"Beauty is as beauty does"

March 16, 2009 12:36 PM

Tara Wheeler, Miss Virginia 2008,will shave her head if she can raise $500,000 for pediatric cancer research by April 11th.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero (40 comments total)

Irony fail.
posted by Awakened at 12:42 PM on March 16

i'll shave mine for $50
posted by klanawa at 12:44 PM on March 16

75% of the proceeds will go to St. Baldrick's.

This explains the cunning plan.
posted by ooga_booga at 12:46 PM on March 16 [4 favorites]

My at-work firewall blocks the Miss Virginia website for this reason: "Intimate Apparel & Swimwear."

OH NOES! A BIKINI!
posted by ocherdraco at 12:46 PM on March 16

Oh, and women with shaved heads are hot.

If they were cold, they would do better to keep their hair.

But seriously, hot. Rawr.
posted by ooga_booga at 12:48 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]

Spears was well ahead of her although it slipped her mind to announce the pediatric cancer research target in advance.
posted by rainy at 12:50 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]

Donate now to prove you don't hate kids who have cancer!
posted by bondcliff at 12:51 PM on March 16

i'll shave mine for $50

You're not Miss America, but there are options.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:54 PM on March 16

So....that's not a wig?
posted by yoink at 12:56 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]

This is good. I donated just to help her on her way. Under the name Harry Noggin. I SLAY me!
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 12:56 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]

By the way, has anyone told gursky?
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 12:57 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]

It's the first time, insofar as anyone can remember, that a current titleholder has gotten the go-ahead to shear those glossy locks so prized on the runway.

But what about the crown?

Under control. Wheeler already has a wig sponsor so she can still pin on her rhinestone tiara.

I'd like it if she embraced the bald look, at least for a while. America's Next Top Model did a fake-bald photo shoot. Some people embrace their unavoidable baldness. Eve Savail was bald or had very short hair for quite a while, and modeled back in the 1990s.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:58 PM on March 16

If she raises $1 million, will she shave her head and sing the entirety of "Nothing Compares 2 U"? 'Cause that would be awesome.
posted by jonp72 at 1:08 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]

My sister was at a St Baldricks thing last weekend - three girls got their heads shaved after challenging the crowd to raise $2,000. 90 minutes and many tequila shots for the three girls, they got their heads shaved.
posted by SirOmega at 1:10 PM on March 16

This is just a charity stunt though, right? Or am I missing something?

There are hundreds or even thousands of these every year. Is it the amount (although it's not that much) that makes this supposedly newsworthy? Or is this something about US Beauty Queens being usually untouchable?
posted by Brockles at 1:11 PM on March 16

Not impressed.

I will donate, however, if she promises to eat the normal caloric intake of an average human being for the period of one entire month without throwing any of it up. Of course, she would just need to turn around and raise another hundred thousand or so to pay for the therapy her five pound weight gain would cause her.
posted by flarbuse at 1:14 PM on March 16

I think this is great, and I'm glad TPS posted it. So there.

If she raises $1 million, will she shave her head and sing the entirety of "Nothing Compares 2 U"?

No, she'll shave her head and her....

oh, never mind.
posted by alms at 1:18 PM on March 16

I say she should shave her head, win lose or draw. Hair grows back, and it could be used to make a wig for someone.
posted by not_on_display at 1:23 PM on March 16

Is shaving her head really such a big deal? It doesn't hurt, it attracts attention (and she probably loves attention), shaven-headed women have been called beautiful for years now, it gives her an excuse to say she did something for charity, she can always wear a wig, and it all grows back anyway.
posted by pracowity at 1:25 PM on March 16

Will she do live internet Brazilian wax for a million? Seriously, shaving your head is worth $500K? Everything pracowity said.
posted by fixedgear at 1:29 PM on March 16

If 500 people favorite this comment, I'll shave hermitosis' head.
posted by Ian A.T. at 1:29 PM on March 16 [15 favorites]

Funny, I just heard a couple of parents talking about this this weekend. Not the Miss Virginia thing, but the shaving your head for cancer thing. You know what? It's OK by me.
posted by Mister_A at 1:32 PM on March 16

I will donate, however, if she promises to eat the normal caloric intake of an average human being for the period of one entire month without throwing any of it up. Of course, she would just need to turn around and raise another hundred thousand or so to pay for the therapy her five pound weight gain would cause her.

See, I figured this sort of hatred against beauty queens makes her a perfect volunteer for an event like this. Donate money to charity AND make a beauty queen bald, it's a win-win!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 1:37 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]

Good for her.
posted by P.o.B. at 1:37 PM on March 16

Damn. Why couldn't this be Miss Teen South Carolina '07?
posted by gman at 1:47 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]

Various friends of mine have done Cuts for Cancer / Angel Hair for Kids (the second being the donation of the hair for wigs). All I have to say about this is good for her. She's got a podium, she's using it to raise money for charity. Whether or not it's worth $500k doesn't really matter.
posted by Lemurrhea at 1:47 PM on March 16

I shaved my head this week.

Well, not shaved, but as far down as a #3 clipper will take it.

Other than being much cooler than long hair in the heat and humidity (HELLO, FLORIDA!) all it did was make me notice how far my hairline has receded.
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 1:48 PM on March 16

I bet for half that price someone would go and shave Tara's head. With, or without her permission.
posted by blue_beetle at 2:05 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]

I bet somebody would do it for 1% of that money, but then you would neither be raising money or awareness. Plus you would be an asshole for paying someone to do that.
posted by P.o.B. at 2:13 PM on March 16

I think this is brilliant; good for her. I wish that I was important enough that shaving my head was worth a whole bunch of money, but hey. Use it if you got it, right?
posted by lunit at 2:19 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]

Coolest. Beauty. Queen. Ever.

And my God, what is wrong with you people? A young woman makes a dramatic (to her) gesture to help children with cancer and you mock her for it. Jesus.
posted by LarryC at 4:11 PM on March 16 [4 favorites]

I say she should shave her head, win lose or draw. Hair grows back, and it could be used to make a wig for someone.

I assume that you don't get to be Miss Virginia without using shampoo and conditioner, which I believe means that her hair is almost certainly unsuitable for wigmaking.
posted by Flunkie at 4:12 PM on March 16

LarryC, you used a lot of unnecessary verbiage here, to do the standard Metafilter discussion template.

"And my God, what is wrong with you people? A [Person] [Commits Action] to [End Result] and you mock [Person] for it. Jesus."

That could probably be pasted in at the bottom of 30-40 percent of the threads I read on here. Maybe that should be added when the thread is closed.
posted by jscott at 4:32 PM on March 16

This is just a charity stunt though, right? Or am I missing something?

Not impressed.

Man, there are some real world-weary, eye-rolling thread shitters here. No, it's not exactly original, but if she gets the money it's half a million bucks that wasn't there before for kids with cancer. What's wrong with you people?

Bully for her.
posted by zardoz at 6:44 PM on March 16

See the trick is, if she *does* have to shave her hair, she'll just donate it to Locks of Love. She'll get her philanthropic jollies either way, the thoughtful, charitable, generous freak.
posted by Rhaomi at 6:46 PM on March 16

She's got a podium, she's using it to raise money for charity. Whether or not it's worth $500k doesn't really matter.

This. Fuck off you miserable pricks, she's doing A Good Thing.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 10:20 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]

I was just working on a front page post about St. Baldrick's when this told me that SB had already been linked here.

I think this is great, and I shave my head for St. Baldrick's every year, although for much less money, this year I am at 305 dollars raised, last year I raised about 800. But, every single dollar helps.

I am glad to see that Miss Virginia is doing this. I'll be thinking about here as the razor hits my head on the 28th.

my page at SB
posted by SuzySmith at 12:55 AM on March 17

I'll give her $10 just to stop baring her teeth.
posted by DU at 5:02 AM on March 17

I wonder what else we get her to shave? I kid I kid. I'm glad there is someone who is willing to put aside their looks to help people in need. This shows character.
posted by Mastercheddaar at 5:57 AM on March 17

Is she going to be using her shaved hair to make a wig for one of the kids, or something? Otherwise, it just seems kind of... I dunno. Like saying that if you raise 500k for the Veteran's Association, you'll cut off your legs below the knee. Altho now, tying these two thoughts together, I imagine her cutting off her legs and giving them to a vet, and I... I might support it again? I'm not sure what to think anymore.
posted by FatherDagon at 8:38 AM on March 17