Hair: who cares?

Over a decade ago, a TV show saw viewership drop drastically because of a haircut. It’s a crazy notion, but it happened.

“Felicity” was a WB drama where Keri Russell played the title character, a girl who comes back into the second season with a haircut. People went nuts. It’s become a pop culture hair reference, right there with the “The Rachel” from “Friends.”

In American pop culture, we care about hair. A lot.

It’s no surprise when celebrities like Beyoncé or Miley Cyrus shear their illustrious locks in favor of bold boy cuts and dramatic bobs. What’s surprising is how stunned we are every time it happens.

The media went wild when Emma Watson chopped most of her hair off three years ago. We were astonished that Hermione Granger now rocked a sleek, short hairstyle as opposed to her commonly long and wavy tresses.

We loved it! We hated it! We all wanted to talk about it!

Then we got used to it and nobody cared. After all, she did it for her role in “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and to break out of the Hermione mold.

So we act shocked every time a woman decides to go against the grain and sport a hair cut commonly used by men.

Now, everyone has an opinion they want to share. I’d be out of a job if this weren’t the case.

But let’s stop acting so flabbergasted anytime a woman cuts her hair short.

People are perfectly free to take to their Twitter accounts and say, “Oh my god, Miley’s hair looks like someone took a wrecking ball to it! #silly.” I’m not here to tell you to stop.

But the truth is, Miley’s new cut is awesome. Just like it was awesome when Emma Watson, Anne Hathaway and Beyoncé cut their hair.

All haircuts are not created equal, and not every woman is going to look great with a shorter ‘do. But it’s not up to us to judge or to say “well, she shouldn’t have done that!”

Hair is a crucial part of anyone’s identity, and you’re a liar if you say you haven’t considered a dramatic, and potentially controversial, hairstyle change at some point in your life.

Celebrities are people, too, and people have to cut their hair. Let’s quit acting so astonished whenever someone takes a trip to the salon.