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Original poster

To wonder why do few girls have short hair nowadays

526 replies

Chewystick · 05/12/2021 00:52

That’s it really. When I was at high school (80s), half the girls had short hair. However, I can only think of one girl my DDs (who have long hair) have known through school who had short hair and she has long hair now. When did short hair fall out of favour?

OP posts:
Seeingadistance · 05/12/2021 08:58

Oh for an edit button!

There!

LadyRoughDiamond · 05/12/2021 08:59

I do think that social media has some influence here - girls are presented with. Very narrow idea of what it is to be female, and those that don’t conform to that are led to question their identity.

Tonimacaroni80 · 05/12/2021 09:01

I’ll probably get flamed but I think in general longer hair looks better unless the woman has a very pretty face.

I’ve come across a couple of women who look better with shorter hair / hair tied up but they all had beautiful faces.

I know someone with a good figure & absolutely fantastic hair (I have serious hair envy) and all the blokes consider her to be “fit”/“hot”. But her face isn’t conventionally pretty so I honestly think if you cut her beautiful hair off she’s be considered a lot less physically attractive, by men at least. (Not saying this is nice or right, it’s just my observation.)

SmellyOldOwls · 05/12/2021 09:01

Parents actually listen to what their kids want now rather than plonking a bowl on their head and cutting round it.

RossPoldarksWife · 05/12/2021 09:02

@CountessOlenka

Girls are much fatter these days. You need cheekbones to look good with short hair.
Jesus that’s harsh
TroysMammy · 05/12/2021 09:03

I had short hair as a child and it irked my DM when people asked her how old were her boys. She never let me have hair long enough for bunches or bobbles.

As an adult it's long but in the 90s I went through a phase of having it long, permed, grew out the perm, having it cut short, growing it long etc etc. At 53 it's now long and I love it. It irritates the hell out of my DM Grin

Blueeyedgirl21 · 05/12/2021 09:04

I do think it’s harder to pull off short hair

I do love a chin length ‘madeleine’ style bob on little girls, it looks absolutely adorable on any girl under 8

Also love a man bun on little boys !!

But then as faces change as you get older I think longer hair generally suits more people’s faces

user0176 · 05/12/2021 09:04

Just fashion I think, wasn't the androgynous look quite big in the 80s? I don't think there are as many men with long hair these days either? Pixie cuts seemed a thing in the noughties, then the gradient bob, but I don't think there are many short hair trends at the moment, sure it'll come around again though.

NerrSnerr · 05/12/2021 09:05

@theriverrunsthrough

Because SM has 'got them'.

This is why its banned in my house.

SM has been the scourge of our young females

People have always followed trends when it comes to hair, long before social media. When I was a child the fashion was perms and that was many years before any social media was a thing.
oviraptor21 · 05/12/2021 09:06

@SmellyOldOwls

Parents actually listen to what their kids want now rather than plonking a bowl on their head and cutting round it.
This. It's easier for parents for kids to have short hair .... but that's, not cut by a hairdresser short hair. No social-media-influenced girl would be seen with anything other than a proper cut these days and that costs money. Long hair is much cheaper. Also more versatile and easier to manage very quickly when required.
Backtodecemberagain · 05/12/2021 09:06

And I’ve always had long hair, I can honestly say looking sexy has never been a factor. Looking nice, definitely, but not sexy!

user0176 · 05/12/2021 09:07

But just to add I think gender stereotypes are the worst they've been in living memory, short hair now might be seen as part of a gender identity rather than just fashion, because girls have long hair Hmm

foodiscomplicated · 05/12/2021 09:09

When I was a child in the seventies my Mum, bless her (not) seemed to think long hair was a sign of vanity. Then as others have said, in the 80s we were more androgynous- baggy clothes, Doc martens etc. So shorter hair suited the look

SoupDragon · 05/12/2021 09:10

@SmellyOldOwls

Parents actually listen to what their kids want now rather than plonking a bowl on their head and cutting round it.
This. I just let DD get on with it once she got past about 6. She had her hair however she wanted it (bar colouring it!). She's 15 and has it at around shoulder length at the moment having had it cut from "below bra strap" over the summer.
gofg · 05/12/2021 09:11

But then as faces change as you get older I think longer hair generally suits more people’s faces

I've seen some people with long hair which really drags down their face and ages them. Also, as so many with long hair wear it up or in a ponytail they look as though it is short anyway???

As for parents having their little girl's hair cut short in the 70s/80s I actually noticed that mothers liked their little girls to have long hair, even if their hair was thin and straggly. Why can't people just accept the fact that short hair was once in fashion?

I've noticed quite a number of teenage girls with short hair around here recently and they look gorgeous.

I also find it funny that people think with long hair they can just tie it up if it needs washing - people can still see that it needs washing you know, you're not fooling anyone.

RobinPenguins · 05/12/2021 09:11

@SmellyOldOwls

Parents actually listen to what their kids want now rather than plonking a bowl on their head and cutting round it.
That’s true, I would have loved long hair as a little girl, and grew it long as soon as I was allowed. Before that it was bowl cut with a fringe all the way.
Sockwomble · 05/12/2021 09:13

There was plenty of conformity in the 80s. The majority of girls at my secondary school wore court shoes with plasters where they rubbed, tights and pencil skirts. The girls in Rita, Sue and Bob too, look how most girls looked.

RustyBear · 05/12/2021 09:13

Looking at pictures of DD's class, in Year 5 in 2000, most of the girls had a bob that was shoulder length or shorter. By her Y6 group photo, a lot of them, including DD had begun to grow it, and most of her friends have had long hair ever since, and still do, at 30-31.

diddl · 05/12/2021 09:14

@Mosbiusdesigns

I would love to have short hair but I find it much more work than long hair, maybe some girls/women find the same.
Same here!

Wash, brush, leave!

Tumbleweed101 · 05/12/2021 09:16

It is starting to change a bit with the younger end of the teens. My 12yo wanted a shorter style than before when we last went hairdresser. My 21yo and 15yo are still choosing longer styles.

PhantomErik · 05/12/2021 09:16

My DD almost 13 had her long hair cut in the summer. She's very petite & can carry off the look brilliantly but regrets cutting it so short & is willing it to grow as fast as possible.

I'd say 90% of the girls I see walking out of her school have long straight hair so assume it's in fashion.

Yutes · 05/12/2021 09:17

I would love to maintain short hair. I had short hair over lockdown but all the hairdressers being closed meant I couldn’t attend monthly. So I grew my hair and go to the hairdresser much less than I used to.

Whitefire · 05/12/2021 09:17

Long hair is nice if you have the right hair for it.My baby fine hair would look crap long not everyone is blessed with thick hair.

I too have very fine, slow growing hair. I am in my 40's and it is now the longest it has ever been - it is just past my shoulders. It is only long because I went through the horrible straggly look during lockdown. It has probably grown about 4 inches in two years.

DD (15) now has shorter hair, she decided to cut it during lockdown as it was becoming too much effort. Pretty much all the girls wear trousers at her school, very few wear skirts. Many of the girls have long hair but not all. (I live near the school and get caught in the traffic so see them all walking in)

hangrylady · 05/12/2021 09:17

@PlasticPlantsDontDie

So why the tiny skirts and the long, straight hair - conformity? So the boys will notice them? Dunno, but it definitely feels retrogressive.

Isn’t it normal and ok for them to want boys to notice them?

It’s sucky though that showing off your knickers and being uncomfortable is the way to do that.

It’s also weird that putting on makeup and making yourself sexy is seen as a form of rebellion in your teen years.

When really it’s just same-old same-old.

Exactly! Imagine teenagers wanting to attract the opposite sex. Shocking!
Dentistlakes · 05/12/2021 09:18

It’s just the fashion at the moment. Shorter hairstyles will cycle back into favour again I’m sure.