To think most women keep hair long to be attractive to the opposite sex?

[Ilovegreentomatoes]

It's always been said men prefer long hair it looks more feminine etc.
I know many women hate having their hair short and are devastated if their hairdresser cuts of more than an inch.What is the obsession with long hair? I have fine hair and cut it short because long hair looks crap on me but I'm definitely in the minority. Even women who look better with short hair because of their hair texture insist on keeping it long. Do you think that's because we are subconsciously taught mainly by men that long hair is more attractive. Plus all teen girls have that uniform ultra long hair there is no diversity. And no I'm not jealous because I have short hair!(well very short bob to be fair.)

Long hair is more versatile (just put it up when you don't want to style and it will look OK in a way short hair doesn't)

Nice long hair is youthful. I'm late 30s but I still have very nice long thick hair with no grey, I'm lucky. I know if I cut it short that I would definitely look my age, if not older.

I'm kind of divided.

My hair is the shortest it has ever been because I wanted to bleach it light blonde, and it is still a few inches below my collar bone.

I do like my hair long because I think I look prettier. My hair is fine textured but really thick, so when it is short it isn't pulled down by its own weight and I find that puffy and unflattering. Obviously looking nicer to the opposite sex is a concern, but more importantly I like myself better with longer hair. My partner happens to prefer longer hair too, but if he preferred short hair I don't think it would sway my opinion much as I have to deep attractive myself too.

I think long hair is definitely more popular going by this thread

Well your thread title (being about long hair specifically) is obviously going to attract more people with long hair, isn't it?

I periodically grow my hair very long then have it cut off and donate it. I definitely prefer it long, and I know my DH does too. If I’m being totally honest I think you can look cool/sexy with short hair but it’s harder to look pretty, feminine or ‘glamorous’ with short hair. Long hair is more versatile and I like being able to look pretty 🤷🏻‍♀️

Some women are so lucky to have the choice. I have really, really thin awful hair and it only looks semi decent when it’s short. It’ll get worse over the next few years as middle age kicks in and I become even worse. I guess that means I’ve just never been that attractive!

Quite interesting how many women are saying they look better with long hair, hence why they have it, but it's not because they want to appear attractive to men. On a conscious level, this may be true, but subconsciously, why do humans want to look attractive at all? Surely our subconscious desire to appear attractive is to attract a mate?

I would love short hair but my hair is so frizzy it needs to be long enough to tie back / straighten

the tumbling tendrils fairy tale princess look on women in business wanting to be taken seriously - I think it is just to look sexy --- why wouldn't you just tie it back or in a loose bun.

Why would you?

It sounds like you're saying that women can only be taken seriously if they look like men.

I had very short hair when I was younger, and less round of face. Now it’s longer because I don’t want to look like a pudding, and also I can’t afford 4 weekly cuts (it grows like a weed).

I don’t care what any man except DH thinks, and he rarely passes comment- I’m just me to him.

Long hair on older women is very ageing, in my opinion. When ever people have long hair cut short I always think they look younger.

But it's a personal choice. I had very long hair until I left university then I couldn't be bothered with it so had it cut to shoulder length and it got shorter and shorter.

I had a pixie cut when I was pregnant and the boys were toddlers. Now it's a short bob.

My hair is elbow length. It was easier to manage when it was shoulder length but I prefer it long and as PP have said much lower maintenance than short hair that needs to be cut and styled every 6 weeks.

Kind of agree op. Looking at an old school photo (early eighties), 300 girls and only 2 had long straight hair. Others had short, mid length, curly, straight, tied back, loose. We all looked great, even though we might not have thought it at the time. [Grin]. Now, pretty much every teenage girl/young woman has long straight hair.

Apart from a brief period when I was about 8 or 9, my hair has been short all my life. It's grown quite long (for me anyway) during lockdown and it's annoying me to death - can understand completely why schools require pupils to tie long hair back so they're not always fiddling with it.

So many young women and girls self esteem seems to be tied to their hair.

And if it's 'just hair', why don't as many men wear their hair long?

My teen DD can nearly sit on her hair but most of her friends have shoulder length hair.

@formerbabe

Quite interesting how many women are saying they look better with long hair, hence why they have it, but it's not because they want to appear attractive to men. On a conscious level, this may be true, but subconsciously, why do humans want to look attractive at all? Surely our subconscious desire to appear attractive is to attract a mate?

There is social capital to playing along with patriarchal norms.

My hair is long because I can't afford to have it cut. It's also nice to be able to have it up or down depending on what I'm doing.

OO do you do anything at all because you feel more attractive? Wear makeup, buy new clothes because you like them rather than because your current clothes are falling apart, shave your legs etc? Do you do this stuff because men find it more attractive? I do stuff because I feel more attractive because I like to feel attractive to society and to myself. Because I love the process and artistry of applying makeup. Because I live clothes etc. Not specifically men. Also I work out a lot and longer hair (past shoulders, not long long) is easier as I can tie it up.

Thinking it about more when I was an older teen (90s) there seemed to be more variation in girls hair styles & even those with long hair often wore it up. DH actually said to me a few weeks ago how come so many younger women all have really long straight hair now & it's definitely a thing.

No because I have a round face and short hair wouldn't suit me. I don't like short hair on women much as I think it can make them look manly.
Nothing to do with wanting to be attractive to men.

I’ve been married for 16 years and have no desire to attract men in general. I like my hair long as I like how it feels and when it’s short my chin looked huge. Never occurred to me I was choosing hair that was for men! Dh would love me to have short hair as he dose the vacuuming

I have 4 DC and don't have time to style my hair everyday like I would need to do if my hair was short. So much quicker to just brush and put it up. I've had short hair before and it took a lot of effort to maintain.

Nah, it’s cos it is easier to look after. If short it sticks up like mad.

I have shoulder length hair which I like but I definitely want to look attractive for my husband and wouldn't cut it in a way that made me less attractive to him as I like to feel like he thinks I look nice.

Likewise I would be pretty sad if he saved his head as he would look as handsome to me.

*shaved

I've never said this before on mn , but you sound a little envious , because you feel your hair is too fine to wear it long .
Like another PP , my hair is really unruly, it's much easier to style with a bit of weight pulling it down so I need it about longer.
Its grown very long during lockdown and I cant get a hairdresser appointment til 3 Aug .
The thought that is " for a man" never entered my head . I'm terminally single btw

I hate going to the hair dresser.