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Summer 2022February 27, 2023

Hair Now: Omnibus edition

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All six episodes of Hair Now in one handy tab.

Yasmine navigates which hair to keep and which hair to cover

Yasmine likes looking at the hair on her arms. It reminds her that she’s a mammal. But as a Palestinian New Zealander, she also has to navigate complex cultural ideas about what hair should be covered and what hair should be seen. When her grandmother gives her the gift of laser hair removal for her university graduation, Yasmine has to think about the body hair she wants to keep, and why.

Kenzi ditches the razor and finds freedom

Kenzi realised she might be hairier than average as a teenager, when her classmates started talking about shaving. But as she’s gotten more used to growing her leg and armpit hair out, she’s started to embrace it. She can get her eyebrows threaded and let her pit hair blow in the breeze and be comfortable with it all.

Genevieve finds herself in the perfect bowl cut

Genevieve is a builder who often finds herself in spaces dominated by men, and has long struggled to find a haircut that she likes. Could a barber finally give her the undercut of her dreams?

Jessica brings Eastern beauty standards to the West

When Jessica unexpectedly moved to New Zealand because of the pandemic, she realised that ideas about beauty were very different here. As a beauty therapist, she navigates the complex ideas about what makes someone look beautiful, changing her clients eyebrows and lashes to suit their requests. For herself, she likes to choose the shape of her brows to match the day ahead.

How body hair reflects our gender identity

Getting a haircut helps Serena to love the curly hair of her ancestors. The Fijian-Indian actor moved to Aotearoa when she was five. Transitioning has allowed her to grow her hair, and play with its colour. But removing her body hair remains uncomfortable and fraught.

Roxie takes her monobrow into the modelling world

Roxie works in film and fashion, two industries that are obsessed with how people look. She was bullied as a child for being hairy; now, her body hair can be a commodity, something to make her stand out, but it still has to fit with how other people want to see her. She’s growing out her monobrow and abandoning her hair straightener, but these decisions still have a
social cost.

‘Help keep The Spinoff funny, smart, tall and handsome – become a member today.’
Gabi Lardies
— Staff writer
Keep going!
Photo: Alice Snedden’s Bad News
Photo: Alice Snedden’s Bad News

Summer 2022January 18, 2023

Alice Snedden’s Bad News: The omnibus

Photo: Alice Snedden’s Bad News
Photo: Alice Snedden’s Bad News

Summer watch: All six episodes from the latest season of Alice Snedden’s Bad News together in a single tab. 

Episode one: Wealth

What does the cost of living even mean and how do we close the wealth gap? Alice speaks to Grant Robertson, Bernard Hickey, Ngarimu Blair and Bubbah about why there hasn’t been a revolution… yet.

Episode two: Fat

Why do we still have such a problem with fat people? Alice speaks to Andrew Little, endocrinologist Robyn Toomath and academic Ashlea Gillon about the stigma of being fat and why the BMI is bullshit.

Episode three: Prisons

We’ve been throwing baddies behind bars in Aotearoa since around 1840 – but what if there was a better alternative? Alice speaks to a prison boss, a prison abolitionist and a former inmate about what needs to change.

Episode four: Meat

Is it OK to love your pet while still eating other animals? Comedian Tom Sainsbury, Lord of the Fries’ Bruce Craig and animal welfare scientist Craig Johnson help Alice swallow some hard truths about meat.

Episode five: Minimum wage exemption

Did you know that some New Zealanders work for $2 an hour? Alice Snedden explores the complexities of the minimum wage exemption, and speaks to advocates, politicians and bosses arguing for (and against) reform.

Episode six: Rugby

What is rugby actually doing to be better? And why have the All Blacks never fronted a domestic violence campaign? Alice meets with bosses, players and experts and encounters a culture of silence that nearly shuts the episode down entirely.

Alice Snedden’s Bad News is made with support from NZ On Air. Watch the previous season here.