"I did not crop the hair about her head with the knife, rather in the manner of shaving it off, as is sometimes done as a punishment for female slaves."
- MAGICIANS OF GOR, Pg. 125
Gorean slave girls commonly wear their hair long and loose. Such is appealing to men, a sign of beauty and femininity, and a symbol of the girl's position in society. Normally, only free women will wear their hair up, and neither free or slave will dye their hair as such is considered unnatural and fraudulent, especially in terms of the slave trade.
The shearing of a girl's hair is a very visible and lasting sign of her being disciplined. It is an embarrassment to the girl, makes her feel less attractive and less feminine, and displays to the world the fact that her owner has found her displeasing. The length of time the hair takes to grow back, causes the girl to constantly remember why she was sheared in the first place, and quickly fosters the understanding that this is not something she wishes to have happen again. The readily recognizable sign to others, that the girl has angered her master, is also a futher measure of punishment, not just for the shame it brings her as others look upon her and know she has done wrong, but because it is a badge which marks a "displeasing girl" and gives the expectation that such she will need further correction for anticipated failure.
"Whereas a girl’s hair might be cropped, just as her head might be shaved, as a punishment, such a punishment would be quite unusual. After all, the master commonly delights in the long lovely hair of a slave. Indeed, in most cities, long hair is almost universal with slaves. There are many things that can be done with such hair. Not only can it please the master by its beauty and feel, but it can serve to secure the slave, to gag her, and so on."
- MAGICIANS OF GOR, Pg. 301