Lesbian, military personnel or a rocker meterologist Kim Zuill is getting used to assumptions people have made about her since she shaved off her hair last month.

When the 34-year-old decided to shave her head for St. Baldrick's Day she never expected to learn quite so much about human nature through the experience.

The event is usually held around St. Patrick's Day on March 17. As part of it, people all over the world shave their head for the St. Baldrick's Foundation, a fundraising organisation for childhood cancer research.

"What I have learned is that people judge your personality by how you look," said Miss Zuill. "People have come to me and said you look like a lesbian.

"I can't believe that someone would do that. It was someone who was joking.

"I thought, you've just completely analysed me based on one feature. Then I thought about how we judge people so much based on one feature. If a girl wears glasses, people assume they must be incredibly intelligent."

She said at an airport in the United States one person asked her if she was "back from the war".

"I said 'what war? I'm from Bermuda'. Someone else asked me if I was a rocker.

"People just make assumptions if women have hair this short."

She decided to donate her hair three years ago when her company, BAS Serco, sent a team to have their heads shaved for St. Baldrick's Day.

"My hair wasn't long enough at the time to make a significant contribution," said Miss Zuill.

She has been growing it ever since.

It got so long it took on a life of its own.

"In school I was known as 'Kim with the Hair'," she said. "And, as an adult, after three years of growing it, it was getting to the point where it was too long.

"My hair would get caught in my pants. It would be windy and it would be blowing out the door.

"I don't think I would grow it as long again unless I was getting ready to donate it."

She raised more than $4,500 by cutting it on St. Baldrick's Day, held this year on March 19.

The money raised from the head shaving went to the St. Baldrick's Day Foundation but the hair itself went to a separate charity called Wigs for Kids.

Wigs for Kids provides hair replacement solutions to kids who have lost their hair through cancer treatment, burns or other medical conditions.

"I haven't had anyone in my family die from cancer," she said. "But I have friends who are survivors. One of my best friends recently lost her father to cancer.

"It affects more than just the immediate family. As a friend you are part of the support network. I think it is a disease that just keeps on growing. I wanted to do anything I could to help find a cure for it."

And although people have had a few negative comments about her new hairstyle, she has also had many positive experiences because of it.

"I was at the drycleaners and this lady asked me if I was sick," she said. "When I told her I shaved my head for St. Baldrick's, she told me she was a two-time cancer survivor. She had an amazing story. It was very inspiring."

She said since she shaved her head she has had dozens of similar conversations with people.

"It went from being something I did for fun to support kids, to a conversation topic with people in the community. It was a catalyst for people to share their stories."

And she said that has been very moving.

"It has been more than a statement, it has been a way to connect to people," she said. " I didn't think it would be that deep."

She said going from having very long hair to a shaved head took some getting used to, for her and her friends and family.

"Some people really liked the shaved look," she said. "People said my eyes were amazing and the hair had been covering everything. Other people said, 'it's not the best look for you'."

She said going without hair did make her feel a bit exposed.

"I am very expressive with my eyebrows," she said. "I had bangs before. Now people can read me a lot easier. That is good when I have positive feelings, but when I am annoyed and don't want the other people to know, it just shows. In that sense I can not hide."

And it also caused logistical issues when she recently went to the Turks & Caicos for a vacation.

"I no longer looked like my passport photo," she said. "I explained the situation to the immigration officer, and he said: 'Wow, that's great. Can I have your fingerprints, please?' He told me about how he had been caring for a member of his family with cancer."

She said one of her fears before she shaved her head was that she would have an oddly shaped head underneath.

"But then I thought that that was quite egotistical. It started me thinking.

"Hair grows. What about those people who have no choice about losing their hair? On top of that, they are fighting a disease, and maybe they are losing other parts of their body.

"On top of that they have to reconcile how they look. I don't know how that features in the scale of priorities, but obviously it must be high, otherwise there wouldn't be such a need for wigs for kids."

She said there can be a lot of gender identity attached to hair.

"A lot of females said they would never ever do it [shave their heads]," she said. "I guess having done it, I don't necessarily know why.

"Maybe they fear their hair won't grow back quickly. At first, I started wearing sparkly things and flowers. I felt I had to differentiate myself."

Miss Zuill is still accepting donations for the St. Baldrick's Foundation. For more information or to make a donation visit www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/participantid/371584.

For more information about Wigs for Kids go to www.wigsforkids.org.