The flash mob isn’t anything new. It’s been done, sometimes well, like the T-Mobile ad using New York’s Grand Central Station, and sometimes not so well. None so far, though, were as hair raising as that performed at a shopping center in Liverpool in the UK this weekend.
In order to raise awareness of alopecia and to kick off alopecia awareness month, Jennifer Chambers organized 30 women to meet on church street and cast off their wigs to the sound of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors”. The 29 year old trustee of Alopecia UK led the group in baring their heads, and pushing alopecia directly into the public eye in a way few people have done. “It’s time the thousands of people in the UK with alopecia were given the encouragement they need to simply be themselves”, she told the local news site Click Liverpool.
What’s amazing about this flash mob is how many women came out to participate. There can still be a strong stigma attached to alopecia, especially for women, and similar events in the past have had difficulty gaining traction because they couldn’t get enough volunteers. While 30 people is hardly the largest flash mob of our times, it is a great first step towards widespread acceptance of people with alopecia, and took tremendous courage from all involved.
Since September is Alopecia Areata Awareness Month, we encourage everyone with alopecia to go out and just be yourself. While even Jennifer says she prefers wearing a wig most days, it’s important to have the strength to let it all hang out now and again. So to Jennifer, we want to say a big thanks for paving the way, and to everyone suffering with holding in this secret – you are not alone.
