Why is short hair on girls still so unacceptable by today's beauty norms?

Question

I think there are plenty of girls who look just gorgeous with short hair. I cut my hair two years back and nothing has felt that liberating and my confidence soared. But I still have to deal with people seeing old photos of me and saying "wow, you  were  so pretty," as if I'm not anymore. That doesn't bother me much anymore since I'm comfortable in my skin, but it's still crazy how few girls there are out there with short hair. Anyways I'm rambling, I just wanted to hear what you guys have to say :)

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Well if I see an ugly pair of shoes I’m not going to lie and say I like them. If someone makes an alteration to the shoe and then I suddenly begin to like it, I’ll also say it. Why lie? Same goes for hair or anything else in the world for that matter.
personally dislike the boy haircut on women. Some girls look very pretty with it, sure, That’s usually because the person IS that attractive, not so much the hair.. a person with a good body can make ugly clothes look good, the clothes are still ugly in and of themselves, yet I’m sure there are some who actually like those clothes and don’t think they’re ugly... just like the boy Hair, there are people like you who like it.. so accept that there are people who don’t find it attractive in and of itself..

shirt hair in general ages any woman. This message goes to anyone: If you want to look old, cut your hair like a boy. (Especially older women) if you want to keep looking nice and youthful, take care of your long hair:))!

my mother for example looks wayyyyyy younger than all her sisters and cousins... all the sisters and cousins have cut their hair like men. 🤦🏼‍♀️! And then they wonder how my mom looks so much younger lol.. sometimes I feel like telling them why.. but i feel they’d feel offended. So I just keep quiet. In the end everyone should look how they aim to look... boy cut makes Women look older than they are.

Sbgirl · Accepted Answer

I wouldn't say it is necessarily unacceptable, but certainly not seen as the most desirable. Personally, I like the look of longer hair and it's the way I choose to wear mine. However, I have a couple of friends who went for the pixie cut. I am not generally a fan of boy-short hair on women, so when I first saw the haircuts I thought 'How could they do that to their hair?' However, as time went on I really thought it suited them better than their longer hair did. But I think this was a mixture of factors - their confidence with the cut, their face and facial features, how they dressed and did their make-up. They could rock it, but I know I would never be able to (or really want to for that matter).

I think that goes for everyone; not everyone suits the same hairstyle. I know a girl with a bob (not as frowned upon as the pixie, but still shorter than 'long hair') and she looks stunning with it because she has the face shape and smooth thinner hair for it to work. I've seen older pictures of her with longer hair and she looks nowhere near as good as she does now because her hair looked dull when it was long, so it all depends. My hair is thick, so long is always what has suited me.

HawkPerception · Accepted Answer

The thing that our generation both benefits and has a disadvantage from is media. We are probabaly the most fashionable generation to date because of the media and it shows basically every type of fashion style to even people who aren't looking for it. It's so easy to come across that by the time we hit about 18, our perspective on what beauty is, is most likely made and not easily skewed. There's a reason most people find certain features attractive and why some people are considered attractive by most. It's because those are the physical traits that we are drawn to. Long hair on girls is more attractive than short hair for most guys. I doubt that fact will change anytime soon. You can do what you want and be proud of who you are, but attraction standards will remain the same.

Massageman · Accepted Answer

Norms? Who said that? Short hair, long hair, no hair- if a gal can "wear it well", it's a go for me! Here are five that look great, regardless of follicular fullness.  I always liked Rigby's pixie cut - - - -  - - - and Halle Berry is no slouch in her tousled pixie either - - - Yes, there ARE sexy Latinas in short cuts, too! She wears her LONG hair well, too! - - and this young cancer survivor looks awesome as well!

Unit1 · Answer

To put it into women's perspective - Women with short hair (much less than shoulder length) are to us as unattractive as the neckbeard nerds wearing weird clothes and huge "smartass" glasses.

bet someone like him doesn't get a girlfriend with this everyday "style"

There's a reason why there's a not so popular statement "half of women's beauty lies in her hair alone".
Take this for example

Why is short hair on girls still so unacceptable by today's beauty norms?

Eyes are not excited. Eyes are not pleased. Pupils don't expand. Heart doesn't beat faster/harder. Dick doesn't get hard.

Braids are nice however 😍

That's more like it.

Levin · Answer

People can only see things in terms of this and that. ie they see genders as overtly masculine, or overtly feminine, and one should have no aspect of either in each, and no aspect of subtlety and nuance.

Personally, I have known women who have cut their hair very short. And while maybe it did affect that very primal sexual attraction a little, it in no way affected their overall attractiveness. I can't believe cutting some strands of hair really has that effect. Is a person's attractiveness really so tissue thin shaky that changing one's hair has that effect? Surely people look at more than that. Face, energy, etc?

Personally, I think your hair is awesome. Keep it.

serious · Answer

@nadia533 Well, unfortunately many people today like to see women have long hair only. Unfortunately many men like women with long hair only. I think it is a very old existing social norm. However, as a man I only find women with short, BOY CUT hairstyle appealing and attractive. Only is the keyword here, I find any other hairstyle on women as repulsive and unattractive to my eyes. Yes but then men with my thinking are very rare indeed. Very few men will have the same thinking like mine. I don't know why it is like this but unfortunately it is. That being said, yes there are many women who look absolutely gorgeous with short hair be it any variant of short hair.

Daniela1982 · Answer

To be honest I do think some girls look a lot better with longer hair. Short hair makes them look "Butchy" to some people. I like longer hair on myself and have seen actresses with short vs. long hair and they always seem to look better with long hair.

Michelle Williams

Shailene Woodley

Loved her before look

AmandaYVR · Answer

Straight humans have evolved to desire what they do not have, thus the more different the other is, often the more magnetic and attraction. Of course beyond that we also need compatibility of personality and character, and those should and often do trump physical appearance. But it begins with biology.

From behind, guys with long hair and girls with short hair can start looking like the opposite sex, and that does not sit right with many.

And the shorter the hair, the more pronounced one's face and facial features appear. And there is typically more self-expression in women's fashion and styling, so they are more apt to want more options in styling their hair, even if it means a lot more time in maintenance.

So look beyond societal standards. That's a small part of it, but not even close to being the whole story.

BCA6010 · Answer

Because the only way to get away with short hair is to have not just a pretty face, but an exceptionally pretty face, and at the end of the day, a woman with a pretty face is still going to look a lot better with longer, attractive hair. A woman who maintains attractive hair puts off the impression of being more proud of herself than the (lazy) short hair. Short hair also tends to look more masculine, and straight guys generally don't like physically masculine women.

Personally, I have not EVER seen a woman who looks better with short hair than she did with long hair, and while I know a few guys who do find some shirt-haired girls attractive, I don't know ANY who actually prefer it, and for good reason.

Quackthulu · Answer

It’s more about knowing how to work with what you have. Some girls can pull off the pixie cut absolutely beautifully. Others can’t so much. hair type, facial structure, how you carry yourself, or do your makeup can all have an impact on how well short hair works.

Myviews · Answer

I don’t know but I had a pixie cut and a lot of people would hate on me oh you lol like a boy why did you do that oh who do you think you are. People would call me trans and talk behind my back. It’s hair it grows back. I can’t deny I felt regret and reject coming from these people. But partly I enjoyed it seeing my face more. Having a quick hair routine. More fast and simple. I think it looked good on me. But I guess I don’t have the guts to rock it.

Aislin9 · Answer

People grow up with dolls, Disney princesses and images of what pretty women should look like, they all have long hair. It's really dumb. Personally I think some women look better with short hair. My mom is one of those women. When she grows out her hair, it just looks weird to me. She looks a lot better with short hair as do many other women.

Thatsamazing · Answer

It's not "unacceptable." What are you talking about? It's not as sought-after by both males and females because it simply doesn't look as good. You might as well be asking why slim people are more attractive than fat people-- because they are. That's why.

Longer hair (to a point) on a girl is simply desired more. It has nothing to do with "beauty norms," sis. Where do we think those "norms" came from? Aliens? Faeries? Random chance? No, they are the way they are *because that's what people want.*

I-am-a-nobody · Answer

I love short hair.
I still remember the Dorothy Hamill look.
Toni Tennille rocked the short hair look, too in the mid 70s.
About a generation before was Leslie Caron.
I married a girl with shorter hair.
Short hair is great.
(Less hair gets in the way.)

itsjustlew · Answer

That happened when I cut my hair really short into a pixie cut. People kept saying I was so pretty with long hair and they missed me having long hair. My hairs longer now, more medium length because my hair is naturally curly. They also used to say it looked better straight until curly hair got popular and now they all want my hair 🙄

Ruom-ran · Answer

Beauty comes in all different types.

I will never forget this girl in College who had short hair not unsimilar to the pic in the OG post tag.

She was soooooo beautiful regards to her facial features, and I love the fact she had short hair. Seeing the entirety of her face, jaw line, even her head was perfect. Incredible.

However, generally I'm not a fan so it does depend!

Answer: it's completely acceptable!!!

bluetoblack99 · Answer

Well you are a teenager so maybe you are dealing with some extremely shallow school girl friends.

But personally as a man I don’t care. I only care what looks best on the lady and that’s usually but not always long hair. But I’ve seen some helluva cute short hair girls.

GoodGuyBreakingBad · Answer

It wouldn't matter to me, I have grown up since I was in my 20's
back in my 20's, I would have to date a girl with long hair but since
then I have changed and yes I would date and even marry a girl who
wishes to wear short hair so you see people change.. I believe we all
go through stages in life where we don't know what we want :)

Anonymous · Answer

I had very short hair a year ago. About two or three inches long. But I loved it, I'd wanted hair that short for as long as I can remember. Though I want it long again now, I'm glad I got the chance to do what I loved. I often got mistaken for a boy, but it didn't really offend me unless someone could tell I was a woman but assumed I was transgender. I didn't mind being androgynous but if you can tell I'm a woman then please refer to me like that.

Anonymous · Answer

I think it suits every girl differently. Some look better with short hair and some look better with long hair. I got a pixie cut about a year ago and my boyfriend really likes the short hair on me, he thinks short hair suits me better and I agree. I’ve kept it short ever since

Hazelstar · Answer

Maybe it's society that condition us that women should have long hairs and their beauty rely in their hair. I myself have shaved my head and I feel so liberated but when I said to my dad that I want to shave my head again. He says not to do it again.

Truthatanycost · Answer

Some women look great with short hair, but they rarely look better compared to when they had long hair. It's a feminine thing.

''Men in the military are required to have short haircuts as they are low maintenance, practical and clean. They also create a professional and unified image. Likewise, the hair won't get caught in helmets, weapons or an enemy's hands.''

Barry88 · Answer

Everyone should do what they feel what's best for them. But short hair on girls... it's just not for me. I don't like it. It doesn't need to be super long, chin length or shoulder length is fine. But something like a pixie cut is too short. Even though it's a feminine style, I don't find that attractive on a girl.

Why is short hair on girls still so unacceptable by today's beauty norms?

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