Extend this hair that I cannot see. If each Miss France winner carries her share of haters, the election of Eve Gilles, Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais, gave rise to a wave of vehement opinions quite unprecedented in the history of the competition, particularly on social networks. The crime of lèse-majesté? Her short hair, deemed not feminine enough by a section of the public. Probably the lucky lady was prepared for her reactions, since in her Miss speech, she proclaimed in particular: “Diversity and change can be scary, but it also unites. »
For many women, wearing short hair is indeed not without consequences. “The first week I cut my hair, three different people asked me if I was a lesbian,” testifies for 20 minutes Joséphine, 25 years old from Lille. Léa, 32, used to long hair before sheared her hair in her mid-twenties, also knows that the act is not trivial: “No other change of style on my part has aroused so much opinions, comments and negative reactions. I was told that it was a mistake, that I was less beautiful, less of a woman. There is this stupid idea that women’s hair is sacred. And we definitely don’t cut the sacred! Some even asked me if I didn’t have cancer, as if I couldn’t cut my hair just because I wanted to and because I thought I was more beautiful that way. »
“Cutting your hair is a bit like cutting men”
Hair size still remains extremely gendered. In a 2018 study carried out by Mahasoa, a marketplace for independent hairdressers and barbers, 77% of women said they preferred men with moderately short hair, while conversely, long hair on a woman was favored by 62% of men. . 24% said they preferred very long hair, compared to only 7% for very short hair. Léa deciphers: “Cutting your hair is a bit like cutting yourself off from men. It’s making a choice that we know in advance will displease a majority of them. Probably that’s why they take it so badly, because they know that it means that their opinion is being mocked. »
For Alice Audrezet, doctor in marketing at the Fashion Institute: “It is certain that hair is still part of gender norms, and that the standards of femininity, and in particular at Miss France, go more towards long hair . » Nevertheless, she wants to see in Eve Gilles proof of a society that is evolving. Not only by his final victory, but also by his qualification in the 15 finalists, a decision which depends solely on the jury. “If the latter felt that the company was not ready at all, he would not have selected it. It is certain that 30 years ago, she would not have made the list. »
Short hair, no longer a taboo
Proof of this is that Eve Gilles is the first winner to wear short hair… but also only the second candidate in the history of the competition to wear such a cut. Her predecessor, Karine Lherm – Miss Albigeois 1999 – confided to TV Magazine : “In my time, they didn’t really like it. I remember that Geneviève de Fontenay made a comment to me. As soon as I was elected, I was immediately told that I had to let my hair grow. »
Twenty-five years later, things seem to have evolved. “Progress is also that, a fair balance between “We think that society is ready” and “We are going a little ahead” to force things,” smiles Alice Audrezet. Christophe Doré, president of the National Union of Hairdressing Companies (Unec) adds: “It is certainly not a strong trend or a tidal wave, but it is not a taboo either. Women wear their hair the way they want. Maybe short hair will even become fashionable thanks to this miss, that would be a good deal for us. » Eve Gilles has the ideal profile, according to Alice Audrezet: “She embodies French beauty and the masculine-feminine code of our country, notably the ”bachelorette” of the 1920s, and she, like Miss France, intends to play on it. »
“It’s like carrying a ‘Hello, I’m a lesbian!’ sign. »
Ideal candidate or not, Léa doesn’t really believe in a major change in hair injunctions: “No doubt short hair is less connoted than in the past, but we are still exposed to judgments and ‘Why?’ ‘, we must always be accountable. It makes me laugh when people say that Eve Gilles talks too much about ‘difference’. Be a woman with short hair, and you’ll see if it’s not divisive. » A difference such that Joséphine noticed that she had changed her behavior since: “Consciously or not, compared to my long hair period, I now wear more skirts and I wear more makeup, for example. I borrow more from other feminine standards, a bit to compensate for the short hair. »
Failing to be able to overcome the cliché, others have decided to embrace it fully. “The woman-boy, androgynous, lesbian side is totally me. So I cut my hair to assert this identity even more,” says Justine, 31 years old and no more than four centimeters in length. “It’s like carrying a ‘Hello, I’m a lesbian!’ sign. It avoids annoying flirtatious people at the bar and allows you to show who you are. »
A target addressed in particular by Eve Gilles, according to Alice Audrezet: “She was a very political candidate, whose message full of inclusion necessarily resonated with the LGBT community. » And more than her number of centimeters of hair, that is perhaps what we should remember from this election, concludes Violette Kerleaux, social psychologist specializing in gender inequalities: “Yes, Eve Gille does not meet the usual criteria of a Miss France, but it’s a shame to dwell on that, when we are studying mathematics, when she wants to become a mathematician, when we have a chosen one who could become a real role model. In the end, even to defend her from negative comments, we only talk about her hair when she is much more than that. »