HAIRGATE! TV's Coiffure Controversies and Lesbian Locks
a short (1300 words) submission for Camera Obscura's Fabulous! The Diva Issue

excerpt
As Janeway's case demonstrates, all this is much less frightening if, instead of wringing our hands over the entire labyrinthine landscape of gender and sexuality in late capitalism, we just worry about their hair. But, as in Janeway's case, this alibi can wind up being far from airtight, since it's no secret that femininity is defined deep down as surface and spectacle. Multiply this by the power of media spectacle, and you get a simulacral economy where hairdos start to look like the realest problem of all. From Hillary's sardonic bitterness to Mulgrew's makeup chair tortures; from Felicity's close-cropped curls (which were blamed for killing the ratings of her eponymous show), to the tussle over Starbuck's upcoming haircut on the new Battlestar Galactica -- it always seems to be the female performer who is caught in the crossfire, finding herself at the mercy of the symptomatic scissors when her reality comes into conflict with her role.

it also features Mariska Hargitay. comment with your email address if you want the full text. links compiled here!