new thread
Hi everyone,
Having been away from cyberspace for some time, I have just put together a website (my very first) with some suggestions for unisex styles which might suit guys growing their hair longer. What I am trying to do is get across the idea that not all hair styles are masculine or feminine - there is a broad range of styles suited to both sexes in between and I have put some ideas up for those guys considering growing their hair - at the same time I hope women like the site too.
My view is that guys shouldn't be restricted in what sort of style they want by social constraints - but they should get a style that is practical and suitable for them to look right - I don't say all/most men should grow their hair - just that those who want to could, and for some guys it might even be an improvement and open up more options for them.
I plan on updating the text and comments over the next few months, but any suggestions are welcome.
Some of the styles may be a little risque - I let others be the judge of that! I am not a hair professional so any comments in that area would also be useful.
I've included a link to this discussion board - hope thats okay Victor.
Cath
I think Bill and Cath are the same person.
A while back, "Bill" set up a similar site at www.geocities.com/fashionavenue/3549. "Cath" was a contributer.
Both sites have the SAME email address.
Who is the real author, "Bill" or "Cath"?
I think Bill and Cath are the same person.
A while back, "Bill" set up a similar site at www.geocities.com/fashionavenue/3549. "Cath" was a contributer.
Both sites have the SAME email address.
Who is the real author, "Bill" or "Cath"?
Well we are not the same person Nick. Bill set up the Geocities site and asked my thoughts and contributions (I would have liked to have done a site at the time but had no web site creation experience or the time). After setting it up, Bill wanted to get involved in some other projects and asked me if I would caretake the site while he was otherwise committed - I was going to update the site more often (at least change some text and photos based around the template Bill created, but I had some personal problems which prevented this - in the end I only changed the email address to mine, just in case I had to respond to feedback. Sorry if there was confusion. Bill does have an email address - at Yahoo - I can't remember it off the top of my head, maybe he can post it for you if you want it!
Cath
Bill
Nick:
I can assure you that Bill & Cath are not the same people. We both worked on the geo. site and Cath has just started her own. At the present time I am updating the original site at geo. and I am working on another with Megan, who also contributed to the first site.
Bill
Nothing wrong with another site devoted to long hair and men, but where did you get the notion that people can't seem to envision hair styles for men that aren't specifically masculine or feminine? A simple ponytail -- certainly one of the commonest hair styles among longhaired men -- is about as close to a truly universal unisex style as you'll find.
perhaps someone's trying to sell us something
I just checked out the site and far as I can tell, she wants longhaired men to consider wearing their hair like women.
Despite her stated goal of addressing unisex hairstyles, all of the styles shown are decidedly feminine -- indeed, they're all illustrated by pictures of women.
For example, the styles for shoulder-length hair and longer depend on curling and backcombing and feathered bangs, all hallmarks of feminine hairstyling. I didn't see much of anything that would really pass as "unisex."
that was my impression, too.
yup... if she wants to illustrate unisex styling, she ought to post a picture of both a man and a woman with the same or similar style. personally, i don't see many hair styles out there- long or short- that i consider to truly be 'unisex'... but that's just my opinion.
i think our friend cath just wants more hits on her site.
JB and John,
Perhaps my intentions were not made as clear as I thought they were on my site. I never developed the site to propose that guys got feminine styles; on the contrary what I intended was to put up pictures of styles that I thought would look good on either sex. Now, as I explained on my site, I have so far only used pictures of women for the following reasons:
1. Women tend to wear their hair in a wider range of styles than men.
2. It is a lot easier to find good pictures of women than men with longish hair.
I disagree strongly with your generalizations that all the styles on my site are feminine and only suited for women. From my own experience I know that I have seen guys with maybe 50% of the styles illustrated. For example taking the longer styles alone, the Alicia Silverstone picture is a common look on men and I don't see anything wrong with the Shannen Doherty picture either - the curly and backcombed examples are on a different page.
You may have a point about the styles which require backcombing, rolling/perms etc. However, are these feminine styles and is it wrong to put these styles up. What about guys who have naturally curly or wavy hair - they need some ideas too - in fact it can sometimes be more difficult for these men to control their longer hair. Also, lots of guys are having perms today and getting color done as well - I don't see that as an issue. I will deliberately put up some styles which I feel slightly uncertain about myself just to see what others think - but I may say that I am a little less positive about whether it is right for a guy or not.
Also, I could go on to argue whether hairstyles have gender etc and how fashions change with times. For example only 100-150 years ago in France men were still wearing very long curly locks (almost like spiral perms today) and powdered wigs - they also perfumed themselves. Both practices died out, but strangely enough the male fragrance market is now booming and 'beauty services' for men as well - who is to say that such hair options for men won't be back in fashion soon.
In fact such a look can and will be in fashion as soon as people give up stereotyped views about male and female styles and stop limiting their options. What I actually tried to get across on my site is that men should and can have as wide range of choices re: their styles as women do. Some of the specific examples can be argued on - for this reason I have added a voting mechanism today where visitors can select which styles they think are suitable or otherwise for men. Let the jury decide - I have no interest in proposing that guys have styles which are not right for them.
One other thing I should point out - the site isn't just about men and long hair. Guys who grow their hair really really long - i.e. waist length etc are like women who grow their hair to that length too - the length sort of creates the style/look. My site was aimed more at the average man who wanted a longer look than they might have now, or indeed some longer haired men who might want to go shorter. And indeed I hope that my site is gender neutral and women find it of interest too.
So far the response to the site has been fairly good and I have had some nice comments via email. Some guys have asked for some male images - in the future I may accomodate that, as and when I find the right pictures to put up. For those a little cynical about my intentions I also had an email from one guy who attached his picture and asked whether I thought a curly look would look good on him - I gave him what I think was a perfectly balanced answer - told him to be cautious of perms on very long hair and suggested he talk with his stylist first.
I am not on a crusade and I hope more people enjoy my site than those who don't. If nothing, I would like to just give some food for thought to men and women re: male hair and other issues. I am all for constructive criticism and debate :)
Cath
....
from OM below:
I think, Cath, that, in some cases, some men or boys would enjoy acting as models for suggested male long-hair styles. After the male's hair is coiffed, take professional pictures of his hair style and offer him either a deep discount or a freeby service as compensation for being a model. Some males, however, might be quite willing to be so photographed without any compensation. Just an idea to ameliorate the shortage of photos of long hair styles on males.
OM
Cath, you might also use models with facial hair to see if a style really plays well on males. There is little likelihood that such guys would look okay with the hair style to some people because they were in reality or subconsciously mistaking the model as female.
thank you for your response. i respect that you believe the styles look equally good on men and women. it is also my belief that you are not on a 'crusade'. regrettably, i do not share your opinion of the hairstyles... perhaps that's because they are pictured only on women. in any case, i seriously doubt that i'd adopt any of the styles myself... i prefer to just grow mine for the time being. i don't necessarily believe that there's anything 'wrong' with a guy wearing any of the styles- whether or not i consider them to be feminine... i'm sure that many people would consider my hair length to be feminine. that's fine- i would respectfully disagree, though.
your observation that women tend to wear their hair in a wider range of styles than men is 100% correct... our culture discourages men from growing their hair by ridiculing them and by depicting long-haired males in a negative light. i'm afraid that i allowed some of that negativity to color my comments about your site. for that i sincerely apologize.
j
...
trying to do is get across the idea that not all hair styles are masculine or feminine - there is a broad range of styles suited to both sexes in between and I have put some ideas up for those guys considering growing their hair - at the same time I hope women like the site too.
....
men should grow their hair - just that those who want to could, and for some guys it might even be an improvement and open up more options for them.
.....
from OM below:
Hear, hear for Cath!. At last we've got a site for combined male/female long hair discussion. Glorious!! I feel good already.
OM
Cath, I love your site! I think that all hairstyles should be wearable by both men and women. I am a big fan of the bob and pageboy styles, in fact I have a pretty pageboy style now with short bangs and the rest cut to one length at the bottom of my ears. Some may think that this style is feminine, but why? Who is to say what is feminine and what is masculine. If you try to categorize things along gender lines then you are in the societal trap like most of the people in this world. I love my pageboy style and I plan on letting it grow to about shoulder length. For those of you who want to categorize hairstyles as masculine or feminine, I think that you are just insecure with your gender.
Cath, I love your site! I think that all hairstyles should be wearable by both men and women. I'm a guy and I am a big fan of the bob and
pageboy styles, in fact I have a pretty pageboy style now with short bangs and the rest cut to one length at the bottom of my
ears. Some may think that this style is feminine, but why? Who is to say what is feminine and what is masculine. If you try to
categorize things along gender lines then you are in the societal trap like most of the people in this world. I love my pageboy
style and I plan on letting it grow to about shoulder length. For those of you who want to categorize hairstyles as masculine or
feminine, I think that you are just insecure with your gender.
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Certainly! No problem at all. Long time no see! I'm glad to see you've come back for a visit. I'm sorry to see the negative reception you've received, and I hope that won't deter you from staying.
To everyone,
If you've never seen Cath's regular posts before, please refrain from criticizing them for a while. I'm certain that she ranks as the #1 poster of illustrations to go with posts. As far as Cath and Bill being the same person, I find that absurd. Their literary styles are completely different.
Cath,
I don't particularly care for most of the styles you have pictures of. Nevertheless, I realize that is just my own preference, and I see your posts as a valuable resource. I'm glad to see you have a site up. I'll include a link to it when I get a chance. I'll also give you some constructive criticism after I've viewed your entire site. You can either throw it out completely or do whatever else you wish with it.