THE GIRL WITH THE BOY CUT.

Cover drawing by KB Divya 

Short hair would be an understatement. My hair is like super short. What most people would call the "boy cut". But now, since it’s become a thing, it’s got a term. A proper term - "pixie cut". The word is taken from those little teeny tiny fairies that some of us would have watched in cartoons.  I am pretty sure y'all know that.

 A pixie is more of a variant rather than the short hairstyle itself in general but now let’s not go into it because this post is not about the different pixie hairstyles. Nope! This is about the social experience of wearing a pixie. These are personal experiences from where I live, that is India. You might relate to some, some maybe not. I have many stories to tell but I’ll pick out the best ones and believe me, it’s going to be hilarious ahead.

The Classic confusion: Are you a boy or a girl?

Okay! So this question right here, I have been answering this my whole life. Sometimes it’s really weird but mostly it’s just funny. Now in my experience there are two kinds of situations one might face:

1. The investigative stare from a distance.

I had just got a haircut that day. It was totally cropped up and you know how your hair looks just after it’s freshly cut. So that day I was cycling by to go somewhere When I overheard this guy (who by the way looked perplexed by the sight of me) asking his friend in the local dialect,
"dude, is that guy or girl?" 
His genuine befuddlement at my unconventional haircut gave me a good laugh.

2. The more direct question.

Once,I was out walking my dog on the street when these two kids, 10 year olds maybe, were walking back from school. One of them suddenly asked - "Excuse me, are you boy or a girl?" 
Now, that was so direct coming from a kid that I was literally dumbfounded. I just stared at her for a solid 5 seconds and just walked away. Yes, walked away! 

Then a more recent encounter was when I went to write a competitive exam. As part of the rules we all had to undergo frisking. It seemed liked there were separate lines for boys and girls. So I went and joined with the girls. The frisking lady starting frisking and then suddenly she is like-" OH! You are a girl?"

I wonder what made her realise that all of sudden. Why would a guy want to be frisked by her anyway?

Guys mistaking me for guys!

I was attending an NCC camp once. The mess which is common for all is often packed with people. So I was walking by when this guy out of nowhere put a hand on my shoulder and started walking with  me and started off with the - " so dude , where you from?" routine. Well, of course I had to break to him the reality and I said -" Dude,I ain't a dude !" 
Now, that is one weird sentence and with a lot of Ds.

Inquisitive Relatives.

Now this isn't a one time offer, for they will give their unsolicited remarks on your hairstyle all the time .

One of them would say-"Why don’t you grow out your hair?" or a more forward -"You should grow your hair long" and then I would just politely smile off the array of questions coming at me.

Then one of them would ask -” But like why do you have such short hair, like why?" and I say, which is pretty obvious-   "Because, I LIKE IT."

For some reason that is very difficult to comprehend for them.

So, this is it. Well these were just a few of the many funny incidents. But, it really doesn’t matter what anyone says, if you want short hair. Get it done! Your hair can grow out you know so there is always room for experimenting. And incidents like the ones above are just a part of the experience. You will just have better and funnier stories to tell. If any of you ever experienced something hilarious like this, don’t keep it to yourself! Do Tell and share a laugh.