Long nails for guys

[Bigshift]

I keep longer nails than most men. Eventually I do cut them and they're not freakishly long. They are always clean, very white all the time. I know how to wash my hands and I get under the nails (because who wants to see dirty nails). I could always cut them before they are at a length that is considered long of course, but I'm not going to cut them just because people tell me to. I cut them when I believe is necessary.

To get to the point, many people (male and female) say its disgusting. Is this a homophobic reaction or do they actually think that long nails are dirty. Women keep long nails and they never get the impression that theirs is dirty.

Is this a case of homophobia or are they sexist?

Puzzled.

[kenobi 65]

I guess I just find longer nails on a man to be strange. I don't assume that a man with long nails is a homosexual (and at least you do keep them clean and trimmed), but it does often come across to me as an affectation or something.

(It probably doesn't help that I, myself, keep my nails super-short; you'd probably think I was strange, too. )

[RealityChuck]

Homophobic? Probably not. I don't know of any ant-gay stereotype that talks about the length of nails (well, maybe for a cross-dresser or transsexual).

Sexist? In the sense similar to in the 60s, where restaurants would refuse to serve men with long hair, but have no problem with women with even longer hair.

[WhyNot]

It's sexism, pure and simple. I own it. I loathe long fingernails on men. It literally makes shivers of revulsion crawl up my spine.

Can't really tell you why, (except for the obvious discomfort and outright pain I've suffered at the hands of a few exes during lovemaking.) I don't think they're dirty (unless they're dirty), I just think they're gross. There's no real reason I shouldn't like nicely manicured longer nails on a man, but I just don't.

I can just about tolerate long nails on a guitarist, if he's the finger picking type, but I have to make a conscious effort to not otice his hands!

I am a creature of my culture, and this is one norm that apparently sunk in.

[iftheresaway]

Originally Posted by WhyNot

It's sexism, pure and simple. I own it. I loathe long fingernails on men. It literally makes shivers of revulsion crawl up my spine.

Can't really tell you why, (except for the obvious discomfort and outright pain I've suffered at the hands of a few exes during lovemaking.) I don't think they're dirty (unless they're dirty), I just think they're gross. There's no real reason I shouldn't like nicely manicured longer nails on a man, but I just don't.

I can just about tolerate long nails on a guitarist, if he's the finger picking type, but I have to make a conscious effort to not otice his hands!

I am a creature of my culture, and this is one norm that apparently sunk in.

Pretty much this. Definitely not homophobia, because a) I love me some gay people, and b) dudes with long nails don't make me think "gay", they make me think "ew, gross."

I honestly have no idea why this is, and if a guy friend wanted to grow his nails I would try not to judge, but there's just a visceral "ick" reaction for me. It could be that I really only saw long man-nails when I worked retail, and always on guys who were "off" in other ways - creepy, overly forward, close-talkers, etc.

[cjepson]

Originally Posted by RealityChuck

Homophobic? Probably not. I don't know of any ant-gay stereotype that talks about the length of nails (well, maybe for a cross-dresser or transsexual).

But of course, if you want folks to think of you as a good ol' boy, you better use the "curled fingers" method when you check your nails!!!

I should probably start a poll thread about just how long is too long for male nails. Do they have to be cut as short as humanly possible without drawing blood, or can they be ... oh, I don't know ... a millimeter or two long?

[DianaG]

Originally Posted by iftheresaway

dudes with long nails don't make me think "gay", they make me think "ew, gross."

Ayup. For what it's worth, I also don't care for long nails on women. I really don't see the appeal of long nails at all.

[stpauler]

FWIW, I've ended dates with men who have long nails. Yeah, it's my Seinfeld-ism if you will and it's horribly shallow. It's my hang-up and I own it. Conversely, the chewed down fingernails are a turn on. Luckily my BF keeps 'em really short.


As for homophobic? No. We're both gay and both don't like long nails.

Sexist? I wouldn't want to see him in a dress or heels or with long hair or with anything that is feminine, but that's a preference and not a bigotry.

BTW, I'm a guitarist and a fingerpicker and while my nails could grow nice and strong, I mentally could not handle it.

[Vihaga]

What WhyNot said. I find it viscerally disgusting, and my husband knows that he's not touching me if his nails get too long. It doesn't matter if they're clean, I still find them scratchy and gross. I admit that it's sexist, but I don't see myself getting over it, either. Luckily, it affects no one but my husband, who keeps his nails short unless he forgets to cut them. I don't tend to look at other people's hands as much, so I rarely notice it on a stranger unless the guy's nails are REALLY long.

I also keep my own nails extremely short, so I don't really see the appeal of long nails on women, but just seeing long nails on a woman doesn't disgust me, probably because they're everywhere.

[Rhiannon8404]

I don't see how it could be disgusting. Strange, different, "not appropriate for men", etc, but disgusting? That seems a weirdly strong reaction.

I only find it a bit off-putting if a guy had his nails longer than the tips of his fingers. Then I think they start to look feminine.

[Vihaga]

I have no explanation for it, but it literally makes me shudder sometimes. I just assumed it was a personal quirk, but I guess it's more common than I thought.

[Tom Tildrum]

I've thought about doing that thing where the pinky nail is the only one that grows long. Was that Dr. Evil?

[stpauler]

Originally Posted by Tom Tildrum

I've thought about doing that thing where the pinky nail is the only one that grows long. Was that Dr. Evil?

Or anyone doing coke in the 80s on a TV show

[nikonikosuru]

I think long nails are absolutely disgusting, regardless of gender. Blegh.

[Rachellelogram]

Long nails on guys seems to be a recent metrosexual affectation. You can't really do manual labor with long nails, so you appear "softer" and more feminine. Also, it's seen as strange because you can't really do any, um, penetrative activities with long nails. Which the norm would have us believe most guys "should" do. Or, people may suspect you of being a cocaine user, although that's more of a thing if the pinky nail is longer than the rest of your nails.

I don't really care if a random guy or a male friend has long nails, but I would say it's a turn-off if you go on a date. Because nobody wants their nether regions sliced to tiny ribbons.

[Tim R. Mortiss]

I like boobs on a women, but not on a guy. Same thing goes for long nails.

[shiftless]

I am curious what "long" is. I am lazy about triming my nails sometimes. Are people looking at them and judging me hashly?

[simsimian]

When I was a kid I read something about the Mandarin (class) in China wearing their nails long to demonstrate that they didn't have to work with their hands. Ever since I've thought long nails = parasite. If they are long enough that it is hard to pick up something small, on either gender, it is a big turn off for me.
Also, it is nice to be able to give someone a massage without drawing blood <grin>.

[Dogzilla]

Originally Posted by rachelellogram

<snip>

I don't really care if a random guy or a male friend has long nails, but I would say it's a turn-off if you go on a date. Because nobody wants their nether regions sliced to tiny ribbons.

This. I've been with people who went probing into my girly bits and I'm sorry to tell ya, that shit hurts. Stop. it. Just please cut your goddamned fingernails or don't plan to put them anywhere near my vagina. Thank you. Or.

Learn how to flatten your fingers when in probing mode so your fingernails do not touch me. See, I have long nails and I can manage to masturbate by hand without slicing myself to bits. I'll be happy to show you how. But don't get all offended when your nails slice into something and I'm all "Ouch, dammit, quit that!" You know how you don't like teeth to be involved in the blow job? Same thing.

[IvoryTowerDenizen]

Originally Posted by Vihaga

I have no explanation for it, but it literally makes me shudder sometimes. I just assumed it was a personal quirk, but I guess it's more common than I thought.

Same for me. Interestingly, excessively long nails on women do that too. So, maybe it's just much longer than the norm that gives me the creeps.

Long hair on guys? No problem. Just nails. Weird.

[faithfool]

It makes me shudder, too, and I don't think there's even a hint of homophobia involved since, like a few others, I don't even like long nails on women. The do, however, strike me as dirty, probably because they come across as flimsy and nothing is hidden by polish. If I were dating again, that would be a deal-breaker for me.

[jackdavinci]

It strikes me more as either just laziness / blue collar if they aren't kept nice or gothy / other subculture if they are.

It turns me off, but I don't like long nails on women either.

It also makes me wonder about practical considerations. If I'm away from home and forgot my clippers or whatever, I find it increasingly annoying to use my iPod touch or type on a keyboard. And accidental scrapes while rubbing my eyes, washing, or masturbating become much more common.

[WhyNot]

Originally Posted by cjepson

I should probably start a poll thread about just how long is too long for male nails. Do they have to be cut as short as humanly possible without drawing blood, or can they be ... oh, I don't know ... a millimeter or two long?

I think that if you hold your hand up palmside to you and you can see any white tips, your nails are too long. And the edges should be smooth, not ragged. I don't care if the nails are manicured or not, but a smooth edge tells me you're aware of personal hygiene and can wield a nail clipper or file with ease.

For what it's worth, that's how they checked us for the OB rotation (even though we didn't actually do any pelvic exams, we had to meet code for the floor), so I assume that's a good length for not slicing vaginas during fun time, too.

[Renee]

I'm with the posters who have a visceral "ick" reaction to long nails on men (and usually women, too, for that matter). I keep my own nails short mostly because they start to drive me crazy when they get even slightly long.

I'm curious what the OP gets out of having long nails. Do you just think they're pretty, and don't care what anyone else thinks? If so, do you have a partner, and what does he or she think? If you don't have a partner, does it not bother you that this is a huge turnoff to a large majority of the dating pool?

Originally Posted by shiftless

I am curious what "long" is. I am lazy about triming my nails sometimes. Are people looking at them and judging me hashly?

I'll go with WhyNot's fingertip thing, although I think fingertip length is pushing it for a guy. And yes, people are judging you harshly for it.

[foolsguinea]

I'm not into really long nails on a woman, but I tend to forget about my own nails and let them grow out pretty long. I started growing them long as a child to prove I could stop compulsively biting them.

Right now I have one thumbnail that's pretty long, that I didn't trim when I last did the others. I guess that's creepy then.

ETA: The others are "too long" by WhyNot's OB standard. Heh. Good. Maybe I can leave my hair unkempt and wear one colored contact lens....

[Cat Whisperer]

I don't like long nails on guys, either - I'm not totally disgusted or anything, but I just don't like them. I do worry about hygiene with long nails, on both men and women. What really grosses me out is waitstaff with long nails - you better be scrubbing those puppies hourly to keep them clean!

[RealityChuck]

Anyone here see Doubt (the movie or the play)?

[SeaDragonTattoo]

Long nails on guys are very unattractive. It tells me he can't fix stuff, and it tells me he has no idea about being intimate with a woman. Both of those things rule him right out from dating prospects, and probably from friendship, too. ('Cause my guy friends help me fix stuff.)

(I'm female with short nails like these, though did have relatively short acrylics for several years in the 90's - those are nice and smooth and not sharp at all, though, a lot like these)

[Dogzilla]

Originally Posted by Renee

<snip>

I'm curious what the OP gets out of having long nails. Do you just think they're pretty, and don't care what anyone else thinks? If so, do you have a partner, and what does he or she think? If you don't have a partner, does it not bother you that this is a huge turnoff to a large majority of the dating pool?

<Snip>

I personally don't have any strong feelings one way or the other with regard to my own nails. Mine aren't freakishly long, but they are long. I do not care what anyone but my partner thinks. He really, really, really likes long, slut-red nails. He also really, really, really likes slut-red toenails. Because catering to this fetish does not put me out in any way and I don't mind, I cater to his fetish. ETA: My nails currently look a lot like the second link posted in the post just above this one. If I weren't catering to the fetish, I would keep them just a little bit shorter because I tend to make more typing mistakes when they are this long.

[shiftless]

Originally Posted by RealityChuck

Anyone here see Doubt (the movie or the play)?

Exactly what I thought of when I saw this thread.

[shiftless]

Originally Posted by Renee

I'll go with WhyNot's fingertip thing, although I think fingertip length is pushing it for a guy. And yes, people are judging you harshly for it.

{checking nails using WhyNot's technique} .... Whew. Looks like I'm OK. I did just trim them recently though. It's good to know why I get those funny looks from people all the time.

[cjepson]

Originally Posted by WhyNot

I think that if you hold your hand up palmside to you and you can see any white tips, your nails are too long.

I'm cool, then. (Whew!) If they approached that length, I'd have a hard time typing.

[simple homer]

Originally Posted by simsimian

When I was a kid I read something about the Mandarin (class) in China wearing their nails long to demonstrate that they didn't have to work with their hands. Ever since I've thought long nails = parasite. If they are long enough that it is hard to pick up something small, on either gender, it is a big turn off for me.
Also, it is nice to be able to give someone a massage without drawing blood <grin>.

I have seen many men in different countries in Asia that have long fingernails.
I have been told that it is to show that they work do not have to with their hands.
Not sure about them being parasites, as perhaps they are trying to tell people that they
have a job that does not require manual labor, but I do think it looks really nasty.

Some of them do not keep the nails clean, and I have observed them using the long nails to clean their ears and noses.

[Queen Tonya]

It's gross, just utterly icky on a guy.

Two men I work with have long nails and the women at work commonly discuss how squicked out we all are by the thought of either of those two guys touching us. One fellow seems to just be careless about fingernail trimming in general, it looks like when they get too long for him he whacks them off straight across, leaving long sharp corners on each finger. Looks dangerous.
The other guy is a total creep on many different levels, he's got carefully filed oval nails with a good quarter inch of white on each, and the oh-so-special pinky nails nearly an inch long.

The odd thing is that they're both guys that work with their hands for a living, so they must have to really make an effort to not break those things. It's cringe-inducing whenever I notice it, and I make a concerted effort to look at their faces and not their hands whenever I interact with them.