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Notes -
So is there something to be said about barber shops of all places? The Wikipedia article on the social phenomenon known as the third place has featured a photo of a barber shop in Brazil as one illustration for a long time as a reflection of the simple fact that barber shops are among the evident third places for men. These are a subject we have discussed here multiple times as there seems to be broad consensus (outside of this forum as well) that they (i.e. third places for [single] men) are mostly dead by now. Broadly speaking there appears to be two opposing narratives on this; one is that these places are dead because men (and adults in general) no longer want them and no longer think they need them, the other is that adults would actually prefer to visit them but they're dead anyway, and they died off because adults in the past bought into the illusion that these are no longer necessary and now it's impossible to resurrect them.
After visiting the Wikipedia page above I went on to ask myself multiple questions. Who goes to the barber shop anymore? As far as I can tell, barber shops are still around, but only in dense urban core areas. Do they exist in the suburbs and exurbs where walkable neighborhoods do not exist? I guess not. Is it that a growing proportion of men are single and many of them let themselves go to such an extent that they don't bother going to the barber? Are married men reluctant or unable to visit the existing barber shops?
In New Jersey, due to corruption, you need 900 hours of training / apprenticeship at a barber school to be able to cut men’s hair. This only really applies to Whites not in college and East Asians, as everyone else knows a guy who will just cut their hair under the table. So this is like a tax specifically on third places. I imagine there are also bizarre health code requirements that are not actually necessary on top of this. Of course there are still “third place” barbershops if you’re willing to spend more money, but I imagine the barbershop in Brazil doesn’t have the issue of retarded regulations making haircuts more expensive, so for the Brazilian it’s always worth the money. Also, when a chain takes over it does everything possible to increase customer turnover and you might be penalized for spending too long with a customer. The ambience is the brightest possible white light so that you aren’t sued if someone is cut, but this lighting is not conducive to bonding.
The scents of the powders etc increase relaxation and it requires close personal touch and trust. Barbershops are probably unique among places for this.
This is another factor because men are fine making video games their third place
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