new thread
This has probably been asked before so please excuse me but I wonder what constitutes "long hair" on a dude. I guess everyone has different perspectives but just wondering what the consensus is on this board.
I saw a guy with hair covering his ears but not touching his collar the other day. Someone said that he had long hair but someone else commented that his hair wasn't long at all. Who was right?
Is "long hair" a *minimum* of:
1) Hair covering the ears but not touching the collar.
2) Hair covering the ears and a little over the collar.
3) Hair touching the shoulders.
4) Hair just below the shoulders.
5) Hair MUST be much longer than just below the shoulders.
What's the minimum to be considered "long hair"?
Damon
Your hair is long when people tell you that you need a haircut.
Personally I didnt Feel Like i had "Long hair" until it was at the Lower end of my upper Back(hope that made sense lol)
For the most part to me "long hair" includes the ability to make a decent ponytail, so say long enough that the majority of the hair can be tied back, forming a tail at least 3-6" long. Prior to that you're looking at "longish" hair once it starts covering the ears AND approaching the bottom of the collar.
Frodo
I can imagine everyone has a different opinion as to what they consider "long" hair.Probably no right or wrong answer but to me once its shaggy looking then that's when its long to me.Of course your required to go for terminal length in my opinion but at least being shaggy it looks waaaaaaayyyyy better than a buzzcut.Cheers
Mark
Thanks for the replies. I like Long Hair In Albany's quip! :)
I think most guys here have higher criteria than I do. I'd go with Mark's definition personally - shaggy (love that word - sounds like a sheepdog!).
My own definition would be somewhere between 2) and 3).
I'm a bit limited myself. I love my hair loose but if I grow it much longer than it is now (below shoulder length) I'd have to tie it in a ponytail for work. For me, that would defeat the ob ject; I love the look and feel of long loose hair round my face. And I spend most of my waking hours at work so I wouldn't get as much enjoyment out of my hair.
Damon
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I think it's got to be long enough to put in a legit ponytail near the nape of of the neck. That's probably around shoulder length or a little bit longer.
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I would say 4. It has to be past the shoulders.
Scott
I'd go with 3 (touching the shoulders) or maybe even 4 (just below the shoulders) as being long, but I'd also say there's such a thing as mid length hair.
OTOH, if it doesn't reach the collar, then it's short, IMHO. So, I guess 1 is short and 2 is mid length. Of course, you can find people who don't believe it's short unless you use clippers instead of scissors, but the're completely crazy, LOL!
You should see the long running thread on the same subject over at the Long Hair Community. 90% of the members over there are female, and the other 10% has some overlap with this board, but not all the guys there are here too.
Most of the posts in that thread have pretty extreme ideas of how long hair has to be before it's considered to be long. This is not surprising, given that most women have long hair to begin with, and they probably want to distinguish themselves from the ordinary.
However, it has lead to some ridiculous answers. A few of them set the minimum so long that many women, let alone men, can't even grow hair that long. I last cut my hair in 2004, and when someone says my length isn't long, I think they need a reality check, even though it just barely reaches my natural waist*. This is terminal length for plenty of people of both genders, and quite a few men can't grow it that long.
*No, natural waist isn't where your belt is. I would love it to reach my belt, but it doesn't.
Hi Damon,
That's an interesting question, and I suppose, now I'm able to tie a bit of a pony tail, I would consider my hair to be getting longer. But I suppose it's all in the eye of the beholder! Regards, Ian
A BIT of a ponytail???!!! That's a magnificent one - and I'm jealous!
Damon
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Hi Damon,
I'm an expert at this, as I'm completely familiar with the EXACT measurements of what defines being an official "longhair", as according to the Society Of Longhairs Of Never Going Short (AKA, "SO-LONGS). The exact measurements are, as follows:
1) Bangs (or "fringe", as they say Down Under or in the UK) in front must be no less than at least 52 inches
2) Hair covering the ears must at least reach a full 55 inches at the sides of the head, both on the left and on the right sides -- and if not, even if only one side of the head only measures 54 inches, then that person will automatically be disqualified as any kind of a true and genuine official longhair...
3) Hair in the back must be able to measure at a full 60 inches exactly -- no more, but definitely no less... "More" would be preposterous, a total freak of Nature, an unbelievable hairy mess of a longhair; but anything less than 60 inches would be considered "shorn", "buzzed under 60 inches", a naked disappointment, no freak flag a-flyin', only a pitiful "longhair wannabe"...
I guess we're all in trouble then -- which means that even with myself growing my own mane out over the past 11 years, I am not quite "officially" a longhair yet (LOL).... We'd better all get busy doing a more serious job of hair-farming then!
- Ken in San Francisco
PS - If you believe any of the above, I also have a large bridge for sale here in Northern California. It's called, "The Golden Gate" -- ever heard of it? I'm selling it (on-sale!) for a million $$, just send me the check any time! (LOL)
Ken, you achieved a miracle today - you made me laugh! :)
Life has been more than a bit stressful lately. I'm down to a 3-day working week due to recent illness and haven't been able to keep up mortgage payments. My house is being repossessed (I'm due for eviction in two weeks) and since I can't afford removal and storage all my possessions are likely to be confiscated as well. I've already lost my car as I couldn't afford repairs. My wife has left. A true tale of woe - my life has fallen apart and I shall soon be homeless and hence jobless too at this rate.
You may wonder why I'm concerned about hair in the midst of all that. Well, it's one thing that's still free! And it looks like it's all I'll have left. Though I'm amazed it hasn't turned white!
I'll have to turn down your offer of the Golden Gate Bridge. My cash is tied up. I've just bought the Brooklyn Bridge from someone else and it's on its way ... apparently ... ;)
Damon
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Hi Damon,
WOW, I am so sorry to hear about your misfortune. It makes me think of the old saying, "When it rains, it pours!" -- and in your case, it definitely sounds like a devastating flood of bad events indeed!
The good news is that most people I know have been through at least one or 2 horrible periods of time in their life, myself included. And eventually we even live to tell the tale of how we survived it all and came out on the other side, in some cases even thriving; but in any case, at least hopefully wiser and usually a bit more prepared for the next disaster to hit us later in life.
My worst year was 1987. I was going through divorce, came out to my brothers and other members of my family to let them know I was divorcing Laurie because I was a gay man and no longer wanted to live a lie anymore. I was living in New York at the time; but my step-mom and brothers were all living out West (mostly California; but also Oregon, plus one brother in Chicago) -- so moving across-country seemed like the most natural thing to do. I also had decided to make a career change, as well as obviously had to make a job change in order to return to living in San Francisco. When my ex-wife and I were going through our possessions we were annoyingly agreeable about which items we should each take: my instincts told me to simplify, so we would argue, "No, you take it: no, YOU take it!" (LOL)
I was also reading a self-help book at the time that was written by some marriage counsellor / therapist guy, whose advise was to disrupt as little other aspects of your life as possible while going through divorce... "How can I?", I remember thinking to myself about all of the complications involved at the time, and how one decision also happened to effect another, just like the domino effect. So, I just hung in there (sometimes just barely by the skin of my fingernails - LOL), until eventually I found myself a new job (along with a return to an old career); but also thanks to my brother and sister-in-law here in CA encouraging me to stay with them until the dust all settled down.
You never know who is going to step in and offer help of some kind. It's always best to plan as if you will have to take care of your own problems all by yourself; but rest assured, at some point SOMEbody will see your need and give you a helping hand in one small way or another. Just take these hard times as an important learning tool to see what you could have done better, then apply that lesson to your future... As long as we don't repeat the same old foolish mistakes, then we are moving forward in life -- and our circumstances are bound to improve with it, including having a newer vision of how to better avoid the same pitfalls of the past. That's how I try to look at life, anyway -- if I don't, then I get too depressed to even think anymore, which then results in me eating too much ice cream (LOL)!!
Take care -- and sorry if I rambled on a bit too much just now!
My best to you!!
- Ken in San Francisco
I liked your ramble! I really appreciated your taking the time to offer support and encouragement. I need as much as I can get right now.
I'm sorry to hear you went through a nightmare yourself but so glad you came through it okay. That helps me face my own nightmare.
Thanks for being so thoughtful and supportive, Ken. It's good to see a caring side to humanity for a change. I was beginning to give up hope.
My best to you too!
Damon
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Ken-Very good advice!!!
I'm so sorry to hear all that Damon. Please send me an e-mail. Not sure if I can help, but we'll see.
Alun
Missed your calling as an ad man. Nice price on the GG. But upkeep is a killer, so I'll pass. Constantly having to repaint that sucker. Have you priced the cost of "International orange" paint?
The gay longhair site requires you be a longhair to join their gallery, so they had to reach a consensus among longhaired men as to a definition. Their definition is very much in line with what most people in this thread have said.
You can see their definition at the link:
Definition of Longhair
Hey Bill,
This is the first time I've ever seen that page on gaylonghair, although I've certainly been aware of the basic definition before.
Does this mean you didn't like my own absurd definition that I stated in my reply to this thread? (LOL)
Talk to you later, Bill!
Longhaired Hugs,
Ken
Thanks, Bill.
Phew! It's good to know I am officially a longhair (mine falls over my shoulders)!
(Though I'd personally regard someone with hair only touching their shoulders - or even slightly shorter - as having long hair.)
Damon
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That sounds about right to me