Look, Ma: Where Does Donated Hair Go; Nursing In Public

Have you ever donated your hair?
I have. Six months ago, I cut off my big, feral mop, which was almost down to my waist, and had it cropped super-short. The salon tied mine off into multiple ponytails, sliced them off cleanly and packaged them up to be turned into wigs. I’ve often wondered where that shaggy beast went, and what they do with it, and what adventures it must be up to.
Buzzfeed actually decided to answer those questions for a hair donor, and this is the upshot. I hope somewhere, someone is as thrilled about the shaggy black mass that once lived on me.

Photo: Buzzfeed via YouTube

Feeding in public, a mini-rant, the hairy legs defence and a cool link
This week, staff at a mall in Winnipeg told a breastfeeding mother that nursing in public is offensive.   Tara Léger took to social media and her story was soon on mainstream media outlets. Mall management has since apologized, but it’s the same old story: A woman has to make a ruckus to be ALLOWED to feed a baby. The apology comes after she refuses to back down from a confrontation (during which she is seated, juggling a fussy baby and has her shirt hiked up. i.e., preoccupied), then alerts the wider world and the people who had perhaps hoped she would quietly go away realize how they look.

People say things like “Well, I don’t walk around in my underwear/naked” “I don’t go to the bathroom in public,” or talk about how breasts are sexual or suggestive.
And then the memes hit back, with ubiquitous pictures of women in negligees or underwear on magazine covers, ads, billboards. “How is this acceptable, but a woman feeding her baby is not?” they ask. And we agree.

But stop. Just stop.

Breasts are mammary glands. Yes, they are plenty attractive, as are great skin, a sparkling wit and kind eyes. But their physical function is to feed our young. Not everyone chooses to or is able to, but when someone does, it’s about as offensive as using your teeth to chew or your feet to dance. It’s not any kind of sexual incitement, or even reproductive. It is certainly not offensive, unless you're using that quiet time to pick your nose, clip your toenails or say hateful or otherwise offensive things.

Here are some tips from an expert and Today's Parent to help feel more comfortable feeding your baby in public, including how to deal with people who complain about it.  I call mine the hairy-legs defence: If you don't like how this perfectly benign experience looks, DON'T LOOK!

Here's the link I promised: Check out this Israeli photographer’s spot-on take on the fools—yes, I’m not above name-calling—who suggest taking those offensive boobies and that disgusting baby to the bathroom to do the revolting deed.

Just in time for mud
Spring is coming and with it, mud, mud, mud. momstown writer and Today’s Parent blogger Jennifer Pinarski evokes beautiful memories of a fun childhood while explaining why her kids don’t bathe every day, even after a dirty day. It’s not just the backlash against anti-bac soap and chemicals, it’s because dirt is okay, baths are a lot of work, and frankly, there are only so many days warm enough to play in puddles, and so many hours in those days. The bath can wait.

Touch wood
If you sneeze as you’re leaving the house, have a quick snack for luck before you walk out the door.
Don’t wash your hair on a Thursday.
If you step on a book, touch it to your forehead to make amends.
My, you look lovely. Let’s put a tiny black spot of kohl on your cheek to ward off the evil eye.
. . . These are just a few of the superstitions and fun good-luck customs I grew up with. Your family probably has its own. I know I still have a keychain my dad brought home from Turkey, with an eye on it to keep the evil eye away, like the ones on this neat list of lucky charms from CBC Kids.