Laughing at Hair Loss

So what is it about hair that causes such concern when it falls out and such joy when it is styled just right? What makes it so easy to use as the butt of a joke? I recall seeing a film when I was a teenager where two women were fighting over some money and one pulled the other's hair, which came off in her hand. After a split second in which it took the audience to realize it was a wig, everyone in the theater broke out in hysterical laughter. Would you have laughed? If your friend or spouse laughed, does it mean that he or she is insensitive to your hair loss?

I remember a young man in his early twenties with thinning hair being the butt of jokes from friends and family. Is this an example of playfulness or insensitivity? The giving and taking of mild teasing is something most of us do with our friends and relatives. It's part of the fabric of friendship and camaraderie.

Is your hair loss fair game for gentle teasing? Would you tease your friend's acne or the scar your sister got from a fall or the birthmark on your brother's face? Are these even fair comparisons? Some people who are losing their hair would say, categorically, yes. Others would disagree. What do you think?