new thread
Hi folks!
Here in continental Europe, people often feel bewildered about bizarre US laws (for example the recent outlawing of sleeping elsewhere than in sleeping rooms in some Virginia county). As a longhair (currently approaching the lower edge of my shoulder blades, about 16 inches) I would like to know if there are explicit anti-longhair laws anywhere in the US, on state or county level, which outlaw long hair on men generally (not only in school or military contexts, but universally, like in Taleban-ruled Afghanistan).
Hoping for your replies,
read you!
Yadgar
Relax. There are not. Nor to my knowledge have there ever been, though oppression of longhairs in America was pretty pervasive for the first two thirds of the twentieth century.
Attempts to generally regulate appearance have seldom been attempted in America because even minor attempts at such have undergone strict judicial scrutiny with unconstitutionality in mind. How one chooses to look is regarded as a form of speech, a statement of opinion, and it is protected by the First Amendment to our Constitution. Although in extremely bad taste, an American may wear a Nazi uniform if he so chooses, for example. A European generally may not.
American courts have upheld general regulations of appearance which regulate nudity or obscenity, which prohibit the concealment of the face, which prohibit wearing the uniform of police or military in the jurisdiction in question, or which prohibit wearing clothing of the opposite sex (though this last one is not likely to survive judicial scrutiny in most areas today).
As for the first two thirds of the twentieth century, discrimination was so widespread that it was almost impossible for a longhair to get a job or to establish social contacts. With this marginalization came victimization by authorities at times, and as with all marginalized peoples, when things happened the public often looked the other way. However, such activities were not lawful. They were, though, seldom challenged.
Long hair was common in America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and prominent American longhairs from those eras have decorated our currency and coins continuously for two hundred years, including during the early and mid twentieth century. No, being a longhair has never been illegal in America.
With his "plainsman" haircut. Worn among other things, to show bravery by presenting a tempting target to Indians.....now imagine some of these modern day rhinestone "cowboys" we have making a remark to THAT guy about his hair.
Amusing thought, I found it.
Cheers,
Matt
Just imagine some narrow minded pig making a
As far as I know, there are only rules in the military or in some schools. Probably about 50% of the people here live in the USA, so that should tell ya that there aren't laws against longhaired people living here. In fact, my plans are to grow my hair out as long as you have it and leave it that way for the rest of my life.
-J
No question about it, there are some really strange, stupid U.S. laws. But nobody said democracy was pretty. ;-)
Bill referred to discrimination against longhaired men during the first two-thirds of the 20th century. Remember that it wasn't until the early 60s that long hair became associated with a specific political perspective. Prior to that, the term "longhair" was mainly used to describe men who were academics and artists (specifically classical musicians), presumably because they were so completely engrossed by their pursuits that they didn't think much about their appearance. Albert Einstein was a classic "longhair" in the pre-60s sense of the term.
I thought that the Taleban wear long hair in their turbans!
The Taliban require Afghani men to cut their hair short but forbid them to shave or trim their beards.
Perhaps you're thinking of the Sikhs, a religious minority in India. Sikh men traditionally do not cut their beards or their hair, which they wear in a turban.