new thread
i've been wondering something for a while now, woman in the militarhy can wear their hair long but men can't. Why is that
and why do men in the military tolerate that?
I'm not going to even try to cover the reasons of why men's haircuts are generally required to be short in the military, because they are many and varied, and I'm not sure I understand them all.
Regarding your second question of "why do men in the military put up with it?" Well, I can only speak from the point of view of the US military, as that's where I served, but that one's simple. We do it because those are the orders you're given.
When you join the military you take an oath to obey the orders of those appointed over you, and to follow regulations, including uniform regulations. You are trained to follow orders even when those orders don't make complete sense to you, because in a combat or emergency situation, those giving the orders may not have time to explain why something needs to be done, but it needs to get done NOW. So we are trained to follow orders, and drilled in procedures over and over and over until response to orders becomes second nature.
I know some on this board will rail against this type of conditioning, and say "Oh my god, they're turning you into a bunch of mindless automatons!! How can that be a good thing??"
First off, no, this training does not make you some kind of robot. Ask some of my coworkers if I'm some kind of blindly obedient drone, then wait til they recover from the laughing fit so they can actually answer.
Secondly, when you're in a profession that involves intentionally putting yourself in harm's way, like the military, or law enforcement, or emergency services, you sometimes find yourself in the kind of situations I mentioned before, where instant response to orders is often the difference between life and death for yourself and/or your colleagues. It's one of the trade-offs that has to be made to be prepared for those situations.
Frodo
That's a very good explanation of having to follow orders whether or not one understands why.In a way I can see the logic in having it be like that otherwise everyone would be questioning the superiors constantly on almost every command.Thankfully here in the USA its a volunteer force so no one is forced to serve if they don't sign up.Why women are allowed to keep their hair longer in the military does raise questions but I guess it falls back to just following orders.Cheers
Mârk
I think the major reason for women being allowed to keep their hair longer is the same double standard that runes through the rest of society. Women do have to keep their hair up while in uniform if it would fall below the collar when down, and there are some other limits, but for the most part women can do what they want with their hair otherwise. The short hair standards for men developed before women were a significant part of the military, so I don't think anyone in the Pentagon has really thought about the difference in standards.
Frodo
The short hair standards for men developed before women were a significant part of the military, so I don't think anyone in the Pentagon has really thought about the difference in standards.
I can understand that as I'm sure the pentagon has more important issues on their plates than a hair standard for women who only recently are becoming a part of combat roles.I'm sure these standards were written so many decades ago its not something that gets revisited very often unless a major issue brings it to the forefront.Of course its not fair but at least you have the option to opt out of joining the military.
Mârk
The right to "follow orders" is not absolute, however. It must be reasonable. "Because my boss told me to do it" doesn't always fly, as some of the SS learned after WWII. This excuse did not recently get that Philadelphia monsignor off last week, either, when he did not report child abuse by priests to law enforcement because his boss, the cardinal, had told him not to report it.
Bill
Yes, like almost every other rule. there are exceptions. If you are given an order that is clearly illegal or against standing regulations there is some room for not following, but you need to be fairly sure of your case before trying it. Often the safest bet is, if you have the chance, instead of directly disobeying in the face of the one giving the order, is to consult with another senior person before actually carrying out the order. Then that person can help get the matter straightened out without the potential of a "disobeying a lawful order" charge, which is a punishable offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
However we're getting a little far afield. Grooming standards are not something that is going to ever fall into that kind of circumstance. The uniform regs are perfectly reasonable from the DOD's perspective, so you wouldn't have a leg to stand on for not following them. The only hope would be for the folks in the Pentagon to change the rules, which I don't really see happening any time soon.
Whats funny is spartan warriors all had long hair. But I guess if it is your desire to be in the military you have to abide by the rules and tolerate it. if you like long hair so much why join.
1) Because they couldn't get away with making women cut their hair short; and
2) Because men who really want long hair just don't sign up.
They arrive at this position because of existing double standards in society.
The male short hair meme really started with the Romans, and they introduced it first in their military legions. A couple of aeons having passed (literally, not metaphorically), who really cares why? Anyone involved in making the original decision that soldiers should have short hair is not only dead, so are at least 60 generations of their descendants, if any.
The military authorities of whatever country are not highly likely to revisit this policy until and unless they face much greater problems in recruiting than they do now.