new thread
It seems most people think long hair is a feminine trait and it makes you look like a woman. Having long hair is vain and if you care for it a lot you are a 'pretty boy'.
I think on some people long hair can make you look feminine and you can be mistaken for a woman. For instance if you aren't very tall, no beard, etc.
But on other people I think this is completely untrue.
Just wondering what the forums opinion on this is.
Long hair is only feminine if you have feminine mannerisms. For instance if you wear long earrings, than that could make you look a little feminine. There are many guys that have long hair with no beard that don't look feminine, look at the guy who played legolas in Lord of the Rings.
Not to be pedantic but wearing earings is not a mannerism, mannerisms involve guestures, body language and posture. A typical femminine mannerism is to cross/close your legs whilst sitting facing someone else.
Just thought I'd point that out. But also Kenneth is right, you have to do more than have long hair to look feminine, you can even dress in womens clothes and not look femme, body language and mannerisms really make the difference. Oh and then there's always your voice.
Sorted
I think it can look feminine on some people - especially if they are thinner guys, with femminine features... for instance my brother would look feminine... but he also has a very mild nature, quiet voice, and can come across slightly iffeminate.
Certainly long hair does not make a guy look any more feminine than he already is, but if he has those traits, long hair might accent this and more people would notice.
However, having long hair is not a vanity issue. Some people feel more confortable with long hair, or prefer the feel or look of it.
Are all women then vain?
Does that mean that guys with hair 2 inches long are more vain than those with hair an inch long?
I think those comments are too generalised.
For example, one of the reasons I decided to grow my hair was to hide my face more. Sounds silly but it was true at the time. Thankfully I've changed my opinion since then and decided not to give a sh*t if people see me when I feel like crap. Most of them are too self-centered to notice you anyway.
So to summise - no, long hair does not make you girly or vain.
There is a big difference between the expectations of the 'average person' and what really makes a person masculine or feminine.
Because there are more long haired women (not enough!) than there are long haired men (not enough!), many peole assume that any long haired person they see is a woman unless it is obvious that he isn't. Because there are degrees of masculinity and femininity, there can be no really hard and fast rules about how to define either.
Despite all that, how often you see anybody whose gender you can't determine almost instantly? Whatever their hair length and whatever they are wearing? I can remember a few over the years, but not many.
About twenty years ago, I uised to go to a pub where one of the ladies behind the bar was called Sheila. She always wore men's jeans and a polo shirt which buttoned up men's side. She had no hips or waist, and very small breasts, her voice was quite deep, and her hair was short in a style which was fashionable at the time for bth men and women. The customers at the pub all used to refer to her (inevitably) as 'Bruce', yet from the first time I saw her, it was quitre obvious that she was a woman.
Moral of that rather long and perhaps rather dull stry? No individual aspect of appearance in itself, including hair length, is conclusively masculine or feminine. True, some women with long hair say they like it because it feels more feminine (eg see posts on boards like The Long Hair Community), but looking more deply at what they say, it is clear that their hair is just one aspect of 'being truly themselves' in a package which is feminine overall.
That's just my opinion of course - what does everyone else think?
; My hair is 8 years lo
ng. I say have no more barbers no barber shops. long hair on guys looks groovy!
Of course, this is stereotyping. It really depends with who you hang out with, what social groups you mix with. Long hair can make a person appear to be slightly vain, if they take good care of it, and people really only begin to make these judgements if they're either jelous, or think the person is not liked and has overwhelming evidence e.g No girlfriend, loner, ect...
The first thing I think when I see a married couple with lng hair is 'very cool', not "he's vain".
In today's society, long haired men are only mistaken for their gender because the current generation wasn't alive when long haired males were extreamly common. In fact, it can sometimes show up the person's arrogance.
Which is more vain, having your hair styled/cut every _X_ weeks or just letting it grow?
Simple answer. No. I have never been mistaken for a woman, and since I have grown my hair long, many more women have noticed me, made comments, hit on me, etc. Long hair doesn't make you more feminine, it just makes you more interesting.
I sometimes get mistaken for a woman from behind, but it's no big deal. I've never been accused of being feminine.
Soceity has very silly stereotypes about what men and women should look like. If this means that the mainstream think long hair is feminine, that's their problem. I've never considered myself to be part of the mainstream, although I'm married with kids and a mortgage.
If it comes to it, soceity's norm for a woman is just long enough to look long, and long enough to wear up, but no longer. My preference for hair length (on anyone) is a little longer than that.
As for vanity, there may be something to that, but there's a double standard for men. We're not expected to be vain, but we're still expected to look perfect, i.e. we're supposed to pretend to not care about our appearance, but woe betide anyone who really doesn't! It may be easier to keep up such a pretence with short hair, but certainly not in my case. I have fine wavy hair, and worn short it had to be combed every five minutes.
...that the "majority" rule works here. In other words, if there is a majority (or maybe I should say SUPERmajority) of a particular gender partaking in something, then society will likely label it "masculine" or "feminine". For example: boxing (masculine), ballet (feminine), wearing skirts (feminine), etc. 16 years ago when I got my first earring, it was considered feminine since there was a supermajority of women that had earrings as compared to men. Now, I would say that earrings are not as feminine as back then since many guys have earrings now. That said, since there is still a supermajority of women that have long hair as compared to men, I think society might still view long hair as feminine. Personally, I don't think of having long hair as feminine, but I can see how society might label it as such.
I can take that even a step further.
Notice that once traditional women's jobs are the lowest paying, while jobs traditionally held by men pay much higher?
Most teachers used to be women. These days, there are many men teaching. However, it was a job held primarily by women, even up through the 1970s.
Low pay.
Nurses. Same thing. Low pay!
Now, throw in jobs that were traditionally held by men, and the pay is much higher.
Good post. You're right. Things traditional to women are considered feminine. Figure skating, gymnastics, etc are all considered feminine. Of course, the men involved in these sporting events are also usually quite feminine in appearance and the way they speak (I know I'm overgeneralizing) as well, so that doesn't help promote masculinity.
Very intuitive! :)
Thank you!
and IMO femininity is awesome.
I never understood how misogyny became linked with machismo. If you hate the qualities of a female, then great, go to a gay bar and man it up all over the place with your fellow men.
I dont really think its feminine. At the most, long hair on a man can be androgynous, in the same way that short hair on a girl can be androgynous. I have a clean-shaven face and I usually wear eyeliner, so it does sorta give me an androgynous look, but chances are that would be true whether or not I had long hair.
Just curious, why do you wear eyeliner?
I like it, and just a tip for all the straight guys here(not one of em), girls tend to like it too. Most of my female friends seem to agree guys just look better with a little liner under the eyes. black or dark brown.
Really?
I know a few girls like putting make up on guys.
I think it makes me look more feminine. If I see well-kept long hair on a guy, I think of it as getting in touch with his feminine side. Which is also attractive.
