Orthodox Jewish women shamed online for wearing 'slutty wigs'

Orthodox Jewish women are being shamed online for wearing 'slutty' wigs. Go ahead and add hair to the list of things that you never thought could be classified as 'slutty'.

"People always say the longer it is, the sluttier it is", said Esther Adina Sash in an interview with the New York Post, referring specifically to sheitels, otherwise known as wigs.

Married Orthodox women are mandated by Jewish law to wear sheitels so that they don't entice men who aren't their husbands.

The basic idea behind the wig, apart from seemingly centuries of sexism, is the sheitel reflects what is modest: shoulder-length or shorter, synthetic hair.

Esther has her own Instagram account, @flatbushgirl where she posts pictures of herself wearing long, cascading wigs which have, bizarrely, prompted hateful comments.

“Go drown yourself in a lake - you’re negatively influencing young girls,” one such comment read.

The New York Post also reports that Esther has been criticised by rabbis, one of whom challenged her to cut her wig as a good example to others.

Esther isn't the only one being targeted either.

Last month a Jewish newspaper The Voice of Lakewood banned adverts by wig makers that show photos of hair. This move came after aggressive digital fliers were e-mailed to wig makers last fall.

"Dear Jewish Women, how badly are you trying to look like a prostitute?", the flier said, "How important is it for you to slap G-d in the face?".

The desired effect of the flier seemed to be to discourage women from having longer wigs cut, as experienced by Galit Lavi, owner of BH Wigs in Borough Park, who has seen a sharp increase of customers having wigs cut 'short enough so I don't get in trouble'.

Gitty Berger, a 33-year-old makeup artist from the Orthodox community of Jackson, NJ, stocks sheitels of different lengths and styles, but said she saves her longest ones for people far removed from her neighbourhood.

If you’re seen in a local pizza shop wearing a long wig, you’ll be talked about.

People will go to [school or synagogue] administrations about you and you and your husband will be getting phone calls.

But some young Orthodox women are increasingly more defiant of the expectations.

Mindy Meyer, a lawyer from Flatbush asked “I’m an Orthodox woman and I want to adhere to my traditions, but why do I have to look like I’m from ‘Fiddler on the Roof’?”

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