When he started studying in America at the age of 15, Weinberg second-year Alan Kim began rethinking how he wanted to be seen. Overly symmetrical bowl cuts and two-blocks, a Korean haircut with short sides and a long top, were all he knew. Wanting a new look that felt more in tune with American culture, he decided to grow his hair out for a mullet.

From center parts to low taper fades, the evolution of an Asian boy’s hair often mirrors their own journey in navigating their Asian identity and the confidence that can come from a new look.

Before finding a style that fits, many Asian men experience an awkward phase that can feel emasculating and even feed into racial stereotypes. In the 2008 book The Myth of the Model Minority: Asian Americans Facing Racism, sociologists Rosalind Chou and Joe Feagin write that the “Asian nerd” stereotype is rooted in a mix of historical anti-Asian racism, the “model minority” myth and media misrepresentation. They say that the stereotype is often used to emasculate Asian men by portraying them as socially undesirable.

The stereotypical East Asian haircut is the bowl cut — simple and, most importantly, uniform. East Asian aesthetics and social norms value neatness and balance, which the uniform nature of bowl cuts represents.

Kim, who had a bowl cut until the end of middle school, tried growing out a mullet, but the style was not suited for his straight, dense hair.  He eventually switched to a medium-length textured cut that he feels is more comfortable and low-maintenance.

“I wanted that sense of masculinity for my hairstyle,” Kim says.

Another NU student, McCormick second-year Pranav Neupane, grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood in Arkansas. Among the South Asians he knew, he frequently saw side parts and close-cropped hair, a look he rocked himself. He says that there’s a strong emphasis on uniformity in Nepalese culture.

Still, Neupane struggled with his self-image among a sea of white classmates, often feeling out of place in a space where his appearance marked him as different.

“I remember telling my mom, ‘I wish I had blonde hair,’ ‘I wish I had blue eyes,’” Neupane says. 

Neupane decided to move on from the typical bowl cuts and cropped cuts in high school. He says being able to style his hair “adds a level of independence.”

Neupane has naturally curly hair — a relatively recent development, he says — that began a few years ago when his once-straight hair started growing in tight curls. Although he was unsure how to groom them at first, he began embracing his new hair over time.

“Now that I’m starting to grow out my hair, I get to see that as an accessory on myself and something I can care for,” Neupane says.