Mysogyny again, damn

I went and got my haircut this last weekend at one of those haircut places that are supposed to cater to men. These places are supposed to have what men like, they have sports on a big screen TV, and you can get a complimentary beverage. Also the stylists are supposed to know how to cut a man's hair better or something like that. I have been to other places to get my haircut that are supposed to cater to men and really they are mostly the same as any other hair place, sometimes they have sports memorabilia around the shop and they have little TVs for you to watch while you are getting your hair cut. Now I like having the TV there mostly cause I don't really want to talk to someone while they are cutting my hair. It is relaxing for me to sit there in silence or whatever and watching a TV is nice. I think of it like some women like to read magazines while their hair is being cut, I like to watch TV and no it is not always sports, but yeah sometimes it is. So I got this flier in the mail for a free haircut at this place that is supposed to cater to men. So I figured I would go check it out. They have father and son deals, a little putting station for you to do while you are waiting, a checker board for you to do with your child (son really), a shoe shine station and a big screen TV to watch sports on. I don't have a kids, I don't golf and even if I did I wouldn't go to the salon to practice my putting, and I dont have any shoes that I need to get shined so this is just the same as any other place to me. So I get my haircut and I realize as I am there that this is just an up scale hair salon for men. You get this whole routine, they give you a hot towel after you are done, you can get a relaxing head massage and shampoo and each of the cutting stations is in its own separate little area so it is just you and the stylist. I guess this last fact is supposed to make it more intimate and more up scale, but usually it is like $25 to get a haircut at this place. I think that is a bit much, I normally pay $15 and that is including tip.

The point at which I realized that this was just another way to reinforce the idea that men are superior to women in society is the whole slogan for them: Where men feel comfortable. Yeah as opposed to everywhere else where men do not feel comfortable like the office, the gym, hell everywhere in our society. And then they add, Honorable rebellion among men. How rebellious is it to get your hair cut? There used to be a difference between where men got their haircuts at barber shops and the beauty salon for women, I guess, but really now these places are the same. There are no real barber shops anymore and most of the places I go to cater to both men and women. I guess there might still be beauty salons, but really don't they do more than cut a women's hair anymore? So again not so rebellious or special, just a place where men can feel like they are away from women and where we support that whole notion that men are better than women. But I couldn't help but notice that everyone who worked at the hair cut place was female, all of the stylists and the receptionist. Now I did got to a place a while back where there was a male stylist and I did think he did the best job with my hair, but that had nothing to do with his gender, he was just a good stylist. And this was at one of those general Haircuttery type places that are in every mall and strip mall it seems everywhere. Finally, I picked up a coaster that they had to put your complimentary drink on, soft drinks mostly but I did see some non-alcoholic beer, but I digress, there was this phrase on it and this is the point at which I knew I was going to have to blog about this place.

Isn't it refreshing to a little Honorable Rebellion Among Men?" The (place name which I will not name) is filling a void in American life that has as much to do with the restoration of men as it does with the business of haircutting.

The part that caught my eye...the restoration of men... Unless I missed something, men do not need to be restored. The patriarchy makes sure of that and we have not been in decline for over 5000 years, so what the hell are they restoring? And if they are referring to men getting their hair cuts and the decline of the barber shop, well then charging over $25 for a hair cut is not in the same vein as a barber shop, having a big fancy shop is not in the same vein as a barber shop and being in a strip mall and all corporate and shit is not in the same vein as a barber shop. My thinking of a barber shop is somewhere that is small and has been run by the same person or same family for a long period of time and somewhere that you can get a good haircut cheap. The place I was at does not fit into any of that. So it is just another case where men are supposed to feel like we are somehow been missing something and that women have taken over something and yet, the patriarchy makes sure that this will never happen unless we fight it.

I know I only catch probably one percent of the misogynistic messages that are broadcast constantly in our society, but it still sickens me ever time I realize that yet again, I have to be ashamed of my gender and the stupid things males do to try and reinforce the patriarchy.