[ti:US Army Eases Restrictions on Hairstyles and Other Rules]
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[00:00.04]U.S. Army leaders have eased restrictions
[00:04.60]on a number of hairstyle
[00:07.04]and other personal appearance rules for soldiers.
[00:12.00]The changes are set to take effect in late February.
[00:19.16]One of the main differences is that women wearing combat clothing
[00:24.88]will now be permitted to wear their hair down.
[00:29.44]The old policy required them to wear their hair on top of their head
[00:35.08]in a style known as a bun.
[00:38.56]The new rules also will permit women soldiers
[00:43.28]to color their hair and wear it in styles such as braids and locks.
[00:51.44]They also will be permitted to wear earrings.
[00:55.88]The changes come after longstanding objections to the former Army rules.
[01:04.20]Some of the opposition came from women who said
[01:08.96]they wanted the ability to wear their hair in ways
[01:13.36]that are naturally an important part of their racial identity.
[01:19.00]Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper
[01:23.36]ordered an examination of the old rules last summer.
[01:29.80]The action was part of a wider order to expand diversity
[01:35.40]within the military and reduce discrimination.
[01:40.12]Army Sergeant Major Brian Sanders told reporters
[01:46.08]that the officials who approved the new rules
[01:49.68]examined many considerations in their decision,
[01:54.16]including cultural, health and safety issues.
[01:59.36]Sanders noted that the new rules
[02:03.32]– such as permitting women in combat uniforms
[02:07.20]to wear earrings with gold, silver and diamonds – can also let them
[02:13.48]“feel like a woman inside and outside of uniform.”
[02:18.44]Sanders said the old requirement for women’s hair to be in a bun
[02:24.84]led to hair loss and other issues for some women.
[02:30.80]In addition, larger buns for thick or long hair
[02:35.08]can make combat hard hats fit poorly.
[02:39.52]“These aren’t about male and female,”
[02:42.68]said Army Sergeant Major Michael Grinston,
[02:46.52]who presented the latest changes.
[02:49.04]“This is about an Army standard
[02:52.80]and how we move forward with the Army,
[02:56.20]and being a more diverse, inclusive team.”
[03:01.04]The Army announcement had been long-planned,
[03:04.40]but it came just days after the Pentagon’s
[03:08.20]first Black defense secretary — Lloyd Austin — took over.
[03:13.44]Austin has promised to launch steps
[03:16.96]aimed at reducing racism
[03:19.44]and extremism in the military services.
[03:24.36]In many cases, the changes will now let female soldiers
[03:29.44]wear jewelry or hairstyles
[03:32.32]that were already permitted in dress uniforms,
[03:36.16]but not permitted with their daily combat uniforms.
[03:40.92]The new rules will permit women to wear their hair in a long ponytail
[03:46.92]or braid if it is put underneath their shirt.
[03:50.76]Army officials say this will give female soldiers in combat situations
[03:57.88]a greater ability to turn their head more quickly
[04:02.16]than if they were wearing buns.
[04:05.40]For men, however, the longstanding request by many soldiers
[04:10.52]to permit beards was not approved.
[04:14.76]The Army does permit beards for some medical and religious reasons.
[04:21.56]Also, male soldiers are still not permitted to wear earrings.
[04:27.92]The rules do permit women to wear lipstick
[04:31.60]and both men and women to wear nail polish.
[04:35.64]For men, however, the nail polish must be clear.
[04:40.56]Women can wear colored nail polish, but some colors are not permitted.
[04:46.84]Among them are purple, blue, black and “fire engine” red.
[04:54.04]Men will also now be able to color their hair,
[04:57.84]but the colors for both sexes are limited to “natural” versions.
[05:04.64]Banned hair colors include blue, purple, pink, green and orange.
[05:12.44]I’m Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM