Norwood Scale / Norwood Reaper

About

Norwood Scale, also known as the Hamilton-Norwood Scale, is a scale used to classify the stages of male pattern baldness, numbered one to seven. The scale has often been used online to measure the presence and progression of baldness, both one's own and that of other people, particularly within lookism communities. In 2018, frequent use of the scale online spawned the Norwood Reaper meme and slang term, a catchphrase used to describe the death-like inevitability of baldness once hair loss has started.

Origin

The scale for classification and measuring the progression of male pattern baldness was first introduced by James Hamilton in the 1950s and was later revised and updated by O'Tar Norwood in the 1970s.^[1] The scale depicts seven stages of baldness, with stage one being a full head of hair, and stage seven being the most severe stage in which the person is mostly bald on the front and top of their head (shown below). The scale has been used by medical professionals to assess the severity of baldness, although its reliability has been questioned.^[2]

The scale has appeared in online discussions pertaining to lookism and men's health at least since the early 2010s. For example, on January 15th, 2012, an anonymous user posted a request to find images of celebrities with stages of baldness matching different stages of the Norwood scale on the /tv/^[3] board (shown below, left). On October 27th, 2013, another user posted the chart to /tv/,^[4] asking others to self-assess and report (shown below, right).

According to circumstantial evidence,^[5] the Norwood scale was popularized online by the now-defunct Lookism.net forum and other Looksim communities. In early 2018, an unknown user coined the slang expression "Norwood Reaper," which described the "grim reaper of baldness" who comes unexpectedly and painted the inevitability of going bald sooner or later once hair loss has begun. Some of the earliest found mentions of the expression are a January 18th, 2018, post on 4chan's /fa/^[6] board (shown below) and a mention of the Norwood Reaper in a February 26th, 2018, Reddit^[7] post.

Spread

The use of both the Norwood Scale and the Norwood Reaper as an expression online grew in the late 2020s, most notably in lookism communities and on imageboards. For example, on March 4th, 2019, an anonymous 4chan's /tv/^[8] user shared an image of the Norwood Reaper collecting hair from bald YouTubers and celebrities (shown below, left). On November 16th, 2019, Urban Dictionary^[9] user norwoodreaper added a definition for Norwood Reaper.

Starting in 2021, both the Norwood Scale and the Norwood Reaper saw further spread online, with notable posts and memes appearing on X / Twitter^[10] and iFunny. For example, on October 11th, 2021, iFunny^[11] user wubs posted a crossover of the scale with the 1998 Eye Chart, with the post garnering over 840 smiles in two years (shown below, right).

Both the scale and the Norwood Reaper meme maintained a significant presence on social media platforms through the early 2020s, with multiple memes going viral.

Related Memes

Is Es Over Für Mich?

Is Es Over Für Mich? is a German / Denglisch catchphrase translating to "Is it Over for me?" and referencing the It's Over meme. Popularized by a 2023 viral X / Twitter post in which a German user asked about his receding hairline, the catchphrase has since been used in various contexts, most often in the contexts of balding and Norwood Reaper memes.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References