Lately at Bellefonte High School,  many students have experienced rude comments from other classmates, or even people they barely know. Whether they’re walking down the hall or hearing whispers or snickers behind their backs, students are receiving the wrong kind of attention based on how their hair looks. 

Why be mean to someone just because they don’t fit the exact image in your mind? Why does someone having red hair bother you? How does the girl with green hair walking down the hall impact your day? Why does the boy with blue hair, reading a book in the library, bother you? 

Those people were not made to fit in a tiny box; they want to express themselves. They are not barbies; others don’t get to pick the way they look. Their body is not your body; it is wholly theirs. They can do as they please, and aren’t they entitled to their own freedom to express themselves? So, what is the problem? They’re just expressing their rights, don’t others do the same? 

An article from Business Wire states that “the Hair Color market in the U.S. is estimated at $6.3 billion in the year 2020.” But the spending on hair color doesn’t stop with our country. The article continues to project that “China, the world’s second largest economy, is forecast to reach a projected market size $7.8 billion by the year 2027 trailing a CAGR of 9.9% over the analysis period 2020 to 2027.” If it is not a problem in the world, why is it a problem here at Bellefonte?

We are our own people, each and every one of us, no matter if our hair is dyed or not. Some “hair-dye bullies” even go as far to say it’s “distracting.” Which is weird, because bright blonde hair or brown hair could be a distraction to us too, right? 

Words hurt. While some people might think that making tasteless comments about dyed hair is just a simple joke, it is far beyond that. A high school should not be a place where people have trouble trying to be themselves. We are all human, so why can’t we act like it?  Have some human decency, let people live without judgement…because if the roles were switched, it would be just as upsetting. – learn to be kind and control those actions. We are on our way to being adults, it’s time to stop acting like children.