‘Bro you look utterly reborn’: Is bald Reddit the nicest place on the internet?
On social media, misogyny, misinformation and algorithm-enhanced maleficence are increasingly commonplace. Like many people who once looked to Twitter for community, my online circles have been depleted and my feeds hijacked by the self-indulgent thread-makers and self-appointed blue-tick influencers of Elon Musk-era X.
Reddit’s r/bald is a 143,000-strong community (comprised mostly of, presumably, bald men) offering advice, support and encouragement to those who’ve taken, or are considering taking, “the plunge” by shaving off their thinning hair. With the strapline “lose your hair, not your head,” it is the antithesis of toxic masculinity — a place where men share their vulnerabilities and are actively nice to one another. Founded in 2011, this refuge for the follicly challenged is now among Reddit’s 2% most popular forums (or “subreddits”) and attracts upwards of a dozen posts a day.
The first sees men uploading photos of their desperate hairlines and receiving a friendly but necessary reality check. “Is it over for me?” reads one recent entry. “Is it time, brothers?” “Should I bite the bullet?” “Time to let go?” others ask. The answer is, almost invariably, yes. But the bad news is delivered with warmth and empathy by those — me included — who also clung on longer than they should have.
