In The World’s Greatest Shave people shave off all their hair in support of those doing chemo. I very much support research into cancer and fundraising to support it. If children in a class decide to support their classmate who is going through chemo by going bald in solidarity, or a best friend, sister or mother does this in solidarity with a woman going through chemo for breast cancer, I can support that. There’s no distaste there. But sometimes a good idea gets exploited to the level it can feel distasteful, tacky and doesn’t sit right. For example, touting the voluntary and competitive shaving off of one’s hair as martyrdom or serious bravery that compares with the experience of cancer and chemotherapy may just feel irky, self aggrandising and be both minimalising, misleading and alienating for those who did the real deal.

a) Shaving off your hair in a fundraising competition for the biggest fundraiser has no relationship whatsoever to how it emotionally feels to those going through chemo or what happens to hair when it falls out from the roots, nor anything at all like how it grows back after chemo.

b) The World’s Greatest Shave unintentionally spreads a stereotype that the toughest thing about chemo is a bald head (are you F*&^%$#@ kidding try having your brain, bowel, bladder etc all screw up on you because of chemo side effects not to mention collapsed veins, thrush everywhere, constant mouth ulcers, fatigue and that it is ALL body hair and nails and skin and all your blood cells that are damaged) and this means those struggling to work during chemo have sometimes been met with ‘so what, so you lost some hair, get over it’.

c) with all the ‘be brave and shave’ how many of those lucky enough to have the choice actually came along to support their pal at the chemo ward? How many friends shaved their own heads in support of a pal who was feeling ashamed, reduced, ravaged by cancer without thought for the fundraising kudos? It’s all exciting to mimic the baldness of chemo as their own bravery and excitement but its really odd to someone who has been through the real deal.

Would we put on ‘black face’ to raise money for African AIDS orphans? How about non-autistic people can stim autistically all day to raise money for autism?

Sure, it raises money. We have a poster here: sausage sizzle $2, bouncy castle $5, face painting $6, head shave $10… so its an amusement park novelty, plus of course the ‘brave’ shaver gets a great ego massage full of fund raising kudos… how sweet 😉 . But I can tell you that when you are really bald from chemo its not an ‘achievement’, its hard to feel equal (not to mention you know all your hair is gone from all your body and likely you have had your tits cut off and feel sick) so all the glitz and ‘fun’ of it, sort of feels weird.

I just say, well if a bunch of white people blackfaced to raise money for people in Africa would I join them. F&^$ off! What ever happened to a good old fund raising walk? Guess people can’t enjoy the surprise and shock of their friends at the exciting novelty of seeing them … drum roll…. insert shock, insert horror…. yes… ‘tragically BALD’ (groan) and all (insert martyr flag) in self sacrifice (insert puke) for the victims (insert eye roll) of cancer (insert alienation).

Donna Williams, BA Hons, Dip Ed.
Author, artist, singer-songwriter, screenwriter.
Autism consultant and public speaker.
http://www.donnawilliams.net

I acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Owners of this country throughout Australia, and their connection to land and community.