On Biblical Femininity

When I first became a mother, I had a slight identity crisis and took it out on my hair.

I was filled with overwhelm (and excitement) that I was now a New Woman, and things were about to change drastically. So in my mind, I needed to couple this change with a new hairstyle.

This Brand New Look, I decided, was a chin-length, choppy bob haircut that looked cool and effortless on a model whose photo I found online, only when I attempted it by a walk-in at a random salon I didn’t know existed five minutes prior (tip: don’t ever do this), I got a razor thin bob haircut that made me look like an actual Bob.

It was a few years of back and forth of hair experiments, when one day a thought was planted in my head: what does the Bible say anything about our hair?

I came to find out that the Bible does, in fact, talk quite a bit about our hair; in Proverbs 16:31, 1 Corinthians 11:6, 1 Timothy 2:9 to name a few, and in 1 Corinthians 11:14-15 where it explicitly states that long hair is a woman’s glory: “Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering.”

This led me to pursue the topic of biblical womanhood and femininity, and learn what the Bible teaches about our role and identity as women.

And though some may say that the Bible’s teachings for women are simply too radical, outdated or even “oppressive”, I have personally found it to be a safe, peaceful place, and something I continue to pursue.

It may seem unbelievable — crazy, even — to think that my journey to biblical womanhood started with a terrible haircut. But if there’s one thing I’ve learnt in my “identity crisis” and having many conversations with women (many of whom had similar convictions of growing their hair out as a starting point of exploring biblical femininity), hair plays a huge part in our identity as women.

For me, it’s been undeniable. After growing out my hair and subsequently keeping it longer than I usually do, I have not felt more in my feminine, womanly element. It had definitely sparked something, and something about it feels right. Something about it feels… glorious, dare I say.

Of course, there’s more to being a woman than our hair, but if you’re interested in pursing biblical womanhood, you may consider starting at the top. Literally.