new thread
What areas of the world/country/city or whatever do you think are the most long hair friendly? the least?
based on your own personal experience of course?
where would states like Florida and Texas rank?
I can't comment on which areas of the US are most accepting.
In the UK I have visited most areas and not fund any difficulty with acceptance.
New York, Massachusetts, California, Illinois, etc.
Texas
Look further down on this site for a few posts related to
Texas and their Anti Long Hair crusade.
[I believe there were three or four posted on here in the
past several years.]
WOW - a good thing about living in New York - very encouraging.
I am not a US-resident but I have been in NYC and L.A a few months ago.
Although both cities are very open minded in regards of long hair in men, I found a lot more acceptance in Los Angeles. I guess this is because these two cities have two different styles.
It really depends on the city. Austin, Dallas, Houston: you're fine. Jacksonville, Tx. . .you get looked at a little funny, but usually only if I have French braids in or my ears showing.
Since I'm more or less blind to fashion, here is a list of the most accepting places for long hair in a somewhat descending order:
I. Places where long hair is somewhat encouraged
1. Places where it's in mainstream fashion (it's in fashion for about 6 years at a time every 30-40 years, so there should be a resurgence anytime now)
2. Predominantly Native American areas... Mongolia and N/NE Siberia may count, although the historical influences may not be in favor.
II. Places where nobody would bat an eye at you for having your hair long
3. College towns, where everyone is an oddball of some sort.
4. Silicon Valley, more or less the only place where you can get a very high paying job without having to worry about your appearance as long as your grooming is passable. (This is where I live) Other high tech areas may fall into this category.
5. Rural agricultural/ranching/mountain areas... so long as your hair does not get in anybody else's way.
III. Places where you may get an odd glance
6. Big cities
7. Suburbia
8. Places with a hot and humid climate.
IV. Places where you will get picked on
8. Places with a hot and humid climate.
9. Conservative areas
10. Areas with strong ties to the US military.
V. Places where you may have to choose between your hair and your life.
11. North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Tajikstan, et al. (Thankfully, none of these places have any major significance in our daily lives.)
And for subcultures, country and metal music typically are the most accepting. Goth and punk are next.
To answer your question:
Texas: Most hair friendly place is Austin.
Florida: Due to the climate, long hair isn't really encouraged. You may however have better luck in the Tampa area due to its old metal scene, although don't set your expectations too high.
How so? I find long hair great in the summer.
I live in Florida, no problems at all. In fact, often get nice compliments. My hair is midback and so very much Longhair.
San Francisco is remarkably accepting of long hair as well as non-standard styling...as it is of almost any kind of diversity. No surprise there.
The region I have found to be least accepting of long hair is the (Deep) South, I don't have much experience with Texas, but I expect it fits my next criteria: Areas that most value conformity, conservatism, conservative christianity (which converge to punish those who violate gender stereotypes) would be most toxic to longhairs.
I can tell you I am not proud to live down here in this big old (mostly) red state. Cannot really comment on long hair acceptance though. I need to get my hair long first!
Ted
Idk...I live in upstate NY, Gloversville to be exact, which is a small town of 16,000. In the seven years I've had "long" (chin length plus) hair, I haven't received a single negative comment from strangers.
In general, starting with longhair-friendly, first:
1) Large cities are usually more liberal-minded than most small isolated rural towns -- especially rural areas of the "redneck" conservative-thinking "Bible Belt" Southern US states... as well as I'd certainly avoid any areas where "fundamentalist" / extremist religious groups in other parts of the world that are famous for their intolerance tend to dominate (obvious example: many of the the Middle Eastern countries immediately come to mind).
2) college towns and/or artist colony towns... especially the more scenic and tourist-friendly areas of many parts of the world happen to also be the more open-minded and "enlightened" places, where there is greater acceptance of diversity as a whole.
3) Coastal populations historically seem to be more open-minded than the people living in isolated interior regions -- both the East Coast folks of the US as well as definitely the West Coasters rarely blinking an eye over seeing longhairs...
Anti-longhair places (again, "in general"):
* anywhere where idiots roam free;
* anywhere where the population has been deprived of sufficient education and/or their basic freedoms;
* anywhere where the pressure to conform is extreme and individualism & diversity a rarity...
Hope my comments have helped!
- Ken in San Francisco
Haha Ken, I love it! So true!
Ted
Hi AdamK,
I can't really comment on the acceptance of long hair in various places. But I can tell you that I am going to grow my hair and not worry about acceptance by anyone. I don't even care what my Mother-In-Law thinks about it. She hates it by the way. I have little patience with intolerant people. There just isn't time in my life for such nonsense.
/End Rant
Ted
Surprzingle, to some. Arizona, which has a rep as a hotbed of conservatism Has no issues with longhaired males. It's aprt of the "Cowboy way" Meaning It doesn't matter what you do so long as you don't scare the horses. Though not the majority, there are a lot of longhairs in this state.
I live in Australia and don't sense any lack of acceptance. I'm professionally employed, and the rare comment is more likely to be positive, than otherwise. Now, my wife is a different story...
Just got back from a trip to the USA. I was in North Carolina, and sensed no lack of acceptance anywhere. And apropos of the comment about military towns, I spent a day at Ft. Bragg, home of the 82nd Airborne Division, to take care of some business and do some shopping. Nobody looked at me askance since i had a valid ID card. (Anecdotally, a fair number of retired military guys grow their hair long.)
It may very well be there there are certain locales where popular sentiment is that long-haired men are some kind of low-life. But from the responses to this question so far, it seems that almost nobody on the board has a first-hand experience of it in a real way. Maybe we tend to wory about something that is barely there? Health and happiness all...
Don