“To be with others, you have to have your hair short and wear ties. So we're trying to make a third world happen. You know what I mean?” — Jimi Hendrix Many young Egyptian men and adolescents are into psychedelic rock and rock blues these days, though this may have nothing to do with perhaps the greatest rock instrumentalist in history, the African American Jimi Hendrix. Instead, it may have more to do with making “a third world happen”, as Hendrix so aptly put it. For decades, the notion of men wearing their hair long has been frowned upon in Egypt. Indeed, most Egyptian men crop their hair very short, military-style. However, today even “Afro” hair is back in fashion, and for the more adventurous young people hairstyles inspired by native American and ancient Kushitic cultures are becoming increasing fashionable. One floppy-fringed adolescent approached on the subject shrugs. “I like my hair long, and many of my friends do too,” Islam tells Al-Ahram Weekly. “My parents don't mind. They protested at first and then gave up,” he said. Many young people are apparently searching for hairstyles that give them a trendy and stylish look. Why this should be so at this particular historical juncture is a mystery. Egyptians traditionally have a wide range of hair types. Few have straight hair, and most have wavy, curly or kinked hair. As a result, a seemingly endless variety of hairstyles is possible, and Egyptian youngsters are now experimenting with these different styles. This is a predominantly urban phenomenon, but it is one that cuts across class boundaries. Long hair is not unfamiliar in poorer areas, and it is quite common in upmarket districts of Cairo and Alexandria and is even occasionally spotted in provincial towns. There is a bewildering array of ways in which Egyptian youth and adolescents sport the new, mainly African American-inspired hairstyles. The 25 January Revolution may have given impetus to this phenomenon, since many of them may be trying to find hairstyles that reflect the revolutionary youth's unapologetic bravado. Just like the new mahraganat or “festival” music now common in many of the poorer areas of Cairo, with its lyrics about partying, unemployment, poverty and politics and its wild rhythms to match, some of the new hairstyles have rebellious connotations. A hairstyle that can give the rebellious youth a “cool” look, as some African Americans would no doubt say, is developed with devotion, and those with more unruly or frizzy hair often use gel to give their hair sheen. However, this type of hairstyle is also sometimes regarded by wealthier Egyptians as being “cheap” or “common,” in Egyptian parlance baladi, the exact equivalent of the Caribbean slur “country” style. The term baladi does not imply any geographical designation, for the new hairstyles are almost never seen in the rural backwaters of Egypt, either in the Delta (northern) or Upper (southern) Egypt. Yet, such hairstyles are not uncommon in the fashionable seaside resorts on the Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts or in Sinai. The youngsters want to put on a good impression for their friends and girlfriends. They abhor a conventional look. For them, first impressions are last impressions. Mohawk and African American-inspired “twisted” styles are popular. Hairstyles that allow naturally curly hair to flow onto the shoulders, giving the hair more volume, are also in vogue. Braids and cornrows are not particularly popular, even though one can always spot one or two young men sporting them. There are those whose hair is wavy, and these sometimes sport a pony tail. Military service and compulsory conscription mean that young men must shave their hair off when they join the army. As a result, many of them take advantage of their years in university and other educational institutions to grow their hair long before they, like the Biblical Samson, are forcibly shorn of their locks. This traumatic haircut often comes as an affront to the youngsters' sense of individuality and their freedom of self-expression. Is it true that most young Egyptian women prefer men with closely cropped hair? “Long hair gives the impression that a man is bohemian and trivial. I believe it makes a man look more serious if he has short hair,” one young woman, Shaimaa, told the Weekly. Sara disagrees. “I think that long hair means a man has character and that he is daring and unconventional. I like these characteristics in a man,” she countered.
