Wally's Haircomb

[miss landers]

This is one of my all-time favorite episodes. I think June did the right thing in ordering Wally to get rid of that greasy hairdo. I'm surprised she waited so long. And I think she was lucky to have a son who did as she wished without giving her any lip. Wally showed a lot of maturity in obeying his mother without a fuss. Today's kids tell their moms to go to hell when told to do something. Pitiful.

[UncleBilly]

I agree with you Miss Landers. It was nice to see June take matters into her own hand about the hairstyle. Usually she defers to Ward on discipline matters but this time she stuck to her guns and handled it herself. Do you think she would have acted like that, though, if Beaver hadn't come downstairs sporting that horrible 'do?

[miss landers]

Originally Posted by UncleBilly

I agree with you Miss Landers. It was nice to see June take matters into her own hand about the hairstyle. Usually she defers to Ward on discipline matters but this time she stuck to her guns and handled it herself. Do you think she would have acted like that, though, if Beaver hadn't come downstairs sporting that horrible 'do?

That's a good question. If Beaver hadn't given himself a greasy 'do, I think June would have continued to press Ward to take care of the matter - (even though Ward thought the 'do was a fad and one that Wally would outgrow.) I don't think June would have dropped the issue of Wally's 'do - it simply irked her too much. Beaver entered the greasy hairdo club and that was the spark that ignited the powder keg; June ordered the boys to get rid of their hairdos.

The whole issue of the hairdo was surely one of class distinction and male sexuality. The thick, greasy male hairdos of the fifties were associated with the sexually unbridled, sexually ignorant, and sexually irresponsible lower class - the social class that fills the world with venereal diseases, sexually abused women, and unwanted and unloved children. Trim, neat haircuts for males were associated with the more sexually restrained, sexually knowledgeable, and sexually responsible upper middle, well educated classes. June surely felt somewhere deep down inside that Wally was unwittingly dragging the family through the gutter and incidentally flaunting a kind of male sexuality that decent men and women would find distasteful, reprehensible, and even frightening.