Tell what these quotes mean: ( What are they talking about and why?)

Cutting and dying their hair is an important change for the boys, especially for Ponyboy, who has purposefully grown his hair long like Soda's. When Johnny reveals his plan to cut it, Ponyboy narrates, "It was my pride... Our hair labeled us greasers, too - it was our trademark. The one thing we were proud of. Maybe we couldn't have Corvairs or madras shirts, but we could have hair." Cutting it off causes a kind of identity crisis, a Samson-like transformation.