going gray

The September issue of More magazine has a clever story that examines the role of gray hair. Writer Anne Kreamer, who let her hair turn a silvery gray three years ago, was curious about the perception of gray hair in our culture. So she experimented by setting up two online-dating profiles. Everything was identical, except for the hair color: One profile Photoshopped Kreamer's hair brown, while the other left it naturally gray.

I know what you're thinking: Nobody wanted to date the gray lady. Au contraire, my friends: The gray-haired profile earned more responses than the brown-haired one did. Kreamer thought it could be a fluke, so she "moved" to difference cities online, trying the experiment in places around the country. Over and over, the gray-haired profile trounced the brunette profile.

Kreamer's experiences are further outlined in her new book, Going Gray, in which she examines the effects of gray hair. "We have been brainwashed to think hair dye looks good,” she told the other Gray Lady. “I wanted to open up the conversation and get people to ask themselves why they are doing it.

The story in More does just that, and I'm hoping to pick up Kreamer's book this weekend. I know we're all supposed to think of gray hair as something that needs to be hidden, but I like the idea of flipping that idea over. What might things look like if we started making gray okay?