To not understand why people dislike buzz cuts on little boys?

[brightmonitorx2]

I did not realise this was a thing until I buzzed my 3 year olds hair in lockdown (had tried and failed to cut it so had to buzz).
My mother hated it, friends made comments. I then googled and people say it's trashy or something 🤷‍♀️
I thought it was cute and he is asking me to do it again because longer hair annoys him.
It was also way easier to bath/dry as he hates hair wash etc.

I want to do it again but so people thing it looks trashy/chavy whatever?

I know I shouldn't care what others think but I do 😬

It’s practical and looks tidy. Particularly if the boy is very active. I tend to think kids with hair out of their eyes look more confident. It’s right up there with standing up straight.

I don’t think it looks “low class.” It’s the whole package that makes the impression. Boys with short hair, football shirts, tracky pants…it’s all good if they behave nicely. Floppy hair and bratty behaviour is certainly not better!

It’s snobbery. It’s a middle to upper class thing to have long bowl type hair on little boys.

I didn’t know that. I just let their hair grow out of their head as nature-intended and trimmed it back if it got into their eyes or was a possible hazard.

The best haircut for a child, any child, is the haircut that they feel the most comfortable with. Not the one you prefer, not the one society says they should have but the one that is the most comfortable for them.

Makes them look like a skinhead/criminal

And I understand that's annoying when it's what they like but cultural reference/historical associations are a thing.

So stop caring! You can only change how you feel and react not everyone else.

I’m so surprised by all of the responses, admittedly not close to any children but I’d have thought it practical and sensible. Echo the confusion about infants being described as thugs

I think it is a bit of a shock to the system to see a kid with a freshly shaved head. I'm sorry it does look rough. Same with rats tails and mullets. I've always cut my son's hair myself and it's really not that much more effort to do a short back and sides and a bit longer on top.

Goodness me, judging little boys by their hair cuts, that's really harsh, they're little kids, you know small children, still babies really?

My sons are both in their 20s…absolutely no way would they have their hair destroyed by a buzz cut…they are too cool and definitely do not want to be looking like a chav !!

[quote PrimroseTheSmooth]@DingDongtheWitchisDrunk We’ve told him. At 16 it’s his choice- it’s not like having a smaller child where parents dictate.[/quote]
@PrimroseTheSmooth sorry I misunderstood as you said he was unaware of the connotations which sounds like you haven't told him.

I

@Vanellopee

Yeah it’s a very depressing thread. Lots of horrible messages. Probably classism or internalized classism, as a PP observed. A lot of British people have very weird hang-ups about class, as anyone who visits this website regularly can tell you.

When someone posts that they or their partner thinks their little boy’s hair is too long and therefore ‘girly’, everyone’s quick to condemn such shitty, judgemental attitudes. Short hair though? Quite the opposite reaction.

It's not just British people that think it looks bad. Throughout the world it is reminiscent of holocaust victims.

Why is it OK to look down on "chavs"?

@elbea

My husband has a buzz cut. He is privately educated and has a variety of degrees, most definitely not a thug and I’d hazard a guess that nobody has ever thought he is a thug. It’s such a bizarre generalisation to make.

Is he balding? Because that's entirely different!

The associations most people will have are

Chavvy
Thuggish
Racist
Military
Criminal
Holocaust

@Blueuggboots

I'd much rather see a young boy with a buzz cut than the utterly ridiculous fashion for long curls on young boys that seems to abound currently!

I have to agree.

Thuggish. Horrid. But it's your son and your preference.

What you want is a full buzzcut with a tiny rat's tail at the base of the skull.

Bad associations with institutions for many.

Banned in our previous primary school!

Kids with buzcuts.... I automatically assume the parents are a bit trashy/uneducated. Its a terrible look

I'd rather a buzz cut than long hair on a boy

Anything people associate with being poor tends to be not cool.

But I agree it's super practical.

It's not hard to learn to make it look a bit more trendy, mainly it's about keeping it a bit longer on top. I have always cut my sons hair with the clippers - he's now 12 - and I can do a reasonable job. I watched a few youtube videos and look at pictures to get a sense of what I need to do.

I have never seen a little boy’s appearance improved by a buzz cut. I must admit when I see boys with buzz cuts (or rat’s tails) I think “ poor kid, what have they done to him”. I assume the parents can’t be bothered washing his hair or taking him to the barbers. Every so often my adult son does it and yes, he looks like a thug.

I think the problem is that buzz cuts have a slew of negative connotations (far right, football hooligans, badly behaved chavs, nits, prison) but no positive ones.

It's not a look I'm fond of, I don't like how it stands on end so harshly as it grows back.

My son has his hair cut with scissors, it's kept neat and tidy never overgrown, I just prefer how it looks.

People saying chat, thug etc are being snobby. It's personal preference, no need to use horrid words about a small child.

Chav*