History Main / BaldHeadOfToughness

*** There's also MightyGlacier Kenji Oe, one of the huge "Mr. Shakedown" guys, whose sole purpose of fighting Majima is out of [[BaldnessAngst jealousy]] of Majima's long hair. This is also why he shakes down people: for the money to pay for an extremely expensive treatment to grow hair, which Majima attempts to convince is a fraud, and albeit initially successful, angers Kenji by saying "Scalp".
** ''VideoGame/Yakuza1'': There's Futoshi Shimano, who, despite being a much weaker Mr. Shakedown, makes up for it in sheer dominance, brutality, and power, along with a few cases of cunning strategy, with the Irezumi on his back being a Tiger, and according to the Japanese saying: "Ryuko Aitatsu", the Tiger is the Dragon's equal. In the VideoGameRemake ''Kiwami'', this trope is further stressed as he is given an absurd amount of health, emphasizing his high durability. Unlike a lot of the Patriarchs, Shimano's completely bald.
** ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'': Taiga Saejima has a buzz cut in ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'' and through ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'', after returning from prison. Out of all of the protagonists in the series, he is the strongest in terms of raw physical strength, having developed his CharlesAtlasSuperpower of immense strength and durability in jail. Notably, he is the only protagonist besides Kiryu able to pick up motorcycles and in one cut scene, stops a moving car ''with his bare hands'' before moving out of the way. He also once fought Kiryu outside of Morning Glory Orphanage, and he actually managed to give The Dragon Of Dojima a run for his money. The two clashed once more but it's up to the player on who falls. Like with Futoshi Shimano, Taiga also has a Tiger Irezumi.

*** There's also MightyGlacier Kenji Oe, one of the huge "Mr. Shakedown" guys, whose sole purpose of fighting Majima is out of [[BaldnessAngst jealousy]] of Majima's long hair. This is also why he shakes down people: for the money to pay for an extremely expensive treatment to grow hair.

** ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'': Taiga Saejima has a buzz cut in VideoGame/Yakuza5 and through VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon, after returning from prison. Out of all of the protagonists in the series, he is the strongest in terms of raw physical strength, having developed his CharlesAtlasSuperpower of immense strength and durability in jail. Notably, he is the only protagonist besides Kiryu able to pick up motorcycles and in one cut scene, stops a moving car ''with his bare hands'' before moving out of the way. He also once fought Kiryu outside of Morning Glory Orphanage, and he actually managed to give The Dragon Of Dojima a run for his money. The two clashed once more but it's up to the player on who falls. Like with Futoshi Shimano, Taiga also has a Tiger Irezumi.

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': Jack is an AxCrazy biotic GlassCannon DarkActionGirl, who is canonically one of the [[PersonOfMassDestruction strongest biotic users]] in the franchise due to being experimented on from childhood by Cerberus to be so. Her biotic strength is paired with an [[LackOfEmpathy emotional hardness]] and [[ItsAllAboutMe lack of care about anyone else besides herself]] that makes getting close to her difficult. She has her head shaved and tattooed when you recruit her on your team in this game. [[spoiler:If you were able to break through her emotional barriers, when you meet her in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' she has transitioned from a {{Jerkass}} to a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, who now [[TheMentor oversees and trains]] a young group of biotics. Along with her softening emotionally, she has grown out her hair into a still edgy TomboyishPonytail with shaved sides look.]]

** ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'': Taiga Saejima has a buzz cut in VideoGame/Yakuza5 and through VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon, after returning from prison. Out of all of the protagonists in the series, he is the strongest in terms of raw physical strength, having developed his CharlesAtlasSuperpower of immense strength and durability in jail. Notably, he is the only protagonist besides Kiryu able to pick up motorcycles and in one cut scene, stops a moving car ''with his bare hands'' before moving out of the way. He also once fought Kiryu outside of Morning Glory Orphanage, and he actually managed to give Kiryu a run for his money. The two clashed once more but it's up to the player on who falls. Like with Futoshi Shimano, Taiga also has a Tiger Irezumi.

* ''ComicBook/XWingRogueSquadron'': Plourr initially shaved her head and is very skilled in unarmed combat.

* ''Film/InTheShadowOfTheMoon'': The killer, [[spoiler:Rya]], is a woman and her head is entirely shaved. She's a very capable opponent, showing great strength and speed.

That said, there is also a distinct trend for tough female characters to be bald, especially within the action and science fiction genres. LongHairIsFeminine and WomenAreDelicate? No problem, just remove the hair and now you have a visual short-hand for tough as nails, emotionally hardened, and likely battle-weary female characters. Such characters are almost always badass {{Action Girl}}s and/or {{Tomboy}}s with the bald/shaved head functioning similarly to BoyishShortHair, BraidsOfAction, and TomboyishPonytail. In horror works, the FinalGirl may appear with a shaved head to symbolize her perseverance against the incredible odds.

** ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'': Taiga Saejima has a buzz cut in VideoGame/Yakuza5 and through VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon, after returning from prison. Out of all of the protagonists in the series, he is the strongest in terms of raw physical strength, having developed his CharlesAtlasSuperpower of immense strength and durability in jail. Notably, he is the only protagonist besides Kiryu able to pick up motorcycles and in one cut scene, stops a moving car ''with his bare hands'' before moving out of the way.

** In the [[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS3E8NoWeeniesAllowedSquilliamReturns same episode]], the two stereotypical {{Nerd}} fish at the designated restaurant for wimps [=SpongeBob=] returns to throughout the episode, Weenie Hut Jr.'s, discuss this trope as they advise [=SpongeBob=] on how to get into the Salty Spitoon. One suggests that [=SpongeBob=] needs a tough hair-do, like a shaved bald head, to get in. The other questions whether or not the guy was shaved or just bald.

A [[TropesInAggregate Trope In Aggregate]]. A SubTrope of BaldOfAwesome and SisterTrope to BaldBlackLeaderGuy. Related to DelinquentHair, as many of those in counterculture movements have adopted head-shaving and general baldness as part of their aesthetics as a form of intimidation and rejection of mainstream standards of beauty and conduct. Compare ManlyFacialHair. Contrast BaldnessAngst, BaldnessMeansSickness. See also PrematurelyBald, which may lead into this trope, but is often accompanied with BaldnessAngst due to social stigmas. Not to be confused with HardHead, which may be used to help portray this trope.

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A [[TropesInAggregate Trope In Aggregate]]. A SubTrope of BaldOfAwesome and SisterTrope to BaldBlackLeaderGuy. Related to DelinquentHair, as many of those in counterculture movements have adopted head-shaving and general baldness as part of their aesthetics as a form of intimidation and rejection of mainstream standards of beauty and conduct. Compare ManlyFacialHair. Contrast BaldnessAngst. See also PrematurelyBald, which may lead into this trope, but is often accompanied with BaldnessAngst due to social stigmas. Not to be confused with HardHead, which may be used to help portray this trope.

** ''VideoGame/Yakuza1'': There's Futoshi Shimano, who, despite being a much weaker Mr. Shakedown, makes up for it in sheer dominance, brutality, and power, with the Irezumi on his back being a Tiger, an equal to the Dragon. In the VideoGameRemake ''Kiwami'', this trope is further stressed as he is given an absurd amount of health, emphasizing his high durability. Unlike a lot of the Patriarchs, Shimano's completely bald.

There is also a gendered component to this trope due to LongHairIsFeminine and WomenAreDelicate. Since long hair is often associated with femininity and physical weakness, baldness can be seen as the logical antithesis of those tropes, like a more extreme version of RealMenHaveShortHair. Therefore, this trope tends to coincide with and reinforces MenAreTough. Thus, if a bald guy is part of a team and they aren't the [[BaldOfAwesome leader]], they are very likely to be TheBigGuy.

A [[TropesInAggregate Trope In Aggregate]]. SubTrope of BaldOfAwesome and SisterTrope to BaldBlackLeaderGuy. Related to DelinquentHair, as many of those in counterculture movements have adopted head-shaving and general baldness as part of their aesthetics as a form of intimidation and rejection of mainstream standards of beauty and conduct. Compare ManlyFacialHair. Contrast BaldnessAngst. See also PrematurelyBald which may lead into this trope, but is often accompanied with BaldnessAngst due to social stigmas. Not to be confused with HardHead, which may be used to help portray this trope.

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%% See Analysis/BaldHeadOfToughness before posting to make sure that 1) you aren't writing a zero context example and 2) you aren't adding an example that is better placed in BaldOfAwesome.
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[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cb426cee_0335_46d4_bfce_b85377373151.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:So, uh... where does he stand on the whole "bald" vs. "shaved" debate?]]

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' has the bald and black Vivienne, an ActionGirl mage and Knight-Enchanter. She is portrayed as TheUnfettered and an IceQueen, almost to a fault, and does not experience any real [[DefrostingIceQueen defrosting]] over the course of the game. Almost everything she says is layered in icy, razor-sharp politeness and she gives away her true feelings about as freely as other people give up their limbs. Her in-game monike is "Madame de Fer", French for "IronLady".

** ''VideoGame/Yakuza1'': There's Futoshi Shimano, who, despite being a much weaker Mr. Shakedown (though he has an absurd amount of health in Kiwami), makes up for it in sheer dominance, brutality, and power, with the Irezumi on his back being a Tiger, an equal to the Dragon. Unlike a lot of the Patriarchs, Shimano's completely bald.

** Zig-zagged with Aang (airbenders are almost all monks and practice tonsure) who has the potential to be the strongest person in the universe as the Avatar, but starts the series as an 11 year old boy who only knows airbending and actually ran away from his duties out of fear. Even after he learns the other elements, Aang is far more likely to rely on his airbending to evade attacks and battles than take a fight head on. In Season 3, his hair grows back [[spoiler: after some time in a coma]], which he keeps in order to lay low while in the enemy Fire Nation. Finally played straight when he shaves his head again for his attack on the Fire Lord during the Eclipse, signifying he's ready to face the Fire Lord and has [[ImportantHairCut strengthened his resolve to defeat him]].

* ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra'': The BigBad of the third season, Zaheer was considered [[TheDreaded so dangerous]] as a BadassNormal that he was imprisoned along with the bending members of the White Lotus and in jail, his hair is long and unkempt. However, due to the Convergence of the previous season, he [[EmpoweredBadassNormal gains the ability to airbend]], making him formidable enough to challenge and [[spoiler:almost kill]] Korra. After breaking out of prison, he shaves his head completely making him look quite similar to the Air Nomads whose philosophy he has an extensive knowledge of.

->'''Weenie 1:''' Couldn't get in, huh? What you need is a tough hair-do. No one gets into the Double S without a tough hair-do.\\
'''Weenie 2:''' I disagree, I saw a guy going in there, and he was bald.\\
'''Weenie 1:''' I saw that guy. He wasn't bald, he had a shaved head. ''Shaved.'' That's a hair-do. Case closed.
-->-- ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'', "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS3E8NoWeeniesAllowedSquilliamReturns No Weenies Allowed]]"

* In ''WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', [[BaldOfAwesome party leader]] and main melee combatant Roy has a shaved head, and he's proven his toughness and strength many times over in the comic. In a prequel volume, it's shown that Roy started shaving his head in college, and his father lampshades the trope during a visit, specifically noting that the shaved head made Roy look tough.

One reason behind this trope is that hair of medium and long length can get in the way when one is physically training, so going completely bald or shaving one's head avoids the issue entirely. This is in part why many armed forces require new recruits to shave their heads before undergoing basic training. Symbolically, on the other hand, since hair acts as a natural defense against the elements, baldness can imply toughness as one is naturally more [[ExposedToTheElements exposed to harsh weather]] than those with hair.