The Gentrification of the Barbershop

Posted by Nicholas Lim on | 0 comments | Tags: barber , barber shop , barbering , barbering history , barbershop , salon , shave , shaving , traditional

A sociologist on the race, class, and gender dynamics of the “men’s salon."     With their red, white and blue striped poles, dark Naugahyde chairs and straight razor shaves, barbershops hold a special place in American culture. But numbers show that barbershops are dwindling. According to census data, from 1992 to 2012 we saw a 23 percent decrease in barbershops in the United States (with a slight uptick in 2013). As a sociologist, I find barbershops fascinating because they’ve also traditionally been places where men spend time with other men, forming close relationships with one another in the absence...

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