When I was 12, I desparately wanted to dye my hair blue. My parents said no, explaining that if I wanted to get a job, others would be less likely to hire me with an unconventional hair color. In retrospect, I wonder what would have happened if my 12-year-old-self had referenced the legal working age and idea that 12 is the best time to have blue hair. Possibly because the idea of hair color relating to professional status had been engrained in my head so early, I had never dyed my hair a non-natural looking color.
During the months I exclusively wore red lipstick, I was surprised by the number of women who told me that they “loved the look, but could never wear red lipstick.” I conjectured that it may have been differences in confidence that predicted who may be more comfortable wearing a shade of red- at least in terms of ties, red is a power color after all. Post-purple hair, I started to reconsider my confidence conclusion about red lipstick: I had a very difficult time taking the leap to purple hair, but no hesitation with red lipstick. I care deeply about my career- perhaps even too much- I hate hate hate hate it when I can tell someone isn’t taking me seriously. I was admittedly afraid that purple hair would diminish my credibility with my business customers. Was this fear one of the after effects of my parents not allowing me to have blue hair when I was 12? Dying my hair purple took a bit of bravery and some luck with timing. I mention a lack of confidence making the move to purple because I think confidence can changer perceptions. If you’ve ever looked at those “Who wore it better?” Celebrity photos, the role confidence plays is often apparent. If you would have no qualms about dying your hair purple, your mileage may vary.
In the midst of “phase purple” I felt like other technical workers respected me more or were more willing to accept my influence. In general, I do find that those I work with respect my opinion; they have had time to get to know me and I essentially have time to prove myself. With unconscious biases, I find it takes me longer to ‘prove myself’ technically to certain personalities than others. Purple hair seemed to act as a catalyst- among technical workers I had more credibility faster. I didn’t notice much change in behavior from my business customers, though at the time I was working in a very dysfunctional department and it was a very mixed bag in terms of how much my business stakeholders appreciated data science to begin with.
Outside of the workplace, I noticed an increase in how often service professionals would greet me in elevators or make chit-chat. I wonder if purple hair made me seem less like “the man” or less likely to be some type of square authority figure and thereby more approachable.
Would I dye my hair purple again?
If I were in a role where I felt like I didn’t have enough technical influence I absolutely would. I’d love to collect more data about the influence on my interactions with others on the business side. Unfortunately, I was starting preparations to leave my company and only had purple hair as a transitional color on my way from blonde to interview-safe-brown.
Language as Code 