week 13, post 1, hair cut prices

When walking in the city center, one might notice the big amount of hair salons that the town has similar to any other big city. While the hair styles tend to me more toned down across the board and few to break barriers with colored hair or extreme hairdos, there is still a big market due to the Swedish consumers interest in keeping their appearance up. There is something a little different about getting your hair done in Uppsala, because it matters not that you are a man or a woman, but how long your hair is. I went into a salon to inquire about prices for services and the price was determined by my 'shoulder length' hair, not the fact that I was a woman. In the States, regardless of whether my hair is one inch or one foot in length, I am charged the woman's price for a haircut, which is usually more expensive than a man's. While this might seem just a small difference, it is in support for what Sweden stands for regarding gender. The public also conveys a gender-neutral stance that I have spoken of in previous entries about mens and women's sections of stores and unisex bathrooms. By stripping haircuts of gender, the hair salons in the town do not force a consumer to choose which gender to identify with. The businesses act as supports for Sweden's widely known image of being a country that is more gender neutral for its government implemented social programs. By offering a gender neutral pricing menu, the customers can live their day-to-day life upholding these ideas as well.