Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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

999 replies

Ilovegreentomatoes · 19/07/2020 22:33

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.)

OP posts:
Thread gallery
24
lynsey91 · 20/07/2020 10:32

I am amazed that posters think those celebs look "ugly" with short hair. To me they look a million times more attractive and sexier than they do with long hair.

Whenever I envy any woman's hair it is always a short hairstyle. I rarely think long hair looks good unless it is very thick, very shiny and either dead straight or very curly.

I think it is a bit of a shame that long hair is in fashion because it doesn't suit a lot of women

burninh · 20/07/2020 10:36

@Bubblebu it's not that I deliberately don't dress for men & obviously there are times when I've wanted to be attractive to men but I'm influenced by fashion & subconsciously want my friends to like what I'm wearing. For example on the weekend I met up with family, sisters & sisters in law were all wearing loose dresses/play suits with chunky sandals. Some men would find more form fitting clothes & heels more attractive.

mothertruck3r · 20/07/2020 10:36

I don't think it has anything to do with subconsiously pleasing men. I think it has everything to do with women thinking long hair is more feminine and attractive.

If most men think long hair is more attractive, why wouldn't most women also come to the same conclusion?

I personally think very few women can pull off short hair and it is aging on most women unless you are in your teens/20s and have good bone structure. Otherwise short hair is the standard middle-aged-and-over hair cut that all women have. Women with long hair over the age of about 50/55 are in the minority.

AwkwardMoment2020 · 20/07/2020 10:37

And I’m amazed that anyone thinks that the cropped hair suits CT better than longer hair!

To think most women keep hair long to be attractive to the opposite sex?
To think most women keep hair long to be attractive to the opposite sex?
Autviaminveniamautfaciam · 20/07/2020 10:38

Now that I am over 50, I don't care whether men find me attractive or not. I won't be going out with any men again after the one I'm with now.
My long, silky hair is my best asset.

SerendipityJane · 20/07/2020 10:39

@Ilovegreentomatoes

But women in general seem to avoid short haircuts even if it suits them.
(haven't trawled to the end of the thread ..)

And, by the same token, you could say a lot of men avoid long hair.

Even if it suits them.

?

ProfessorMiaow · 20/07/2020 10:39

I prefer CT with shorter hair, same with Halle Berry. I think it makes their beautiful faces stand out more. With long hair they just look like everyone else, the long bob seems to be a style most women go for.

CT in that picture with short hair looks absolutely stunning.

burninh · 20/07/2020 10:40

@AwkwardMoment2020

Having an opinion on what length looks better is fine, my point was I don't think having shorter hair makes her become ugly. Look at her jawline & bone structure, she just has a beautiful face.

I would class both styles as short though!

Scruffyoak · 20/07/2020 10:41

I like mine long enough to tie and plait but thats the only reason.

formerbabe · 20/07/2020 10:41

I think on very beautiful women short hair looks more striking whereas long hair looks more stereotypically pretty.

burninh · 20/07/2020 10:41

@Bubblebu I guess it's subconsciously a tribal thing as well.

mylittlesandwich · 20/07/2020 10:42

For me personally I like having long hair mostly because I had short hair most of my childhood. It was just easier and when I was a spritely teenager it suited me. When I was about 22 I started growing it, it's pretty long now. I may well have it short again but for now I quite like it. My mum has had short hair for as long as I can remember and it really suits her.

AwkwardMoment2020 · 20/07/2020 10:43

@burninh

She’s beautiful for sure but I do think she looks harsher and less attractive with that severe haircut than she does with longer hair. I’d be much more likely to say “ooh I wish I looked like that” with the longer haired picture than the shorter haired picture.

GinDaddyRedux · 20/07/2020 10:44

@AwkwardMoment2020

And I’m amazed that anyone thinks that the cropped hair suits CT better than longer hair!
Why is that "amazing" that anyone would think cropped suits better than long?

I think cropped suits her way better. She has tremendous bone structure and it opens up her face.

The shoulder length hair in pic 2 somehow elongates her face for me. I know it's the popular and prevalent style, but she looks like everyone else in that pic. Pic 1 is genuinely striking.

That's just my view though, don't @ me!

MrsFogi · 20/07/2020 10:46

Quite the opposite! When my hair is longer I can scrape it into an awful looking bun and get away with not washing/cutting/styling it. When it is shorter it is much higher maintenance but probably looks a lot better.

Raimona · 20/07/2020 10:47

It’s much easier to have short hair when you’re a millionaire and have access to stylists and regular trims, as well as loads of free time to have your hair done. For normal women it’s much more difficult to afford the upkeep of short hair and find the time to style it.

CandidaAlbicans2 · 20/07/2020 10:48

I get where you're coming from Ilovegreentomatoes as I'm about to get my long hair cut into a choppy bob again and I must admit I had a moment of uncertainty. I'm afraid to say that the thought of being even more invisible to men crossed my mind, as I've grown up with the subliminal message that long hair = sexy, young, whereas short hair = old person/unsexy. Of course I know that's bollocks, but that message has come from somewhere and I'm pretty sure it wasn't my parents. I've even got a 60 year old male acquaintance who says men should have short hair and women should have long, and I do wonder if it's to do with his conservative values in general.

Thing is when I had it cut from long to a short choppy bob before I got loads of compliments. Friends said it took years off me and it was definitely more interesting than my long hair. But having had both long and short hair I've found that it's easier when long as I can just put it in a pony tail or pin it up and it's done, but short hair took more work and maintenance to look great. I do also think that my long hair suited certain outfits, eg a glamorous dress, better than my short hair, but the short worked better with other parts of my wardrobe.

So all in all, for me, my long hair can look more glamorous, ie "sexy", but my short hair is more fun, funky and a bit edgy when I style it properly and would probably attract the sort of men that are more my type anyway.

AwkwardMoment2020 · 20/07/2020 10:48

I was responding to this

I am amazed that posters think those celebs look "ugly" with short hair. To me they look a million times more attractive and sexier than they do with long hair

Which, in the case of CT with that particular haircut I totally personally disagree with.

I was pointing out that we can be “amazed” by different things.

RedOasis · 20/07/2020 10:49

Think hair length definitely depends on hair type and face shape and age. Some people age with longer or shorter style. Some need length if they have curly hair to stop it ‘ bouncing up’. Maybe thinner hair is better shorter and volumised? To answer original
Post I have my hair the way I want it at the time. Every colour under the sun, bum length at one point, shaved short crop at another, curly straight wavy .... I do it for me

Iwalkinmyclothing · 20/07/2020 10:49

Even women who look better with short hair because of their hair texture insist on keeping it long.

Maybe they don't agree with you as to how their hair looks better, and have it long because they prefer it.

I don't do anything to my hair on the basis of what men will find attractive. I like it to be at a length where if I'm low on time and don't want to be washing/ styling it, I can tie it up out of the way. I don't like it to be so long that it takes hours to dry. I don't like it to be too short to tie up as 1) I like having the option to do so and 2) I am fat of face and cannot carry off short styles.

Interestingly, men tend to prefer my hair (as in, comment on it positively) when I have left it to dry naturally and it is a curly explosive mess; women tend to say nice things about it when I have spent time drying and straightening it.

Littlemeadow123 · 20/07/2020 10:50

I keep my hair long because it suits my face shape better. Nothing to do with wanting to be appealing opposite sex. I've been single for a few years now and at the moment, I prefer it that way.

HaudMaDug · 20/07/2020 10:57

I have my hair long to keep my head warm and my ponytail is my scarf.
I would never style or adjust my look to make me attractive to anyone and would probably rebel the opposite way if a partner mentioned a preference.
I kept it shaved (no 1 all over) from 20 years old until I was late 30s and then I had more compliments about suiting the bald look. I do have fab cheekbones but I thought my head is a bit wonky shaped.

Thornhill58 · 20/07/2020 11:01

My hair is down to my waist right now. Sounds wrong of me to say but I have beautiful tick hair. I'm never going to cut it. I'm in my 50's now. My husband would like it shorter but I love it too much.

ramarama · 20/07/2020 11:02

OP I agree and see what you're saying. I'm the same - mine is quite fine and any time it gets longer than a long bob it starts to look crap (and I often think the same about other women's hair)

eaglejulesk · 20/07/2020 11:03

And I’m amazed that anyone thinks that the cropped hair suits CT better than longer hair!

I'm amazed that anyone doesn't! It really highlights her great bone structure and she looks stunning.

Swipe left for the next trending thread