Actress Demi Moore took the clippers to her hair to play a navy trainee in the 1997 movie, G.I. Jane.
Natalie Portman famously had her head shaved on-screen for her role as a freedom fighter in V For Vendetta.
Despite the celebs who make going bald chic, bald women are still the object of stares.
Gender stereotypes hold as three women here who razed their heads for charity found out.
The three went under the razor for the Hair For Hope campaign of the Children's Cancer Foundation (CCF).
Now in its sixth year, the event drew a record number of women - 156 - who signed up this year.
In all, 695 people will shave their heads at Velocity @ Novena Square on Sunday to raise awareness for the CCF.
Actress Karen Tan and accountant Lindy Dong had shaved their heads earlier to drum up publicity for the campaign.
Admittedly, the three women found that going hairless took some getting used to.
Undergraduate Natalie Tang, 21, says she felt like a boy and 'totally devoid of femininity'.
Tan, 42, got stares at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport when she was in the city for a short break last weekend.
There were women gesturing to their husbands and children to look at her, she says.
'Even the security staff who check boarding passes had their eyes glued on me.
'In the end, I went up to them and asked, 'Saya ada buat apa salah tak?' (Have I done anything wrong?).
'It made them realise that I wasn't doing anything wrong. I was just bald.'
Such negative sentiments towards bald women are common, says Daniel Koh, a psychologist at Insights Mind Centre.
'For women, hair is seen as an extension of their clothing and many women find confidence in a nice hairdo,' he says.
'With society's emphasis on female personal grooming, women feel pressurised to have long, flowing hair so they may feel uncomfortable when they do not have a head of hair.'
Urban finds out how three women coped without hair.
Theatre actress Karen Tan, 42, shaved her head two weeks ago
What motivated you to shave your head for charity?
I really wanted to do something other than making an appearance as a host or to give some money.
A few years ago, I was asked to endorse the Great Eastern Life Women's 10km run. After that, I felt I had to run. So I bought a pair of running shoes and started training. That, to me, was a crazier decision than shaving my head.
Some say losing your hair is tantamount to losing a part of your identity and femininity. What are your thoughts on this?
Ah, the age-old argument about beauty and femininity. That's more for the school debating team, not for me.
What was your first response when you saw yourself in the mirror?
I wanted to laugh but I was a bit shocked too. For two days after that, I kept looking in the mirror and shrieking, 'I have no hair'. I realised that I was a bit vain after all. Now I can laugh about it.
How did others react to you?
My husband and my older daughter Rachel, 13, were really cool about it but four-year-old Olivia cried when she saw me. She wept for
10 minutes and could not look at me, though she let me hold her. I think it was that unique mix of anticipation and perhaps the knowledge that she was supposed to react somehow. She was absolutely fine after that and now understands that I am doing this to help children who are ill.
Rachel, on the other hand, had a video camera with her. She filmed the shaving and put it on Facebook.
Was your first instinct to cover up?
I took one bandana with me to the salon but I chose not to wear it. I have worn it only twice - when I went running and did not want sweat pouring down my face (I did not realise my hair was like a towel until I lost it) and when I was freezing in an air-con room. The whole point is to show that it is okay to be bald; covering up would defeat the purpose.
Natalie Tang, 21, a second-year psychology undergraduate at Nanyang Technological University, shaved her head last year
What motivated you to shave your head for charity?
One of my friends suffers from Lupus and had to go for chemotherapy. As a result, she lost all her hair. As a sign of support, three friends and I decided to shave our heads. Shaving my head is a small sacrifice compared to her suffering.
Some people say that losing your hair is tantamount to losing a part of your identity and femininity. What are your thoughts on this?
I was not really afraid as I knew my hair would grow back in a matter of months. After I shaved, though, I did feel like I lost my femininity and I thought I looked really weird.
Instead of wearing dresses or skirts to show off my femininity, however, I found myself wearing more pants and jeans as I felt strange dressing feminine without any hair.
What was your first response when you saw yourself in the mirror?
I screamed - I could not believe what I had just done. It was like a punch in the gut when I saw that I did not have any hair. One of my friends was so freaked out that she stared at herself in the mirror for several minutes and kept going, 'Oh my goodness'.
It took me a while to get used to seeing myself in the mirror.
How did others react to you?
People always seem to want to touch my head. There were some friends in school who assumed I had cancer but were too shy to ask me about it.
Once, a male sweeper in a mall froze upon seeing me and stared at me as I walked by. I felt like a zoo exhibit.
When I first told my family that I was going to shave my head, they were not very supportive. After I did it, however, my mum was so proud that she talked about it to everyone, to the point where it got a little embarrassing.
Was your first instinct to cover up?
Yes, my first instinct was to wear a bandana as I thought I looked very strange. I wore it only when it was cold in the lecture halls or when the weather was burning hot.
Accountant Lindy Dong, 26, shaved her head in March
What motivated you to shave your head for charity?
I have been volunteering at the Children's Cancer Foundation for the past four years and have always considered shaving for the annual Hair For Hope event.
However, I could not find enough courage to do so. Being in the organising committee for the event this year gives me more reason to support the cause.
Some say losing your hair is tantamount to losing a part of your identity and femininity. What are your thoughts on this?
To say that femininity is determined by having long silky hair is a thing of the past. Rather, femininity can be exemplified by the aura one exudes from doing a good deed. If you feel good, you naturally look good.
What was your first response when you saw yourself in the mirror?
I used to have 10 inches of hair so it felt very light after the shave. I did not feel anything special as I had prepared myself mentally for it.
How did others react to you?
I work in a male-dominated industry. Most of my male colleagues were impressed and said things like they would not have had the courage to do the same. People approached me, wanting to find out more about childhood cancer and how they can go about contributing to this cause. Some of my friends even said that I looked better without hair.
My family members were very supportive. My dad even shaved my head again on the same day to get rid of the stubble.
Was your first instinct to cover up?
Being in the organising committee, I am fully aware of the objectives of the act of shaving.
The thought of covering my head has never crossed my mind. This is an opportunity for me to tell others about childhood cancer.
This article was first published in Urban, The Straits Times.
