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.)

I have fine hair and cut it short because long hair looks crap on me but I'm definitely in the minority.

I believe you when you say you’re not jealous OP but I think the above might be colouring your view.

I found this interesting on Wiki:

Scientists also view the ability to grow very long hair as a result of sexual selection, since long and healthy hair is a sign of fertility and youth. An evolutionary biology explanation for this attraction is that hair length and quality can act as a cue to youth and health, signifying a woman's reproductive potential. As hair grows slowly, long hair may reveal 2–3 years of a person's health status, nutrition, age and reproductive fitness. Malnutrition, and deficiencies in minerals and vitamins due to starvation, cause loss of hair or changes in hair color (e.g. dark hair turning reddish).

No dye on mine (naturally fair, sun does all the highlighting I want) so I bet my two dry trims a year cost less than yours

Only a little - I usually get my hair cut four times a year - it's wavy so always looks shorter than it actually is I get it cut wet, but not blow dried.

Well I don't think long hair suits everyone, it can drag the face down & sometimes it can look too thin or lank but short hair is hard to pull off & more effort. I would love a dead straight platinum bob but my hair is thick & wavy so I have it long as I don't need to do anything too it.

@Megan2018 - you sound bloody awesome and I totally agree with you. There’s some hideously ugly comments on this thread from women to other women, your’s was a breath of fresh air and I hope I’m like you with luscious locks and a new baby when I’m 42 .

Long hair on older women isn’t attractive IMO

So? Since when did we have to make ourselves look pretty for others?
Can get lost with that crap.

I am mid fifties and in my life time I have had everything from a buzz cut to reaching my bum.
I have long grown past the stage where I want to please anyone but myself so now I have long greying hair.It is soft and in good condition I don’t feel the need to dye it nor do I want a style I have to maintain so long and grey suits me fine as I wash, condition and then either tie it up or platt it.

Some interesting opinions on here.

I think we are socialised from when we were babies that girls have long hair, our hair is a large aspect of our prettiness and therefore worth as little girls etc, and boys have it short

I don't think many grown women would say that they keep it long because they want to look attractive to men.
I think it's that it's just so engrained in our subconscious that for a lot of us it is a symbol of femininity and worth to have long hair

Short hair doesn't suit my face shape and keeping short hair trimmed costs a bloody fortune. Plus it's curly and if it isn't cut extremely short I look like Little Orphan Annie.

Mine is below shoulder length and I colour it myself. I haven't been to a hair dresser for at least fifteen years.

Who cares what men prefer? It’s what YOU prefer!
Long hair on older women isn’t attractive IMO.

Just clocked your sentence under there
It's what YOU prefer
Then in the next breath tell people older women with long hair aren't attractive?
Presuming you're a woman, how is it any better for you to tell people what they should be doing/looking/they're unattractive?
Judging the looks of other women is just as shit coming from other women FYI!

Interestingly my best "hunting" years were when I had hair above shoulders/under years lenght.

Maybe men are now conditioned to think they like long hair on women as it's more feminine and they should have short hair because it's more manly and we women like it and then we are conditioned to think they like long hair on us and it makes us more attractive and we should be like and we should like their short hair because it's more manly but in reality we all actually like different things and styles but have to pretend we don't.
😁

*under ears!

I prefer my hair long (shoulder length as I can just put it up in a pony tail.
I've had my hair every length (including shaved) and I can say I look ridiculous with short hair. I don't think that older women should have to have short hairstyles.

Unless I cut my hair to about a 1/2 inch crop it would drive me insane if it was shorter than a bob. It sticks out at random angles. As a teen I spent a fortune on styling products and an inordinate amount of time trying to get it to behave. I was 18 before I realised that left longer it was wavy and low maintenance.

Interestingly re teens having long hair. I found an old school photo ( 80's). Not a single one of us had long hair the best description I can come up with is clare grogan early 80's. I think it was considered a bit 'primary school" to still have long hair then.

Lol at the idea that I waste two fucks trying to impress any bloke. My hair is long because I can't be arsed to cut it and throwing in a plait is faster than trying to style it.

Although at the rate it's coming out, I may end up bald...

The trouble with short hair is that it needs cutting every few weeks and honestly, who can be bothered?

When mine was short, the grease showed more and it used to stick up when I’d slept on it. I also got mistaken for a man from behind twice (Im tall with broad shoulders) so no thanks, I prefer it long. More flexible, easy and flattering.

I also think that unless you look like Wynona Ryder, it’s not very flattering to most women.

My post is more about if women agree we are more conditioned consciously/unconsciously about long hair being more attractive.

Women compliment me on my hair but I think only one man has ever commented on it. DH gets sick of there being hair everywhere!

I tend to grow long hair till I forget how annoying short hair is, then I have it all cut off and start again.

Short hair is annoying because you have to have it cut all the time or it gets in your eyes/nose/face. Unless it's literally shaved short, mine goes in random directions and looks odd and I cba more than about once a year with putting gunk in it to make it sit right. And every time you have it cut you are finding little shaved hair bits in your clothes for weeks. And you have to explain to hairdressers how you want it and pretend to be interested.

Long hair is annoying because it pulls and falls out of ponytails, but at least while it's in a ponytail it's definitely not in my face.

Mid length hair (say chin length bob) is ultra annoying as it is long enough to go up your nose and never stays tied back.

Not that it SHOULD be that our sense of worth is based on our hair being long and pretty but we live in a bloody patriarchy that engrains it from a young age. Hence why it's more common perhaps in teen girls to desire long shiny locks because in the teenage years the want to fit in and how we are socially perceived is felt to be very important even if long hair is a hassle

DH gets sick of there being hair everywhere!

I get annoyed when guests leave hair everywhere when they could easily pick it up. Other people’s hair in the bathroom especially is gross!

I don't personally see the issue with women adopting a certain style to look more attractive. It's in our nature to want to seek out a mate. Obv, it's different if you feel coerced into keeping a haircut, but nothing wrong with wanting to look good.

My brother's a boxer and says he prefers a shaved head as it's lower maintenance and hair gets all sweaty and clumped when wearing a headguard. However, he keeps it nearly trimmed as he thinks he looks like a thug with a bald head and slightly squashed nose and that this would put women off.

I don’t have short hair because it’s impossible to just shove it in a ponytail. I’d have to style it every day and I simply don’t have time, and I don’t have time or money to constantly get it trimmed either. Plus I prefer to cover my drooping jawline - imo extremely short hair is only flattering on young women with no jowls.

I don't give a shiny gold plated shit if anyone same sex or not finds me attractive. (Although I suppose it's nice to think my Dp does) my choices about my looks are solely about if I like them or they are appropriate to the situation as in no pyjamas to work or similar.

I happen to have very long hair but I have since I was 12 and now it's started to go grey I'm quite looking forward to seeing it once it's fully changed.
Equally my friends and family have huge variety in styles from fully shaved and partly shaved goth styles to Mohican to pixie to very long and all sorts in between.

I had a choppy bob before lockdown but it had grown and I left it longer at my last pre lockdown hair appointment for a change
5 months on, I love my longer hair. Way less effort. No arsing about with root lift and texture sprays. Leave it to dry by itself and a 2 minute blast with hairdryer.
I don't know what men think but I'm loving it