To wonder why all girls have long hair?

[Mightymoog]

Just driving past the secondary school at home time and every single girl had long hair. Different colours, some wavy, some straight, but every last one of them had long hair.
Where are all the short cuts or even mid length.
when I was at school (admittedly many moons ago )there was a huge range from short and spiky to mid length bobs to long.
just a little something I've been musing on for a while and prepared for people to tell me the local school is an aberration of long hair lovers

There was a period when I was at high school when some girls got short pixie cuts, around the time of Frankie Bridge, Vicky B and Rihanna. I remember my friends sister got hers cut short and I was so shocked at first but actually it looked great!

Many don't though. That's the point. Women's rights have regressed.

Simply it's expensive to have a regular hair cut and it's hassle to book an appointment.

I did say the observation was based on driving past the one school and i was prepared to be told other schools don't show this trend but the vast majority of posters are agreeing that it's a trend they have also noticed

Yes, I think most of it is about what young men, boys like.

I have had long hair since I was a teenager because I went to a hairdresser for a trim and he shaved the back and I was 12 and too scared to question it. It took me ages to grow it all back and I’ve had long hair ever since and usually cut my own hair.

Prick.

Not what you asked but still. Often women get called names if they have short hair. I think a lot of women avoid it because they are told it’s not feminine.

oh really.
Do you mind sharing the rough demographic of the school or is it a very mixed bag?

Yes my hairdresser was saying that's the last time she noticed there being a big trend for it. We need another Princess Di or Frankie Bridge.

Emma Stone has had a pixie hasn't she? I wonder if she's influential enough to kick off a new trend for short hair? Probably not for young girls...

My mother was...okay...with a pair of scissors.
Proper scissors, not hairdressing scissors.
My brother and I had the same haircut until we were about 12.

It goes way beyond teenage trends.

When I was at school (80s mostly) girls had a mix of short and long hair, except long hair then was shoulder length. I always had very short hair - no one asked if I was a boy. I remember one girl having very long hair (similar length that most girls have now) and this was considered quite weird at the time.

When my son started school a few girls had short to shoulder length hair, most had just below shoulder, a few very long hair.

Fast forward to my youngest starting school 10 years ago and pretty much all girls had very long hair, very little variety, just lots of long long hair from a very young age. The few exceptions (interestingly all autistic girls) are now trans.

This is not fashion. 4 and 5 year olds are generally what their parents have made them.
Now in school children are confused if girls have short hair or boys have long hair.

In secondary school it gets worse, having been created by parents to adhere to these strict standards the children now put pressure on each other to conform, and conformity is far more present now than it was 40 years ago. I have a great many examples that show this.
A girl made to match her sisters with their long hair and pink clothes whatever the activity, decided at 10 that she was trans - was finally allowed to have short hair and wear practical clothes that suited her rough tough activities. Desisted at 18 (thankfully her parents refused puberty blockers so she’s not sterile) and realised she is a lesbian and doesn’t fit the stereotypes foisted on her from all angles since birth.
Similarly a gay young man who went through school bullied until he said he was trans because the other boys didn’t understand his long hair and love of occasionally wearing makeup. So he told them he was trans (he wasn’t) and everyone backed off.
Wait until you hear about the ex CEO of a trans charity who publicly told the world that she transed her son because her husband was homophobic.

Not one single trans child story doesn’t rely on gender stereotypes. It’s no surprise that the regression into strict stereotypes has resulted in a storm of trans children. It’s so obvious.

The 80s in comparison were so free. Children, teenagers and adults were more able to express themselves without having to conform. I can’t believe that we’ve gone so far back.

Emma Stone has had a pixie hasn't she? I wonder if she's influential enough to kick off a new trend for short hair? Probably not for young girls...

In dds (16) mind, she will be able to have her hair how she wants when she's an adult. It's just at her school that short hair is an absolute no-go for girls unfortunately. She has also expressed her GC views, which didn't go down well, so the combo wouldnt work.

This is nonsense, I'm afraid. I'm wondering if you actually know what a pixie cut is?! Very short cuts in various iterations have always been on trend and much more likely to be seen on edgy models in their 20s than 'older ladies'. You see loads of short cuts in fashion shoots and in high-end fashion ads, and on the catwalk. Primarily on women in their early 20s.

My 13yo has super curly hair and has it cut just above her shoulders. I just asked her what percentage of her year she reckons has short hair - she said if she's counting just below the shoulders as well as bobs, about a third to half. For context she's year 9 at a girls' grammar.

So no, not all girls have long hair!

There's a decent variety of hairstyles/lengths at the school my DDs go to but it's a very mixed school culturally and it's a girls school and I expect both factors play a role.

One of my DDs has her hair just on her shoulders so it's long enough to tie back for the sport she does but short enough to avoid getting too tangled. When she was about 8, she had a pixie cut which looked amazing but occasionally resulted in people saying she was a boy. It was before gender identity was such a mainstream topic so she'd just tell people she was actually a girl and think nothing of it. It grew out over lockdown and every so often she says she might get it cut short again.

The other DD has luscious long hair which she enjoys being able to style differently. Her friends are a bit more homogeneous in their choice of hair style but for most of them, having long hair is preferred because they can tie it back for work/sport and go for a completely different look the rest of the time.

The school I teach in has teenaged girls and boys with all sorts of hair styles, colours and lengths.

Gender stereotypes have become far more rigid, it’s not just fashion
This.
Of all my DSs female friends and partners none have ever had short hair. It's a rarity now.
By short hair I mean cropped, lots of people say short when it's actually collar length or longer.
I grew up in the 70s so did my share of horrific perms but from the late 70s very short hair became fashionable (Servalan, Annie Lennox) and I have had a crop ever since. I tried growing it once but didn't like the feel.
There was a mix though, from long hair to punk rather than one dominant look which is the case now.

DD and her friends all dance and do gymnastics competitively and it’s much easier to do the necessary buns and braids with long hair which is why they don’t cut it.

That’s interesting that it’s a girls’ grammar - it matches up with a couple of girls schools locally. They seem to feel more freedom in terms of how they dress and in their appearance.

All co-ed schools round here the girls have the same very long hair and very little variety.

Just above the shoulders - I'd still call that long hair?

I always find it interesting when women say they remove body hair because they like the smooth look and feel, it’s more hygienic, easier to keep clean etc, but head hair must be the exact opposite- long and thick.

I keep seeing posts that says long hair on girls is easier to manage, and I’m boggling!

My daughter is now an adult. From 8 she chose to grow her hair and it was so much work to keep looking nice compared to a shoulder length bob. Washing and drying and brushing knots out was a nightmare, and when she got nits it was so difficult to deal with!

So every post I’ve seen saying how easy it is, I don’t believe you! 🤣

me also. Short is around ear length.

plus girls grammar school- hardly representative as statistics demonstrate.

This is interesting. It must be the fact that it's a girls only school? Dd is at a mixed grammar and it is absolutely not 'allowed'.

I agree! I find short hair way easier. Yes you have to go to the hairdresser more frequently but day to day I find it really easy. Maybe it depends on the type of hair you have. Mine is naturally a bit flat and slightly frizzy when it's long so its a faff making it look good. A decent pixie cut and I can have it looking nice in minutes.

My daughter has waist length hair, but most of her friends have shorter and her best friend has braids. One of her friends gave herself a buzz cut!