Chattanooga Pulse

Dear Mexican,
Why oh why do most Mexican women cut their long, black hair after reaching the pivotal age of 40? Not only do they cut it, but they then proceed to cut it short and dye it all shades of the most unnatural hair color for Mexicans: red. My own madre is guilty of this offense and I see it on all the older women of SanTana! Why is this the case? Why do women in Mexico tend keep their long flowing hair and trencitas while women here in the States go for the Bozo look? Please help me with this!
— A Que Tener Pelo Largo

Dear Wab,
Mujeres shearing their locks in el Norte has gone on longer than you think—and it’s not just the geezers. “During the 1920s, a woman’s decision ‘to bob or not bob’ her hair assumed classic proportions within Mexican families,” wrote University of California, Irvine professor Vicki L. Ruiz in her 1999 book, From Out of the Shadows: Mexican Women in Twentieth-Century America. She was specifically talking about young mexicanas following gabacho youth trends to the consternation of their elders, more »