**Content warning: Contains references to violence, rape and molestation.**
Sinéad O'Connor's shaved head was more than a beauty choice, it was a weighted decision with multiple significant reasons behind it.
O'Connor's family revealed yesterday (Wednesday, 26 July) the star had passed away at the age of 56.
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The internationally renowned Irish musician - best known for the song 'Nothing Compares 2 U' - first shaved her head at the age of 20 ahead of the release of her first album.
In an interview with TV psychologist Dr Phil, O'Connor revealed the reasons behind the look.
During the interview - which took place in 2017 - O'Connor explained part of the reason to shave her hair off stemmed from her mother's comments about her sister's 'beautiful red hair'.
She recalled: "My sister had the most [...] glorious red hair, the type you’d be jealous of. But my mother took it into her head that my sister’s hair was ugly, and horrible and disgusting.
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"And she started, when I had long hair, she would introduce us as her pretty daughter and her ugly daughter. And that’s why I cut my hair off. I didn’t want to be pretty.”
O'Connor also noted how it was 'dangerous to be pretty' and resulted in her 'getting raped and molested everywhere' she went.
"That was a huge part of it," she continues. "I didn’t want to be raped or molested, I did not want to dress like a girl, I did not want to be pretty. Other girls beat you up if you were pretty too."
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However, it wasn't just her mother, the abuse and assault she experienced which led to O'Connor deciding to shave her hair off.
Prior to the release of her first album, The Lion and the Cobra, O'Connor was asked whether she would re-grow her hair 'long' and 'wear short skirts'.
"They wanted to sell me on my sexuality," she explains.
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However, the singer refused, noting she didn't 'want to be sold on that'.
She stated: "If I was going to be successful, I wanted it to be because I was a good musician."
But O'Connor's hair also became more than just a symbol of defiance against the sexualisation of women in the industry, it eventually became a part of her.
The singer resolved: "I don't feel like me unless I have my hair shaved. So even when I'm an old lady, I'm going to have it."
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If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact the Rape Crisis England and Wales helpline on 0808 500 2222, which is available 24 hours a day every day of the year. Alternatively, you can contact Victim Support free on 08 08 16 89 111 available 24/7, every day of the year, including Christmas.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.
Poppy Bilderbeck