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I could be wrong here, but my best guess would be that it stems from the 60's when in people's eye's, "people with long hair took to the streets protesting the Vietnam War causing trouble, were dirty, and abused drugs", because prior to that point in time, for thousands of years, men having long hair wasn't an issue. You all know those time periods in history that I'm referring to; 18th century Europe and America, the Middle Ages, the Rennaisance, ancient Greece, ancient Persia, and the list goes on and on. Do you guys feel the discrimination will ever go away where longhaired men won't face discrimination, or are we basically doomed to face it forever? Because as a long- haired guy, I sometimes can't help but feel that it will never go away. It hasn't since the 60's, and that was a long time ago. I would think the discrimination should've gone away by now(for Christsake's we're in 2010), but it hasn't, because I still feel the discrimination myself. I just wish it would one day end and we could go back to a time, the way it was in history, where long hair wasn't an issue with people.
Like you said, longhair discrimination might stem from all the upheaval of the 1960s era. HOWEVER, it does NOT have to mean that it will stay with us forever and ever and ever...
I'm lucky to live in a rather open-minded area of the USA, Northern California to be exact (in the San francisco Bay Area). Not that's it's a "human utopia" here (far from it!); but with a fairly wide variety of different types of people living side-by-side (including all races, nationalities, religions, and non-religions, etc.), for the most part, many long-time Bay Area residents usually have friendships with people who were far different from the neighborhoods of their childhood upbringing (at least this is very true for me, since I originally came from the suburban Chicago, IL area).
I rarely experience any noticeable longhair discrimination towards me (I say the word, "noticeable", because prejudice and discrimination are often kept very well hidden by bigots).
When and if it happens, once a person gets to know me, they find out I'm just like anybody else -- I have my human faults, yes; but I also have plenty of human virtues that I'm grateful to show to others!
Longhair discrimination, just like any other discrimination, can and will eventually melt away, starting with one exemplary longhaired guy at a time setting a positive example in whatever way they can, -- and then that will help break through any of the negative longhair stereotypes that still unfortunately sometimes exist...
My view on the topic, at least!
- Ken in San Francisco
PS - OK, I admit: I'm feeling a bit like an "idealist" today... Ask me the same question on another day, and I might give you a sarcastic, totally pessimistic answer instead (LOL)!!
Let me correct myself, I shouldn't have said I'm experiencing it a lot, but I feel like, like you said, people are "hiding their discrimination towards me very well". I don't know, maybe past discrimination experiences have jaded me or have made me paranoid, but sometimes I feel like I've maybe been secretively been discriminated against in the job market. I'm sure I've had to have been secretively discriminated against somewhere along the line in my 14 years of having long hair, especially in the job market. I've had people tell me in the past that employers would secretely discriminate against me because of the hair. Urban Cowboy, I hope you're right that it won't last forever and that the discrimination will eventually pass with time. Maybe this is going to be one of those long, long roads to recovery that will convince us it will never end, until one day it actually does and we go on in peace. I have mid-back length hair and am 30, in case you're all wondering. Haven't posted in a few years, but used to post every now and then. Mainly into old school Goth(as well as some of the newer age stuff), 80's/90's New Wave(and 90's in general, except for Nirvana and Pearl Jam), as well as Symphonic, Goth, and Power Metal. Usually I keep my hair at lower mid-back, but took some inches off in November. Now it's exactly at mid-back. I plan on keeping it at mid-back.
Anyway, I just want you guys to know that I love you all. And I truly mean that, I love you all. We are all in this together.
You're right about history, longhair has been the "norm" much more than short hair. Ancient France was often called "long-haired Gaul" by the Romans.
I believe that the longhair of the 60's was a reaction to an existing prejudice against longhair. Although a lot of us would have longhair with or without the "hippie" movement.
The American trend for short hair probably started with WW1 when the Army decided to shave the soldiers' heads because of lice. I guess it was easier than using lice medicine, whatever. But that by itself cannot explain such a deep rooted dislike for a hairstyle.
"Why do some people hate longhair on men?" It's my one main question and is next right under those other all too important questions such as, "What am I?", "Is there life after death?", "Is there a God?", etc. Lol.
If you ever find out for sure let me know.
Paul
the trend for short hair began at the start of the 19th century(not sure exactly when during the 19th century, but it was pretty early on). If you look at portraits from that time, most men had short hair. Good example; look at portraits of America's past presidents, and you'll see that at the beginning of the 19th century, most men had short hair. Look at pictures from the Civil War too.
I'm going to have to agree with Paul, WW1 had a dramatic affect on peoples perceptions. It was the first time since Rome that a *huge* percentage of the population served as professional solders. It obviously had a very strong impact on their perceptions and just held on after that. The hippie movement probably didn't help much, nor did mass media.
IME discrimination did go away in the '70s and came back in the '80s. There was also discrimination way back in history, which is well documented, although I'm no historian, so I'd probably tell you the wrong century, LOL! It's actually not as bad right now as it has been at some times that I can remember.