I’m a little older than what you are looking for (42), but I’ve had short hair most of my life. My parents were of the “if you can’t take care of it long, you can’t wear it long” school of hair. And since I was one of those ‘ignore the brush’ kids (my daughter is following in my footsteps) it wasn’t until late that I could wear my hair long. And I tried, and have seldom had it long.
I’ve dated, married (twice, happily still the second time) and had children. I’ve received promotion after promotion at work, and have only not continued to climb the ladder because of my own choice.
I think short hair on professional women looks as good - much better in my case - than long hair. I’ve never seen a female executive with anything more than a shoulder length bob (and I’ve worked with a lot of them) and most of them seem to wear it shorter than that. Meg Whitman Carly Fiorina Indra Nooyi
That last link will take you into photos of Fortune’s 50 most powerful women - not a whole lot of LONG hair.
Haircuts can look ridiculous sometimes. Without knowing you or seeing a pic, I can’t reliably determine whether your particular haircut looks ridiculous. It’s probably more likely that your dad is so used to you with long hair that you look like a stranger now, and it bothers him.
I had an intern last summer who went from mid-back to off the shoulders one day. IF I were ever going to hire someone, consciously or unconsciously, based on their hair, it would have been a big plus because she looked great. I don`t hire people based on their hair though because it’s so stupid.
I like ladies with short hair. I also like ladies with medium and long hair. If your dad thinks guys will really notice your hair, he’s rather stupid. He’s also an ass for flipping out like this.
Wow, I’ve had short hair most of my life and I’ve never noticed any change when I grew it out. If it feels good to you, keep rockin’ the pixie cut, they’re sexy as hell.
I always had long hair. When I was a teenager I said I wanted to get a super short haircut (just for something daring and different). My mother, out of what black well of meanness I’ve never been able to grasp, said “Don’t be an idiot, you have to have a pretty face for that.”:mad: Thanks, ma, you fucking mean old cunt…Right now I have an ugly short cut that flips up in a ridiculous and annoying way that I can’t seem to control, and I feel bare and exposed. A case where it looks adorable at the hairdressers and as soon as you wah it, you think “paper or plastic?”… But no one looks at me much anyway. I’ll let it grow out longer and then it won’t negatively impact me so much.
As far as getting hired, here’s an idea to consider. Women who are hyper feminine often have to work hard to be taken seriously. Think of petite, buxom young women just entering the workforce who have squeaky, high-pitched voices. But the more androgynous you are, the more likely you won’t have to deal with that. People will perceive positive qualities of both genders in you.
And don’t let anyone tell you that you’ll be mannish with short hair. Ten years ago when I cut my hair really really short, my feminimity actually blossomed in certain areas. I started putting more skirts into my wardrobe, and I became a regular jewlery and make-up-wearer. I think I even became more cognizant of my body language. Even when I’m dressed down, people say nice things about my appearance. If you’re already pretty, having short hair will not hurt you.
Straight guy stopping by to mention (again) that I love short hair on women. That is, if I am otherwise attracted to a woman, short hair (stylish as opposed to utilitarian) is icing on the cake.
My hair is short, but not by choice. It’s growing out after the chemo.
As far as having a negative impact on my life, no. Ivylad, who likes long hair, says I look very nice with short hair because I have a pretty face. I think he’s a wee bit biased.
But for me, I want it to get long again. Seeing it short just reminds me why it’s short.
I’ve occasionally gotten bad feedback for my long hair (waist to butt length) in the business world, usually from people who seem to think that past 30 or 35 women shouldn’t have long hair anymore.
Short hair is entirely acceptable in the professional world these days, as long it’s clean, tidy, and (ideally) a flattering cut. Your father needs to enter at least the last half of the 20th Century even if he can’t quite make it to the 21st.
Last year I cut all my hair off and have kept it in a buzz cut since.
My way of thinking about it is that if someone doesn’t hire me because they don’t like my hair, it’s really not someplace I’d want to work anyway. Similarly, if someone won’t date me because they don’t like that I have a masculine haircut? Good, that’s a bullet dodged.
I admit I am a little bit nervous about the job I’ll be starting in the fall, which I got entirely through e-mail and phone interviews, and how people will react, since I’ve been in the cloistered shelter of a college campus since the great de-hairing. On the other hand - once again, if someone doesn’t like it? Tough for them, I have more important things to worry about than whether someone thinks my haircut is appropriate or not. Plus, the benefits of having hair this short are fantastic - I don’t need to worry about what to do with it for a given event, don’t need to deal with combs and brushes and mousse and so on, and a bottle of shampoo lasts ten times as long. And I don’t need to fork over twenty bucks to a stylist ever couple months!
My parents didn’t accuse me of being a lesbian when I finally started going short when I was 18, but my dad does make inferences all the time about how no woman should ever cut their hair short. He thinks he’s pretty liberal too.
He met my mom when she had black hair down to her butt. I don’t think it’s been anywhere near “long” since she had kids in the late 70s. He still holds on to this idea about women and hair, and a few weeks ago I just let him have it. Told him that I was sorry to be such a disappointment to all men everywhere, and especially him. And he should think twice when he says things like that because it really hurts my feelings.
Hasn’t done it since. I’m sure he’ll forget soon enough.
It sounds like your parents, or maybe just your dad, have capital-I Issues about women’s hair. Not being allowed to get your hair cut is pretty far from the norm of parenting, unless you’re Pentecostal or a similar religion. If cutting women’s hair is against his/your religion, it would be pretty obvious that that was the reason it bothered him.
I believe it’s true that there will be some men less likely to date you. There are plenty of guys who really like long hair. I happen to be married to one of the ones who prefers short hair, though. So by no means do I predict that you’ll be dateless. Also, this effect declines with age.
The working world favors the short-haired woman, though. If you make your living as something other than a pretty young thing (model, receptionist, waitress, hostess …), you will definitely be perceived more professionally with well-groomed short hair. And there are still plenty of pretty young things with short hair, if that does happen to be your career niche.
*My hair is short, but not by choice. It’s growing out after the chemo.
As far as having a negative impact on my life, no. Ivylad, who likes long hair, says I look very nice with short hair because I have a pretty face. I think he’s a wee bit biased.
But for me, I want it to get long again. Seeing it short just reminds me why it’s short.*
OP by Ivylass
Me too. (Except I’m still doing chemo and it’s growing back in anyway. It’s nice to know people are out there judging me. :rolleyes:
My own sort of perverseness would tempt me to say something like “I really feel like I was driven to vanity by my long hair–I was secretly proud of it, and spent so much time on it. Cutting it short reminds me to keep my attention on God, not myself. And I certainly don’t want to attract a future husband or employer on my looks–my husband should be interested in my faith and our shared desire to bring up a family in the church and an employer who finds me attractive is sure to lead to trouble”. Then I would walk away leaving him unsure about whether I was serious, and too nervous to bring it up again.
More seriously, hair is pretty much boiler-plate symbolism for sexuality, and the strict control your father seems to want to have over yours is frankly creepy: if this is the only thing he does that’s like this, I guess it’s just a quirk, but it’s a weird one.
