But there are plenty of other more personal reasons why some women may choose to wear wigs. Many women experience hair loss as a result of aging, hormonal changes, stress, medical conditions, in response to medical treatments or genetics. Other women may be dealing with hair damage as a result of over-styling.
Some women may even choose to wear wigs to prevent said hair damage, particularly women in the entertainment industry. Just take Keira Knightley who previously told InStyle UK that she wore wigs after damaging her hair for various roles. “I have dyed my hair virtually every colour imaginable for different films,” she said, per Independent. “It got so bad that my hair literally began to fall out of my head! So for the past five years I’ve used wigs, which is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to my hair.”
In other words, there are loads of reasons why someone may prefer to cover their natural hair with a wig — and many of them are sensitive and personal. If we start shaming someone in the public eye for choosing to wear a wig, what message are we sending to other women who, for whatever reason, are making the same choice?
The response to Kidman’s wig-wearing irks me for another reason, too. It’s a pretty clear reminder that beauty standards are, very often, a double-edged sword for women. As a culture, we love nothing more than to tell women exactly how they should look, exactly how they need to look. We all saw Demi Moore’s The Substance, right? You know, that movie about the Hollywood star who would rather split herself in half and let a younger version of herself roam the streets while she hibernates inside than be seen to visibly age? Sure, the film was a body horror spectacle that was rather extreme — but it touched on an undeniable truth: women aren’t allowed to age in Hollywood — and, increasingly, anywhere else. More and more, any sign of ageing is seen as some kind of moral failure.
Women are judged for being too natural. However, more often than not, when women respond to this pressure, they are judged for not being natural enough. Case in point, the furore surrounding Nicole Kidman’s wigs.
What if, instead of fixating on whether her hairline is real or fake, we focused on — oh, I don’t know — her Oscar-worthy performances? Her incredible achievement of working with 19 female directors in just eight years? Nicole Kidman’s wigs are probably the least interesting thing about her — and it’s time we all moved on.