A year ago, Miss Virginia crown-holder Tara Wheeler promised to shave her head for charity. Pageant officials consented—if she could raise $500,000. Although Wheeler didn't end up raising the entire sum, she went bald anyway.
Wheeler had to wait until her reign as Miss Virgina was over before she could shave her shoulder-length brown hair. It became clear to Wheeler relatively early on that she wouldn't be able to raise the amount required—she topped out at just over $30,000—but she says she wanted to shave regardless, to both show support for all the young children battling cancer and to challenge beauty ideals. "Society needs to take a second look at how we deem someone pretty," she said back in April. "Beauty is as beauty does."
To prove it, she had her mother shave her head bald on Monday in front of dozens of onlookers (and, apparently, her local news station). The former Penn State ice hockey player admits she cried a little the morning before, but she had resolved to take it all off. Although a fan has kindly donated a wig, she says she does not plan on wearing it, unless her new job as a reporter for Comcast SportsNet demands it. "If my hair is distracting as it grows out, I'm grateful for the opportunity to wear it," she said.
Miss Virginia Shaves Her Head To Fight Kid's Cancer [Strollerderby]
There She Is... And Hair, It Goes [Washington Post]