Japanese students that are born with curly hair or hair in a color other than black are required to show proof that they were born that way, a Japanese newspaper reported recently.
日本一家報紙最近報導稱，頭髮自然卷、或者頭髮是黑色以外顏色的學生必須提供證明他們天生如此。
Close to 60 percent of the 170 public high schools surveyed in Tokyo require students to show some kind of proof that they are wearing their natural hair. Some schools also require students to provide childhood or middle school photos as proof, according to the newspaper.
在東京接受調查的170所公立學校中，近60%的學校都要求學生出示某種證明他們的頭髮是自然的。根據這份報導，一些學校還要求學生提供他們童年或者中學時的照片作為證據。
Parents also have to fill out and sign a form stating that their child was born with curly or say chestnut-brown hair. It is reported that on average about a dozen students per school file such statements every year.
家長們也必須填寫並籤署證明，表明他們孩子天生就是自然卷或者慄色頭髮。據報導，每年每所學校都會有十幾個學生提供這一證明。
Some school administrators say some students insist that it is their natural hair even though it’s dyed, and that’s why they now ask their guardians to take responsibility for it.
一些學校的管理人員表示稱，某些學生即使染髮之後也會堅持說自己的頭髮是天然的，這就是為什麼他們現在要求監護人承擔責任的原因。
It also helps them avoid enforcing school rules on hair by mistake.
這也有助於他們避免錯誤地執行學校對學生頭髮的規定。
Most public high schools in Japan have rules on hair, as is the case in many Asian countries. But not many ask for proof of this kind. The rules on hair and clothes vary from school to school. Some schools in China reportedly require that boys keep their hair within a certain length, while girls are either asked to keep their hair short or wear their long hair in a ponytail.
日本大多數公立學校對頭髮都有規定，而亞洲許多國家都是如此，但要求出具這種證明的並不多。不同學校對學生頭髮和著裝的要求各不相同。據報導，中國某些學校會要求男生的頭髮只能在一定範圍之內，要求女生要麼留短髮、要麼紮起來。
But the whole hair ban thing is ridiculous. Case in point, while ponytails are required in some schools, they are banned in others for being too "provocative."
但是對學生的頭髮做文章是非常荒謬的。舉例來說，某些學校要求女生扎馬尾，但是另外一些學校卻禁止這樣做，因為太「挑逗」。
Why should it matter what hairstyle students wear? If you were to ask a school administrator, it’s to protect the adolescents from getting distracted by appearances and help them focus on studying. Some schools ban short skirts, makeup and jewelry for the same reason.
為什麼要在學生的頭髮上做文章?如果你問一個學校管理者這個問題，他可能回答你這是為了讓青少年不因外觀而分心，幫助他們專心學習。某些學校還因為同樣的原因禁止學生穿短裙、化妝和戴首飾。
It’s a contentious and emotionally charged issue, especially for teenage girls, and the reason is almost always sexual. Anything you do to your hair might be interpreted as an attempt to get attention from boys. Wearing long hair down? Enticing. Ponytails? Provocative. Short? Now you are just showing too much of the back of your neck.
這是一個有爭議且感性的問題，尤其是對十幾歲的女孩兒來說，而這個問題的原因幾乎總是和性有關。你對自己頭髮的任何小動作都可能被認為是想吸引男孩的注意。長發垂肩?你在誘惑誰?馬尾辮?你在挑逗誰?短髮?你的後頸露的太多了!
And of course, let’s not forget that as a grown woman, you are likely to be judged on whether you pay enough attention to your looks.
當然，我們不要忘記作為一個成年女性，人們很可能會從你是否在自己的外表上下夠功夫來評判你。
For boys, it’s almost always that they might be "bad." Too short - bad. Too long - bad.
對於男孩來說，人們總是認為他們可能「變壞」。太長——壞;太短——壞!
But what should kids think when they see their teachers change their hairstyle or dye their hair? Has hair become something that’s for grown-ups only?
但是當學生們看到自己老師換了髮型或者染了頭髮時會作何感想?頭髮已經成為大人們的特權了嗎?
Why do educators think of attention to one’s appearance as the enemy? Sure, some kids might get distracted by it, but banning it is not going to help. If anything, it only makes it more irresistible.
為什麼教育工作者會認為關注自己的外貌是一件不好的事兒?當然，某些學生會因此而分心，但是禁止卻起不到作用。如果有作用的話，它只會讓事情更加難以抗拒。
What a hair and clothes ban really does is to discourage being different. Maybe we should give kids some credit and let them do what they want with their hair. I’m sure they won’t turn out worse than the adults of today.
對頭髮和著裝的規定事實上是消滅學生的個性。也許我們應該相信孩子，讓他們對自己的頭髮多一點兒自由。我相信他們不會比今天的大人們更糟。
（編輯：何瑩瑩）