As you are walking down the street you see a sign: Dean's Hair Salon, Styles of Europe. You are plagued by too many split ends, so you walk into the salon. You see several different male hairdressers. They are all tall, thin, neat, and fashionably dressed. The walls are painted pink and Lite FM is playing on the radio. Most of the clients are women, though there are a few men.

You walk up to the receptionist's desk and ask if there are any hairdressers available for a quick cut and style. There is. His name is Joe. He is a tall, thin man, with a tan, medium length hair with highlights. He is wearing stylish black pants and a thin black v-neck sweater. He greets you with a friendly hello and a firm handshake. Then he introduces you to his assistant Ken. Ken is young, tall, thin and muscular. He is wearing slate gray pants and a fitted black polo shirt. One of the first things that come to your mind is, "hmm...I wonder if they are gay".

Ken takes you back to the sinks to wash your hair. As he is washing your hair you begin to chat with him and find out that he is in the Army Reserve and will be leaving the salon by the end of the week to begin training.

Most of the men that work at the salon might seem homosexual at first glance. They are actually the typical guys that Dave Barry describes in Guys vs. Men. For example "they like a really pointless challenge."(Guys vs. Men, Barry, Dave, Presence of Others). One day during a lunch break Tom and Ken decided to have a contest to see who could finish a whole large pizza and drink two liters of iced tea first. This contest accomplished nothing. They ended up making a mess in the break room, and did not even bother to clean up after themselves. A female co-worker had to clean up after them. The guys at the salon also play sports, and not "girly" sports, but "guy" sports, according to Barry, such as ice hockey, basketball, and baseball. They are also football fans and Steelers fanatics. When they are on a break you can usually find them reading a Men's Health, or G.Q. Magazine, or reading the sports section of the newspaper. And if they are not reading they are most likely to be found in the back room, chewing tobacco, smoking cigars, or stuffing their faces with food.

You are shocked at the fact that a male hairstylist is in the army, and begin to reconsider your earlier thoughts about Ken being gay. Ken then walks you back to Joe's station only to see Joe sitting down reading the sports section. He

Some common words found in the essay are:
GQ Magazine, Ken Joe, Tom Ken, Lite FM, Army Reserve, Ken Ken, Joe Burdett, Styles Europe, Dean Panazzi, Dave Barry, male hairdresser, tall thin, gay ken, reading sports section, reading sports, construction worker, hair salon, sports section, male hairdressers, stereotype male hairdresser, joe's station, gay dress,
Approximate Word count = 887
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)