Nevertheless, Oliver is not the sole individual demonstrating unwavering commitment to styling girls’ hair – a recent surge in fathers sharing the same dedication has emerged.
Across social media platforms, numerous tutorials are available, guiding devoted dads on various hairstyles, ranging from pigtail braids and hair buns to diagonal parts and princess ringlets. One father, known as “The Hair Dad” on Instagram, has made it his mission to feature all his hair creations for his daughter on his account, with a tagline proclaiming, “Being the change I wish to see.” His work has gained recognition, leading to interviews with news channels from as far as Japan.
In 2022, the BBC highlighted “the dads learning to plait their daughters’ hair.” In the English city of St Albans, Annis Waugh initiated Braid Maidens, a course teaching hair braiding. Initially open to all genders, the course saw no male participants until a specific class for men was introduced, and it promptly sold out, outpacing the women’s class. Waugh noted that men displayed a more competitive spirit with themselves when striving for excellence.
“It just made me really happy that they were keen and up for it. … I don’t think that would have been the case 20 to 30 years ago,” she expressed.
The BBC interviewed several dads enrolled in the course, including John Hardern, a father of four girls, who initially found the concept “weird.” However, upon examining his unconscious bias, he eagerly embraced the challenge. Hardern believes that participating in such activities teaches his daughters that they “can do whatever they want regardless of gender.”
“I don’t want my daughters growing up in a world where they have the old-style view that one gender does one thing and another does other things,” he emphasized