ABSTRACT
Samson the Hero in the new millennium: hair donation, altruism, and feminine bravery by Sigal Barak-Brandes. A narrative study which explores the motivations behind the acts of girls and women who donate their long hair to make wigs for female cancer patients. It exemplifies the subjective perceptions of the sacrifice these women felt they bravely committed by modification of their looks. It is a modification that takes these women and girls far from the beauty ideal, which ‘prefers’ long hair. The donors not only express how deeply they are rooted within the patriarchal discourse, but also how much they accept and reproduce – rather than challenge or resist – hegemonic-gendered beauty norms.
