George Dvorsky has pointed out that women tend to be bald more often in scifi than in any other genre. In some cases, baldness is a method of desexualizing women and making them more socially acceptable as heroes. In others, the baldness represents something else entirely. I think a more pressing issue is the state of the Cylon male.
But first, bald women. Famous baldies include Ripley, Evey Hammond of V for Vendetta and Ilia of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Not mentioned in Dvorsky’s article are the Centauri women of Babylon 5. While discussing Ripley, Dvorsky refers to her baldness as allowing her to be “physical and tormented action hero without having to carry the baggage of female sexuality”. This begs the question, why does our sexuality have to be baggage at all?
Our female Cylon friends are sex symbols, but they also kick ass and no one accuses them of being on their period when they blow something up. This begs another question: why aren’t the Cylon males anywhere near as hot as the females?
Our Cylon guys don’t offer much for women’s viewing pleasure. There’s Brother Cavil, who’s old and has crazy eyebrows. Aarol Doral, the seedy, pencil necked, reporter from the miniseries who keeps popping up. Simon and Leoben, Starbuck’s fake doctor and fake husband, respectively. Simon and Leoben aren’t exactly trolls, but they’re not particularly dreamy. You don’t seen any of the guys involved in a three-way, a la Balter, Six and D’Anna.
This must be because women are more evolved and appreciate more than mere outer appearance. To an extent, yeah. But, I want equal opportunity eye candy. The final five Cylons better include some male hotness or I’m going to feel very discriminated against.
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Lisa Fary's earliest influences are Princess Leia, Rainbow Bright, Astronaut Barbie, and her 6th grade teacher, Ms. Palmer. She's angry that it's 2011 and she still doesn't have a hovercraft, but will accept a jetpack as consolation. That jetpack had better be pink with a rhinestone monogram. 
You know, even as a heterosexual male, I must agree with you. I mean, Cavil is actually kind of hot, but he’s no Baltar.
Actually… this would be totally solved if Baltar was a Cylon. But then, that’s too easy.
The bottom line is that Sci-Fi is still aimed at a male audience; the demands for sweet eye-candy from us girls are less likely to be heard.
Of course, that’s exactly the kind of problem websites like PinkRayGun are helping to solve
I have to disagree with the whole “more evolved and appreciate more than mere outer appearance” jazz. That’s just an old stereotype.
Not sure why you feel discriminated against on this point. Recognizing the inherently superior intuitive powers of the female colonists, the Cylons have decided that the quickest avenue to conquest is through men, who are more easily duped by appearance, and have presented irresistible females and non-threatening males as ….oh. Took me a minute. I get it. Carry on.
Hey, don’t go knocking Evey Hammond.
Pleased to meet you/
hope you guessed my name/
but what’s puzzling you/
is the nature of my game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-vkSO6mS9E
Natalie Portman was surprisingly hot with a bald head.