new thread
Ok. I am new to having long hair (3 years out- too my shoulders now).
Sorry for these questions that I am sure been covered a zillion times:
How many people get "you need to get a haircut": "be a man"; "you would look better with short hair" "do you want to be a woman?" and other stupid inconsiderate phrases. I love my long hair. I keep it looking good.
How often do members get such comments, and have they ever drove you to just give up and get it cut?
Like I said I am new here and new to this so I am sure this has been discussed a time or 2 :)
Thanks for any support!!
Kevin
Welcome to long hair farming.
i'm 62 years old and started growing my hair long in 1964.
All these years later it is still long, it's all grey,
and it will remain long.
i got those comments alot when I was younger. Once I turned 45
the comments stopped.
They never drove me to give in and get it cut. Every time I got one of those comments I took it as an incentive to keep my long hair long and keep it growing.
I would also mention that around here there are very few women with hair longer than mine. A lot of women have gone with shorter hair lengths, some even going as far as buzz cuts.
The bottom line here, I have long hair and it will remain long until the day I die.
At 62 years old I don't care what others think, I'll wear my hair the way i want as long as i'm above ground.
no I don't.
yes i'm being a man who happens to have long hair.
; "you would look better with short hair"
no I wouldn't.
'"do you want to be a woman?"
no I don' want to have short hair like a number
of women have now.
Just about all of us have experienced something of the sort you describe, Kevin. But, in the end, it is your life, your hair, your appearance. When you really identify as a longhair, there is no cutting. After enough time and reaching an age where you are totally on your own, the BS stops. I would say I get mainly Only compliments on my hair now. People are attracted to confidence and individuality, Kevin. Just forget about your hair and be yourself. As far as the comments, either just ignore them, or tell them that if they have criticisms, you have a few about them as well. And then just drop it. Once they know you won't take the bait, the fun is out of the fight. You will see it becomes super easy, rewarding, and fun to be a longhair, and yourself.
I would mention that I thrived on the criticism of my hair.
The more complaints I got the more I was determine to keep my long hair long and to break the rules.
I absolutely loved the idea of going to school each day knowing that I was going to complaints about my hair. And sure enough I did, but I stubornly refused to cut it, and my mom was supportive,
and my long hair remained long through out my school years.
Hey Kevin,
Welcome to the tribe, bro! I'm sure that I'm not alone in welcoming you to the hyperboard. I am always glad when another guy realizes that being a long hair is part of who he is and decides that he is going to resist societal pressure and grow his hair.
Yes, I have had comments even as recently as this week from a well meaning aunt about getting my hair cut. She asked me why do I wear your hair long. I responded that I like it long.
Kevin, be strong. Never respond in anger to someone who makes a negative comment about your hair. If someone asks you if you want to be a woman you might respond that you are comfortable enough in your masculinity. Ask them if they realized that for much of human history men of royal and noble rank wore their hair long. They had the financial means to live in houses which did not have earthen floors and they could bath and wash their hair and keep it free of lice. Slaves and prisoners of war usually had their heads shaved.
Hey Kevin, we're here for you to support you in your long haired journey, especially when you are getting worn down from the negative comments about your long hair. You are a member of a minority; about five (5) percent of men in the general population have long hair. We are the last minority against whom it is still fashionable and tolerable to persecute and discriminate against. Hang tough, dude. It's part of the price you pay to be a long hair.
You may inspire another guy to have the testosterone to grow out his hair but has been afraid to do so because he is afraid of the remarks and comments he might receive.
Your long haired bro,
Raymond
Depends on the situation. There was one time where I got angry with my mom in the 1980s. I basically got angry about comments about my hair and blew, "this is my own house, I earn my own money, if you don't like my hair you can leave."
Except being overweight.
I don't think I've heard any such remarks to my face since the 1970s. My hair is well below my shoulders and has been for a very long time. If anybody doesn't like it they keep it to themselves. I think you need to be choosier about who you hang out with. Those people don't fit my qualification as friends.
The first time I wore my hair shorter after having it long, I did notice that bigoted people tended to mistaken me for one of them and talk more about their prejudices to me than when I had long hair. I sometimes think wearing long hair is a useful way of screening out such people. I have no interest in interacting with those people anyway.
I cannot speak for everyone, but I can't think of anyone ever confronting me with such a comment. Long hair on men has been trendy lately and is seen much more frequently than years ago. I also think that old stigmas are dying off, and people are more prone to 'live and let live.'
Maybe it's my age (young 30s), my career (liberal arts), or where I live (large MidWestern city)... but I have only heard positive comments about my hair. Co-workers have mentioned they wish they had my thickness. Someone asked if I'd be insulted that she called my hair beautiful (of course I wasn't...) I'm sure someone, somewhere, thinks I should get it cut, but they've were polite enough to not confront me about it.
Consider yourself lucky to have not grown up in the 1960s.
Well... there are positives and negatives to growing up in any age. If I grew up in the 1960s, I'd get to experience Kennedy, the Beatles and Captain Beefheart, racial tension and civic distress. Now, we get to live in the era of Trumps and Kardashians, racial tension and civic distress ... but people are more accepting of long hair on men at least.
Welcome Kevin ----
I never had anyone say anything negative to my face about long hair, and I had it since about --- 1970-71 (I'm 58, I was a young long hair), maybe they may have spoken behind my back!
I will say in those early days, people that spoke to me would often look at my hair, not my face. Since around the early/mid 80's --- people look at my face when they talk to me, so I see that times have changed. Even things like tattoos, piercings, are not a big deal like 40+ years ago. Society in general has more tolerance, adaptable as a different generation coming up, not or parents generation.
Also I feel where you live matters even today. I live in the USA - New Jersey - close to NY, so really --- anything goes in NJ,NY.
But never trouble with work, past and current in-laws, family.
And there will always be foolish, biased individuals, if I ever come across that, I stay away.
I never had any reason to cut my hair, I like it long, I still have a full head of hair at 58, and I plan to take it to the grave with me !!
If you like your hair long -- take care of it, and wear it long!! As long as you are happy.
Bob
