
- Anti social behaviour
Rightly or wrongly, these are the associations many people make about children with buzz cuts. A 4 year old buzz cut kid is less likely to be labelled a chav than 14 year old one, but you get my point.
I strongly suspect these people are referring to the shortest styles though.
For a buzz cut kids will love but that schools and judgemental passers by won’t baulk at, consider a 6, 7 or 8. This is a best of both worlds situation.
The stereotypes around buzz cuts have changed a lot since I was a boy, and I think they will eventually disappear altogether. For now though, parents of kids with buzz cuts have schools and prejudices to contend with.
