Why is short hair still considered masculine on women when long hair is not considered feminine on men?

Question

Haircuts like these are often considered masculine  
But you won't hear anyone say that this looks feminine

redeyemindtricks · Accepted Answer

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.

__

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

SvetlanaSavachenko · Accepted Answer

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.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

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.

MrOracle · Accepted Answer

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.

mikemx55 · Accepted Answer

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.
-----------------
Finally, men with longer hair are still looked as effeminate, especially when they don't look like Brad Pitt.

BeeNee · Answer

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.

LittleSally · Answer

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...

fauchelevent · Answer

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 :)

hellionthesage · Answer

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.

martyfellow · Answer

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..

NalaxLazy · Answer

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.

Rawrzz · Answer

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.

tuttilady · Answer

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

mwin2030 · Answer

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.

RachelBrigs · Answer

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.

FingerDancer · Answer

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.

Radontal · Answer

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

Anonymous · Answer

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.

Anonymous · Answer

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.

chc0009 · Answer

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.

sedrftvgyhujik · Answer

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.

Phoenix98 · Answer

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.

godfatherfan · Answer

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.

CrazynKinky · Answer

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

DoctorNuggets · Answer

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?

cavmanier · Answer

Maybe similar to how women tend to not like bikini underwear on guys but girls often wear underwear that looks kind of like boxer briefs. I have noticed girls tend to not like long hair on guys though.

Ephemera1 · Answer

I just want to say something here somewhat related to this discussion. When looking at someone with long hair at a rear or side view I almost always assume that person to be a female. When looking at someone with shorthair I can still easily tell the person's gender, whether said person is a male or female. Short hair isn't considered masculine, instead long hair is consider feminine, at least that's how I see it.

Brokenheartedx · Answer

When I was 10 my mum took me to the hairdressers and had my hair cut like a boys.. and for ages people mistook me for a boy... so guess it's what people assume.. short hair for boys.. long hair for girls..

me I'm not bothered it's really only hair.. if it's short it will grow back.. as for men with long hair doesn't bother me either as long as it isn't long straight hair down the back

FakePrincess · Answer

Men have worn long hair for the majority of the human history so I think it's become more acceptable in many different cultures.
Women started wearing short hair more recently and again, throughout the history they have worn long hair.

Girly1710 · Answer

I don't think that's all that true. But, if I had to guess, I'd say maybe because there was once a time when everyone had long hair and then eventually guys started cutting it almost across the board now men have short hair but that's never been the case with women so the short hair is more associated with men whereas long hair may be seen as just hipster throwback to the time of the Vikings or even cavemen etc

Pac-Man · Answer

They are considered masculine because the girls who have them are masculine.  It's the typical lesbian haircut.

FashionQueen86 · Answer

Hair rules were always generally stupid to me. There are men who look absolutely amazing in long hair, and there are plenty of women I've seen that totally rock short hairstyles. It may also stem from religious beliefs, becuase there's a verse that says a woman's hair length (I'm assuming long hair) gives her glory.

peachblossomluck · Answer

Short hair on women has been traditionally associated with lesbianism but now Iit doesn't necessarily mean that. Long hair on men was never associated with gay guys. So there was never some social message for women to be discouraged.

TripleAce · Answer

The thing is thats more like a boy cut, on Brad Pitt that is. Women don't usually have their hair like that. But the the women is a haircut that many guys actually have

The short hair cut girl here is equivalent to Brad Pitt walking out of a Salon with hair like this girl

www.long-hairstyless.com/.../...nde-Hairstyles.jpg

ADFSDF1996 · Answer

Not everyone looks good in a certain hairstyle. Some women look good in short hair, like Halle Berry but others don't. The ones that don't, look masculine. Same goes for guys, some guys look good in long hair. Mark Callaway looks good in long hair but the guys that don't, look feminine. So to answer your question no, short hair isn't considered masculine. It's not always about a person looking masculine or feminine, sometimes a hairstyle doesn't match a person.

tyrion69 · Answer

Long hair can be pulled of by many people nowadays. But i think it's harder for many women to pull of that short hair look... but if you pull it off like Jennifer Lawrence , who looked absolutely stunning in short hair, no one would consider that masculine... but as i said., it's hard to pull that off.

Browneye57 · Answer

Opinions are like assholes...
Short hair on women is not attractive or feminine. Some can pull it off if it's done right and they have the features for it. Long hair for a woman is her sensuality. Cut it off and that is gone.
Long hair is NOT attractive on men - proper grooming is always more attractive. And the ponytail-bun thing is just disgusting. Same deal, some can pull it off, but for the majority, just no.
Looking at celebrities for validation is a fools endeavor. Be your own person.

Gommers · Answer

Long/full hair on either sex is a sign of good health and sexual virility defined by the vibrancy of color. It's not a matter of being masculine or feminine on men because women inherently understand this, however women with short hair tend to be more tomboyish as a general rule. That's probably the reason for the confusion.

Unit1 · Answer

He doesn't look feminine at all. But anyway, it has something to do, that the standard/necessity part of women's beauty is her hair. I don't know why it is, but it just is. There is no scientific explanation for it I guess.

AhGojira · Answer

Because women try to act like they accept everyone to give an appearance of being nice and also tend to be into all sorts of bullshit fashion trends that people tell them to be into. Men tend to know what we like and it's not all over the place from one day to the next.

Zorax · Answer

I don't consider short hair as masculine, but long hair on girls looks so much more attractive. Even most tomboyish girls wear long hair (usually tied in a ponytail).
Long hair on man is not considered feminine because of some movies, for example Conan The Barbarian - who would call him a "girly man"? :P

OlderAndWiser · Answer

Historically, men's styles have included periods in which long hair was fashionable for heterosexual males. Women's styles have never had any periods in which short hair was the norm for heterosexual females.

Tanuron · Answer

As a guy who has had long hair all his life, hell yes have I been told its feminine "girly" and so on. People used to bully me as a kid for it.

Anonymous · Answer

If you look at those two pictures you presented, you posted a fairly masculine looking woman against probably the hottest male celebrity around. Not a fair comparison.
I think the pic of her would have been cute if she wasn't made up to LOOK masculine - short sleeves, focused on tattoo, etc.

Nice_Guy_Last · Answer

It's definitely based on the girl and the guy. If the girl is already more masculine, it will further the appearance of masculinity. Likewise, if the guy is effeminate, long hair exacerbates their feminine look.

Per examplum: Nobody in their right minds would call Halle Berry masculine.

ProbablyTooMature · Answer

I personally don't consider short hair overly masculine... But rather the way it's styled. Same with men's hair... It can be styled feminine when long, but the length alone isn't.

ModernDayCrusader · Answer

Short hair on women hardly ever works
Haly Berry or whatever her name is couldn't even pull it off well

Also, long hair on men often gets criticized
We used to crack jokes on the kids with long hair all the time growing up

And if you work in a professional office good luck keeping your job if you want to grow long hair

ikissedtheskyonce · Answer

The first girl is pretty and it suits her, but that does not mean every woman should go out and cut their hair short, not every woman looks good with short hair, as for men, some men who already look feminine will look even more feminine with long hair.

anonman32 · Answer

its not that short hair on women is unfeminine to me, its just a warrior type hairstyle in my opinion. warrior classes in history have always kept their hair shorter than usual regardless if it were men or women that were in the warrior class.

Borginborg · Answer

I think it shows societies stigmatism and stereotyping. ie: if a chick has short hair she must be lesbian which is still not accepted in society as it should be. males with long hair, well people quit fighting with hippies a long time ago.

NJ_Casanova · Answer

Girls... it depends on how short and the style... that makes it look dyke'ish.
Long hair on a guy ALWAYS looks girl.. from a guys point of view. I think only Bi-curious girls like the long hair guys... like in the 80's when they wore spandex and makeup.

HandsomeRaj · Answer

I vote 'C'

Time, era and gender immaterial it's all about pulling it off. For those that can pull the long or short hair look off it's just awesome.

There are women that look awesome with short hair as well - again era and acceptance immaterial

DaniaMQ · Answer

I think it depends.
some guys can pull off long hair.
some girls can pull off short hair. And if they do it isn't considered as masculine (in girls case ) Or at least not as if she doesn't pull it off. And same goes for men.

Sami365 · Answer

Long hair on guys is still considered feminine, just by old conservative people like my dad. He has mentioned in the past his dislike of it, but personally, I just think he is jealous because he is bald and my mom likes guys with long hair cx

TiffyPuff · Answer

Long hair IS feminine on men. But if they're super manly (😍), then longer hair just softens them up a bit. :)

And if a girl is super feminine, then shorter hair gives her a masculine edge... RAWR!!! 😈

It's all about balance :)

Relentless_Hippie · Answer

I voted not true, because long hair on men is feminine. The only time it works out is because they need a beard to balance out the girlishness. Take a clean shaven man and put long flowy hair on him and he looks like a chick.

ChocoLada · Answer

The thing is, most guys don't like short hair on girls, while majority of girls think guys with long hair are cool (like some rock stars).
No need to worry, if your hair is like in your avatar, it's long enough, most guys would like it.

Anonymous · Answer

You're wrong: Short hair isn't considered masculine on women. Short hair is considered unattractive on women. Though I suppose that if you are a women, there's no real difference.

GingerGuy · Answer

It does go both ways. I used to have long hair an very much got teased for it. Some consider it very feminine on men. Nobody is obviously going to say anything to Brad Pitt though lol. Either way though it's silly in my opinion I agree.

mooky06 · Answer

Long hair on men - feminine  Short buzz cut hair on women - masculine  That's how I've always seen it. If it suits them I'm not going to make a big fuss about it, because I don't care either way

Mustachekitteh · Answer

Men tend to be laughed at for long hair. People assume ones that have long hair are lazy or a slob.  With chicks, it's because we're used to seeing it more on men.

JohnDoe3000 · Answer

Lots of people DO consider long hair (anything over 4 inches) on men as feminine (which is ridiculous as your Brad Pitt example shows, but people do think this).

triadne · Answer

I think the long hair on men is feminine. I do think it's a difference in male and female culture though. Masculine aspect of women is examined more than feminine aspects of men. A guy with feminine aspects is generally seen as 'in touch with his inner self' whereas women with masculine aspects are seen as 'hard' or 'butch' or 'tomboy'. I think it's an imbalance that is admittedly slowly disappearing.

SarahsSummer · Answer

I don't think shot hair is automatically masculine. It really depends on the girl. Could be masculine, could be sexy or could be boyish (that's not necessarily masculine)

stillagoodgirl · Answer

Not sure what you mean but I do have a thing for guys with long hair

Why is short hair still considered masculine on women when long hair is not considered feminine on men?

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