Will people take you seriously with the hair of a 6-year-old?

Lauren Zaser / Jenny Chang / BuzzFeed

Wearing pigtails is often considered unprofessional, and I worry that people will respect me less.

In Tina Fey's book Bossypants she writes, "If you are a woman and you bought this book for practical tips on how to make it in a male-dominated workplace, here they are. No pigtails, no tube tops."

I understand that this is a joke, but when I read "no pigtails," my first thought was, Oh no. I've let down Tina Fey. Sometimes I wear pigtails. Am I setting myself up to fail?

A lot of advice intended to help women ends up sounding more like criticism of women. Each tip turns into one more thing to add to an endless list of rules required to simply exist.

Women are encouraged to constantly worry about how they should and shouldn't look. School dress codes typically focus on what girls can't wear. Tips for how women should present themselves at work are complicated — you shouldn't be too sexy, too trendy, too matronly, too harsh, too boring, too dressy, or too casual. And on top of figuring out your professional aesthetic, being a woman comes with the constant reminder to LOOK ATTRACTIVE AND YOUTHFUL AT ALL TIMES.

OK, but how youthful? Because according to some products I've seen at the drugstore, I'm maybe supposed to look like an actual baby.

Wait, so looking like a baby is good?

If women are supposed to stay young forever, why not sport pigtails? Why are certain hairdos reserved for kids? Do children think they deserve to have EVERYTHING?

I decided to reclaim little girl hairstyles and wear them to work for a week. Would I feel insecure? Would I lose the respect of my peers? Would I get free candy at the bank? I wanted to know.

Joanna Borns / BuzzFeed

Jenny Chang

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