Eight-inch heels are stomping across the stage. White wigs of all styles are being flaunted. There is no shortage of blinged out accessories — from spiked acrylic nails to rhinestone face coverings.

This sense of self expression exuding from Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” music video is what inspired freshman communication studies major Emma Sharman to start expressing themselves through changing their hair, after years of being constrained to Kidz Bop tunes. 

“One of the first real songs that I ever listened to that wasn't a Kidz Bop song was ‘Poker Face’ by Lady Gaga, and that's the energy and vibe I wanted to conjure as a nine-year-old,” Sharman said. 

Sharman’s mom wanted to ensure they were not corrupted by music at a young age so they solely listened to Kidz Bop. However, when Sharman’s “cool aunt” introduced them to the likes of Lady Gaga and Nikki Minaj, it was game over. From then on, Sharman had one thing on their mind: to dye their hair. 

At age 11, Sharman’s mom let them start dying their hair using hair chalk and semi-permanent dye. 

“I would dye the front lighter pieces without having to bleach it for a year, and I would do all the hair chalks and stuff even before that,” Sharman said. “I just wanted to have colored hair so bad.”

It was Sharman’s 12th birthday when their mom finally relented, allowing them to properly bleach their hair for the first time and get it dyed with pink and purple stripes. Sharman said their mom was more concerned with ensuring they were old enough to upkeep the bleached hair properly than the actual act of dying it, since Sharman has naturally dark brown roots.

Since then, Sharman told The Panther they have experimented with about 20 different hair colors. 

Renee, Sharman’s hairstylist, has dyed Sharman’s hair since their first visit seven years ago. Having dyed firetruck red hair herself, Renee understands Sharman’s vision every time they come in and is willing to do anything on their hair, no matter what color of the rainbow.

“(My stylist is) really down for all the crazy, and she's really good at making sure we have repairing agents in the bleach like olaplex or whatever to make sure my hair isn't decimated,” Sharman said. “After having it bleached, my hair still feels soft and healthy even though it was platinum blond like two months ago and had all the colors stripped out of it.” 

Growing up, Sharman always considered themself an artsy kid. They never were afraid of expressing themselves in their hometown of Long Beach, California, a place Sharman described as “a smaller, artisier Los Angeles.” They took piano lessons, did musical theater camps and were interested in learning about sketching and painting. They especially loved dancing and have been doing ballet since they were three years old.

Although ballet is a rigid art form, Sharman did not try to fit into the expectation people had for the way a ballerina should look. When they were younger, their hair was so thick and long that if they put it up in a bun, it would lead to a serious migraine. Sharman emphasized they wanted ballet to be a place where they could focus on bettering their skills and technique while blocking out everything else for a couple of hours. 

“I would waltz into my ballet class with a tank top and a skirt with a little head scarf in a braid, and I was just like, ‘This is me,’” Sharman said. “‘Deal with it. I'm here to exercise and be happy.’” 

Although Sharman did not let themselves conform to the rigid ballet industry, they felt pressure to conform to expectations when they came out as non-binary about a year ago. They thought that since they came out and still had long hair, which did not match the adrogonous stereotype put on non-binary people, that they would not be believed within the community. 

“I was like, ‘You know, I guess I'm out now; I guess I have to cut all my hair off’,” Sharman said.

Luckily, they had been wanting to cut their hair off ever since they saw a girl on NBC’s “The Voice” with a light pink voluminous mohawk. However, Sharman said they now realize that the expectations put on non-binary people to look a certain way are ignorant, because in reality, for them, being non-binary is a feeling rather than an appearance. 

“I'm growing my hair out because I'm in the mood for it and so stereotypes continue to not matter to me,” Sharman said.

Sharman said they feel the most themselves when they have colored hair, because they feel like they are expressing themselves to the utmost extent. They often change their hair when a life change is coming up, or they just feel like they want to spice things up. They have had “watermelon” hair — where their bangs were green and the back of their head was pink and “unicorn hair” — which was a mix of pink, blue and purple. However, their default hair color is always pink.

They often top off the look with a super extended black wing eyeliner on both the outer and inner corners of the eye, neon eyeshadow that matches her hair and orange or pink blush. They often coordinate their makeup to their hair and believe that there is no limit on color when it comes to their overall look — a style that Sharman’s friend coined as “rainbow maximalist.”

“I don't believe in the whole ‘If you have colored hair you have to wear plain clothes,’ (thing)” Sharman said. “Like, no, pile it on. More color. I like to wear at least 7 necklaces at one time, lots of jewelry and big obnoxious earrings that make a lot of noise. I don't like to blend in anywhere.”

Although they don’t care about what other people think about them, they still get some questioning looks and comments. Sharman said people often assume they are a performance arts major because of their expressive style and are surprised when they say that they are a communications major. 

“I don't think the color of your hair should determine if you're professional or unprofessional or if you get professional opportunities,” Sharman said. 

Sharman said as they get older, they get even more carefree. They think everyone's individual appearance is special, and they would rather stand out with colored hair than look like everyone else — channeling their inner “Poker Face” everywhere they go.