You've never heard anyone say long hair on men is "feminine" or "effete"?
Weird... I've heard LOTS of people say that.
My husband has really long hair (in braids, pretty much all the way down his back), and people have had their share of things to say about it over the years -- even though he is honestly one of the least "feminine" guys you will EVER see, both in appearance and in comportment.
Mostly the comments have come from black women (he's also black, mostly if not entirely -- we're not 100% sure of all his ancestry, but, visually, he's black). They've occasionally said that he has long braided hair "like a girl", or similar things.
I mean... to be fair, those kinds of comments are outnumbered by the "Girl holy shit he's so hot" comments by a ratio of at least 50 to 1... lol. But, those comments aren't nonexistent.
About Brad Pitt with longer hair, I've heard lots and lots and LOTS of women (and men) say that the longer hair is just effete, or "gay", or that it makes him look like a "fairy", or any number of other similar observations.
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So... in all honesty, I think yr question is mostly a non-question, because the postulated difference doesn't exist.
If you DO observe a difference... this is only because PEOPLE COMMENT MORE ON WOMEN'S APPEARANCES... IN GENERAL.
That.
That's the ONLY possible explanation.
I mean... When I meet with my clients, I actually think about "What am I wearing? How will clients JUDGE what I'm wearing?"
A guy would NEVER have to think about these things -- at least not beyond the bare-bones basics. In other words, a guy might have to think about whether his outfit is APPROPRIATE for a certain occasion/client/event/environment... but, that's where it stops, for guys. No one would EVER scrutinize a man NEARLY as much as a woman for his clothing choices -- nor for the way he wears his hair.
It's just... part of being a woman.
As always, there are both positives and negatives to this.
The big negative is that... I have to worry about this shit more than guys do. LOL
The big positive is that I can manipulate other people's perceptions of me -- and of my competence/abilities/charisma/appeal in general -- a LOT more than guys can, simply by adjusting the way I dress, or do my make-up, or... wear my hair.
I have short hair again now (since like 3 weeks ago). Had short hair for a year or two 12-14 years ago, then it was waist-length from then until now. This time's probably forever -- unless I decide to go the
I'm not religious nor am I trying to preach but I think the answer to your question has been handed down for thousands of years.
In the Bible it says women are supposed to let their hair be a tribute unto themselves, meaning let it grow long. Women with short hair were all Whores. Both Amish and Mennonite women have very long hair, they wear it pulled up in a bun then covered with a bonnet or a scarf when out in public but at home they wear it down and it's usually at least to their butt.
In the Bible long hair on men was best represented in the story of Samson. Samson was the strongest man and he derived his strength through his hair. He was so strong he could not be captured until after Delilah cut his hair and he became weak. While in captivity Samson's hair grew back and with it came his strength and he became strong enough to push over the pillars of the temple of the people who captured him.
I think this is where our opinions on hair length for each gender have come from and have been taught and handed down for thousands of generations. As we're seeing less attendance in churches today I feel that this will eventually change as religion is becoming less of an influence in people's lives today.
I don't get it either! I love your question. I personally don't understand why some men get so angry when a woman decides to cut her hair short. Some women look fantastic with short hair (P! nk has had short hair for years!).
I know many women who it really suits. I personally cannot pull it off. But I think part of it goes along with gender standards. Now before people start getting their pitch forks out, please hear me out.
Women in society are pressured to be super feminine. Magazines constantly promote this idea that a woman has to be a delicate creatures with small frames and be petite. Well a lot of times that image includes long hair too.
I've had a lot of guys tell me they prefer long hair, and that's okay. But then they bash women who decide to cut their hair. They get so angry as if the woman did something to them personally by cutting her own hair.
I personally do not get this at all. Women should be able to do with their hair what they want. It shouldn't cause such a terrible reaction from people.
Long hair is a symbol of health, youth, and beauty (the last being a consequence of the first two). Generally, as you age, your ability to grow long, thick, non-grey hair goes away - which is why almost every woman over 50 has short hair:
staticmass.net/.../burn_3.jpg
www.secretsalons.com/.../...e-red-carpet-photo.jpg
favehairstyles.com/.../...tyles-for-Women-Over.jpg
Younger women, who have healthier hair, can grow long beautiful hair:
www.brightrun.ca/.../young-women-1200x661.jpg
www.etcfblog.com/.../...Hairstyles-Trends-2012.jpg
Men's hair has been typically short for thousands of years, reflecting the fact that they are the ones who do the dangerous jobs (hunting, mining, soldiering, etc.) where long hair can be dangerous. To this day, military, police, miners, oil workers, and many other professions expect men to have short hair (it is often required, in fact) for their own safety.
Obviously there have always been exceptions among both genders - men with longer hair and women with shorter hair - but that doesn't invalidate the rule, or the standard of beauty.
Because women these days don't know how to use short hair.
Short hair has always looked good. My mother has short hair, and of course she is beautiful to my eyes.
Look at the pics you posted, and you'll see the bias. You presented a well groomed male, in a suit, and a "come and fuck me" kind of face.
But for the woman, you present the typical rebel, with multiple piercings, full of tattoos, and a casual t-shirt.
Since you're comparing celebrities, put some Emma Watson, or some Anne Hathaway. I dare you say they're not feminine.
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Finally, men with longer hair are still looked as effeminate, especially when they don't look like Brad Pitt.
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a I have two guy friends with really long hair and without seeing their faces, they are mistakenly called women all the time until they turn around and I gather it can be the same for women with short styles especially if bald.
We have a society that has long ago associated long hair with being female, and short with being male. It may have served a practical purpose throughout the centuries because long hair for men would have been terrible in battle--gets caught, get's pulled, etc. The military still requires men to have short hair to this day. Society will never change unless we change it. There is no one and nothing else that can make that happen. If guys want to keep it short, they will and for the most part are and vice versa for girls and so this fem/masculine thing continues on.
C - probably...
Long hair is just more unisex and acceptable than short hair. Why? because you can style long hair in so many different ways, while short hair has only 1 or 2 ways you can go and that's it...
Long hair on men is definitely still considered feminine here :P Cause of the way my boyfriend's hair goes to the small of his back, I can't tell you how many times he's either been told to cut it because people think it's girly or how many times people haven't seen him from the front and have approached us saying 'hi, ladies' or cat-called him from behind :P It's pretty funny but yeah long hair is definitely still feminine. I suppose short hair is associated with butch lesbians so people see it as more masculine (which is stupid as fuck) but I think that it's becoming more popular nowadays :)
Its not the length of the hair its the style, the top picture is a short hair style that is more masculine thus its viewed as being masculine not because of the length.
Like this: static.becomegorgeous.com/.../...d_short_hair3.jpg
Does not look masculine yet is still short. The reason why more styles tend to be more masculine is because historicly men are the ones sporting shorter haircuts while women almost always had longer hair however men did not exclusively have short hair as women did which is why long hair on a man isn't associated with femininity unless he starts wearing it in a very specific feminine way.
some people DO the long hair on guys is feminine, you know, in spite of the trend for male actors to wear it long.
But of course, straight cut, 'unstyled' or , 'butch' short hair is kind of a lesbian talisman...
No one thinks the styled short hair that a lot of European women feature is masculine..
i have a pixie cut and i get told a lot that i look like a fucking "cute little fairy that pop out of a Disney movie" onto important matters... have you not seen a man bun (needs long hair to achieve a proper man bun) ... in my personal opinion its majestic asf sexy asf orgasm right there.. just wowy on the right guy... long hair is sexy and manly ^///^ i guess its all about who wears it and how they present them self.. pixie cut might be cute on me but im 5'2 and it fits my face unlock some girls who look like a total boy when they even get a bob.
Short hair on women is a sign of social rebellion or aggressiveness, depending on length. Long hair on men is a sign of social rebellion. Short, short hair on men is a sign of aggressiveness. Rebellion and aggressiveness are masculine traits. While everything is a lot more acceptable these days, the norm is still long hair on females, professional hair on males. Hell. They make you cut your hair at some jobs, if you're male. Thus, rebelliousness.
If a woman has a buzzed head, it's aggressive: masculine. I'll say it suggests aggression. If she has professional male style hair, it's a sign of social rebellion: also more a masculine trait. Keeping in mind that men and women both have masculine and feminine traits.
Excellent question but the answer does not come from me as the idea to answer the question was already in my head. About two years ago I asked my grandfather a similar question. He is very smart and in a way representative of the hippie 60s generation. He was remarking on people's choice of haircuts. I'm going to paraphrase his opinion,
"it's a throwback to the 60s. If you be cool love long hair as a protest. The Stones and the Beatles started the long hair thing. And I don't mean when they first came out. I Think Rubber Soul presented them with long hair. Then everybody got long hair. Girls with short hair were not seen as lesbians but as a really tough women who could fuck your brains out. So all of this is a throwback to the 60s
The best answer to this in my opinion, is just look back at history. Traditionally, males had longer hair, because that was just the norm and that mindset has carried forward in today's society, along with the idea that short hair on women is considered more masculine.
Just look at mainstream media. In the movie "G. I. Jane" the lead female finally cut her hair to fit in better with her male counterparts. There is this notion that if you want to play with the boys, and be one of the boys, or be equal to them, then you have to look the part more so than not.
In this mindset it relates that short hair equals masculinity in females, but not so in males, because long hair in males is attributed to the barbarian; to being strong and heroic, and it is associated a lot with Rock and Roll and heavy metal music, which many relate to as well. Therefore, it is considered more acceptable.
I think because hair is looked at as a facet of female attractiveness, rather than male. Although of course women do pay attention to men's hair, society/culture doesn't really look at it the way we see women's hair. I hope this makes sense.
Just like, let's say height. Height is looked at as a facet of masculinity. So a short guy would be considered less classically masculine than a tall woman would be considered less classically feminine.
All in all, it doesn't really matter- I think that A) short hair on women is becoming so much more common that it'll be accepted more and B) many guys will still find you to be incredibly feminine and attractive even if society has something nasty to say about it.
Some women with short hair are dead gorgeous and sexy. Some are not.
Some men with long hair are dead gorgeous and sexy. Most are NOT.
The OP does bring up a valid point where short haired women get the label masculine while males with long hair do not get the label feminine.
I must be different. I see the hair as long or short on either gender without wondering about their gender or sexual preference. The only exception would be if I could not determine the gender regardless of hair length.
I don't know dude. I don' think that's the case. For example, I really wanna fuck the girl in the pic above, while my mother really likes men with long hair (e. g. Antonio Banderas in Desperado).
It's mostly due to face and body type. A big or fat girl trying to pull off short hair would end up looking like a guy or a lesbian, while a fit girl would be easily distinguishable as a girl.
Same for guys, especially without a beard. If a skinny guy gets long hair he would look like a girl, and if a fat guy get it he will look like a tumblr landwhale. Fit guys again can be easily distinguished.
Ofc it has a lot to do with your face as well so you don't look like a dyke or a trap
I think it is because it is a common stereotype that a lot of lesbians cut their hair really short, or women who have more masculine tendencies/personality traits in general.
As for my opinion, short hair on a woman can still be very feminine, depending on the style and how well she can pull it off. Sometimes it can actually bring out some of her more feminine physical attributes, like if she has a nice neck, pretty eyes, etc.
I've heard my guy friends mock each other if one of them had long hair as well, and tell them they look like a girl. There's not really as much of a stereotype towards long-haired men as there is short-haired women though, it seems.
Other.
Short hair is considered masculine. Long hair is considered feminine. Some people can 'pull off' the other and look good.
Generally speaking long hair on men works better on good looking masculine guys, older. Often facial hair. Tough looking guys. If you're an out of shape 17 year old boy, long hair will look baaaaad.
For women it's the opposite. Women who 'pull off' short hair are always slim and feminine. For very short hair they are typically waifish, and also wear makeup regularly.
I don't care about other people's opinions in hair and I say so as a man with long hair. And I don't care if women think of that as feminine, I am not cutting it!
I don't like short hair for any gender. I don't understand why men have to cut their hair short to be considered acceptable. I wish that those stupid companies would hire men with long hair, but no, the stupid mainstream won't let us grow it out.
i don't know about masculine and feminine but with some exceptions like thor i find long hair on men doesn't look nearly as good as short. I assume women agree?
I find short hair though doesn't look as good on women.
I think this is what most people find attractive as well and i guess its one more way to tell clearly if someone's a man or a women.
Well because long hair on men can be attributed to many warrior/masculine cultures in the ancient world.
Like the
Vikings
Native Americans
Samurai
Spartans of Greece
Persia
Pirates
Cowboys
To name a few.
But the same can not necessarily be said about women in short hair because even the woman warriors of the ancient world had long hair.
This is a big deal to me. Although I think men with long hair look absolutely ridiculous. And my oldest son has long hair and those stupid holes in his ears.
I will not date a woman that has really short hair. anything less then collar length I will just pass up. Sorry, if I wanted to date a man, I would be gay.
I hate men with long hair it's not my thing at all. My initial thought is still feminine when a guy has long hair. I know it's not up to date with the whole thing now a days but it's what my brain goes to. Women with short hair I don't think are any less feminine but it might be because I hate heat and have like 30ft of hair and regularly consider going bald in the summer
Like all hairstyles I think it's about the facial features. I knew this one girl who had long hair, down to her waist. Being a fan of OITNB, she just had to get a cut like Rubber Rose and now she looks like a straight dude, to me at least. Even if majority found her to look like a guy, doesn't mean she looked like a guy though. JUST OPINIONS from DIFFERENT people, you know?
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