Ponytails and braids: Signs of a more inclusive US military
On a Pentagon stage earlier this year, three senior noncommissioned officers 鈥� all men 鈥� discussed the merits of changing the Army鈥檚 appearance regulations for women.聽
The town hall, broadcast online, turned to whether women should be allowed to wear stud earrings. 鈥淚鈥檓 just going to be honest: If you鈥檇 asked me before, I would鈥檝e said, 鈥楴o, why do we need earrings?鈥欌�� said Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston.聽
But task force testimony from behavioral health specialists helped the men see the matter differently, Sgt. Maj. Mark Clark added. 鈥淚 will tell you, we learned quite a bit鈥� about how old policies affected women 鈥渋n a masculine Army.鈥� Earrings 鈥渒ind of helped bridge the gap鈥� for those 鈥渨ho want to serve and be soldiers, but also want to feel like a female at the same time.鈥澛�
Why We Wrote This
What may seem like a superficial change in grooming standards signals a sea change in attitudes about military strength.
It was a town hall convened to announce sweeping changes to what are known as Army grooming standards, including allowing women to wear ponytails and braids rather than buns alone, and eliminating from policy guidance words like 鈥渆ccentric鈥� and 鈥渇addish,鈥� which 鈥渟eem to target a specific demographic鈥� of women of color, an Army PowerPoint slide noted.
鈥淭his really goes back to a larger thing 鈥� diversity and inclusion,鈥� Sergeant Major of the Army Grinston told the town hall. 鈥淎re these microaggressions, those things that we were saying that maybe we didn鈥檛 know were offensive? Maybe we need to be aware of that.鈥�
鈥淩oger that,鈥� said Sgt. Maj. Brian Sanders, the third man on the panel, who cautioned that the military must guard against 鈥渨eaponized wording鈥� as well as 鈥渃larify what do we mean by 鈥榩rofessional鈥� appearance 鈥� that is such a subjective term.鈥澛�
It was an extraordinary exchange among senior noncommissioned officers, who concluded that maybe it鈥檚 all right for women to be feminine 鈥� or unfeminine, or 鈥渆ccentric鈥� 鈥� in a masculine environment.
And while the revamping of Pentagon regulations related to hair, nails, and jewelry is the first such major change in many years, the larger cultural shift within the U.S. military, analysts say, is how this is expanding ideas about what a soldier should look like in the first place.聽
鈥淗air can be seen as a cosmetic thing, but it鈥檚 also a way to recognize that service members come from different genders, different identities,鈥� says Maj. Kelly Atkinson, assistant professor of political science at the U.S. Air Force Academy. 鈥淯sually there鈥檚 this assumption that masculinity is strength and femininity is weakness. My answer is that the military doesn鈥檛 have to be masculine to be successful.鈥澛�
Reactions beyond the military
That remains a threatening idea in many camps. Fox News host Tucker Carlson notoriously attacked new maternity uniforms in a March broadcast, deriding them for making a 鈥渕ockery of the U.S. military.鈥澛�
Such notions have been in place since women have been in uniform. In addition to their other duties, they have been expected to walk a fine line between being too feminine 鈥� thus raising questions about whether they joined the service to steal some husbands 鈥� and being too masculine, risking accusations that they鈥檙e just trying to be men, with all the shame those propositions are meant to imply.
What made this decadeslong critique raised by Mr. Carlson different is the way military men quickly joined women in the ranks to set the record straight.聽
Perhaps Mr. Carlson feels he has 鈥渟omething to prove,鈥� Pentagon press secretary John Kirby, a retired rear admiral, speculated in comments some interpreted as subtly alluding to Mr. Carlson鈥檚 lack of military service. In any case, commanders would not be taking 鈥減ersonnel advice from a talk show host,鈥� he added. The Pentagon鈥檚 internal press service , 鈥淧ress Secretary Smites Host That Dissed Diversity in U.S. Military.鈥澛�
Mr. Carlson wasn't the only critic, as Maj. Alea Nadeem, an intelligence officer in the Air Force Reserve, can attest.聽鈥淲e also got some comments like, 鈥極h, you鈥檙e just trying to look cute,鈥欌�� she says. 鈥淚 can assure you that鈥檚 not the case.鈥�
The benefits of braids over buns
Indeed, the changes, officials discovered, are eminently practical and potentially lifesaving. When Major Nadeem was out on the firing range years ago, for example, she wore her long, thick hair in a regulation bun. The problem was that the bun was tipping her helmet forward, making shooting accurately a problem.
She asked instructors if she could undo her hair and tuck it into her collar. 鈥淭hey were like, 鈥楽ure, whatever you need to do to shoot.鈥欌�� Afterward, she recalls thinking about what would happen if she was really at war.聽
Now, as Women鈥檚 Initiative team chief for the Air Force鈥檚 Barrier Analysis Working Group, Major Nadeem leads the task force that lifted the ban on a number of hairstyles in January, allowing women to wear ponytails and braids, just weeks before the Army followed suit with its own historic changes.聽These changes, which also include聽scrapping minimum hair length聽requirements for women,聽officially went into effect for soldiers earlier this month.聽
鈥淏efore when they wore their helmets to fly, our female aviators had to take their hair down from a bun and put it in two braids so the helmet would fit. So in order to fly their aircraft, they had to be out of standard,鈥� notes Major Nadeem.聽
Then there were the gas masks. 鈥淭he first thing they tell you when you鈥檙e female is 鈥楾ake your hair down, because there鈥檚 no way you鈥檙e going to get a good seal with that bun.鈥欌�澛�
In further acknowledgment that the lack of hairstyling options was unhealthy, military officials brought in dermatology consultants and found that one-third of Black female troops were experiencing hair loss, and more than half of women ended their days with tension headaches.
Still, some of the strongest voices against change were servicewomen themselves. 鈥淎 senior female officer said, 鈥楬ey, I had headaches too, but I made the choice to cut my hair because I love my country,鈥欌�� Major Nadeem recalls. 鈥淚 said, 鈥榃ouldn鈥檛 it be nice if you could serve your country and have your hair?鈥欌��
Today, commanders are gradually coming around to such dualities. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 what I really learned this last year,鈥� Sergeant Major of the Army Grinston told the town hall. 鈥淎nd I was at fault in this: I used to say, 鈥榃e鈥檙e all soldiers; I just see green.鈥欌�� That said, he explained, 鈥渘ot only are you a soldier, but there are other pieces of you that are critical.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 OK to stand out,鈥� he added. 鈥淚f people judge you for that, they need to be corrected 鈥� not you.鈥�
