Looks like my vote for short hair on guys is desperately needed here. And I do mean SHORT - this is about my preferred length for hair on guys. I was a teenager/young adult when long hair on guys was all the rage in the 80’s, and I didn’t much like it then, and I definitely don’t like it now. It’s just so…girly.
I think there’s some truth to that for a number of reasons. Keeping a specific hair style will date you as Governor Blagojevich can demonstrate. Men don’t spend the time grooming their hair so if it isn’t naturally great hair it will get worse as it gets longer. Nothing sadder than aging hippies with a ratty looking pony tail.
I’m not a huge fan of long hair on men but given the choices you provided I would go with the longer cut. It looks good on you and your short haircut isn’t a good style. Assuming you eventually go back to short hair I would suggest you find something completely different than the version you posted.
I’m feeling some very strange data coming from the Dope. I fear that this overwhelming preference for long hair… ponytails, Gah! …is highlighting some dramatic selection bias previously unknown. Moreso than the famed liberal bent.
I’m not going to register a personal opinion as a straight male, but among my big-city female peers anything longer than your hair in that “long” pic would be a massive deal breaker. If you tied it into a pony-tail you’d get heckled out of any pickup joint. At best they’d want to braid it for you.
Then again, if you don’t live in a city and don’t date girls perhaps this information is meaningless.
I was about to start a post with “I’m a gay guy so therefore not your demographic” but after reading your later responses I’ve realised that’s not the case, so will opine with abandon! 
I prefer short hair, every time. It’s not that I think long hair is for girls or anything ridiculous like that but it’s just what I like. Can I suggest a middle way? Why don’t you get your hair cut but do something different to your traditional cut? Spike it up, make it look funky, do a fin or something. That way you can have it shorter but it’s still long enough to grow out again relatively soon.
BTW, how old are you? You mention that you’re a teacher but you barely look old enough to be a student.
I’m glad you asked. I was thinking the same thing!
If you’re chasing cougar tail, seems like you want it long. 
Both my daughters choose boys with short hair.
I don’t see much of a difference myself between the two pictures.
They remind me of how I looked from pictures back in the early seventies. What a goofball !
You have an extremely handsome face. I’d suggest you trim that hair as much as possible. Then you’ll look like a young man who’s on the ball and going somewhere.
I’ve only grown my hair out a couple-few times. I have wavy hair that looks like hell if I don’t slick it back with lots of gel, until it can be pulled back & tied. I eventually get sick of messing with it though. However, you’re young, and should go for it.
If I could look like Aragorn in Lord of the Rings, I’d be cool with long hair. I’d probably look more like that Cindy Brady wig Colin Farrell wore in Alexander.
Long or short, I’m not a fan of hair-in-the-face. Sorry! 
Definitely prefer shorter hair on men. Always. Never longer than the hair in your “short” photo.
And still don’t know how old you are, but I frequent some gay bars with my gay boy buddies, and all the hot guys in the bar tend to have shorter hair and even when it’s not super short you can tell they’ve gotten a haircut recently. All a part of the slick, well groomed, put together thing that me and a lot of other girls and guys I know find sexy. And early 20s chick here, not a cougar 
You look better with the longer cut.
As for those who equate long hair with high maintenance, let me be assure they are not necessarily the same. I am 35 and have long hair, almost to the middle of my back. It reaches the bottom of my shoulder blades. I wash, condition, and let it air dry. I don’t even have to brush it during the day. My hair is ramrod straight and won’t hold a perm for more than a few weeks (I tried in my senior year of high school, it looked awful and I never tried it again). I get complimented frequently on my hair by young and hold.
I’m a strawberry blonde, at least that’s what I’m told. I’ve always called myself a redhead but it is really light and have often been accused of being blonde. My choice in hairstyles is limited: buzz cut, a Moe, or long. My hair doesn’t style. I would need a can of hairspray to keep it place, enough to create a helmet that would repel bullets.
My wife was never attracted to guys with long hair, until she met me. She still generally doesn’t like long hair on guys but mine she absolutely loves, loves so much I’m not allowed to cut it short. I guess the difference is “healthy” versus “unhealthy” hair. My hair is shiny, not frizzy, and well groomed. I only have to worry about brushing it if it is a windy day. I use a wide-toothed come in the morning after I shower and then let dry. That’s it. No more work is needed.
Oh, wow, close to 50 replies! Truly the Interbutts is the best place to go to find opinionated strangers! 
I would like to reiterate that I have no intention of ever wearing a ponytail. This is not the Colonial Era and I am not George Washington. I’m not even a Brent Sienna. I have met guys that look absolutely amazing with a ponytail, but I have seen far more who just look, to put it mildly, ridiculous.
Gandalf looks great with the long hair, nobody can deny that, but Sir Ian McKellen is more physically attractive as Magneto (minus ridiculous X-Men costumes/headgear). And, when I’m 70, he’ll, unfortunately, most likely be dead.
Illuminatiprimus, I’m older than I look, I know. In the baby faced at 30 thread I illustrated an example of this. Suffice to say, some people refuse to believe I’ve even graduated Jr High. That said, I am 25ish. (Won’t divulge any further, a boy’s allowed a few secrets ;))
And, Omniscient, I live in a city, but one with a population of less than 40,000 and I do not date girls. So maybe I’m in the clear.
Cougars (rawr) and non-cougars (how you doin’) alike seem to prefer the long hair, but we’ve seen a few good arguments for short hair. Jensen Ackles, however, is far girlier with short hair than I could ever manage with long. The thought, however, of inadvertently looking like Richie Sambora puts the fear of Og (and of long hair) into me. OTOH, while Bon Jovi I could take or leave, David Bowie’s long(er) hair makes my nethers tingle (perhaps I should consult a physician about that).
Thanks again for all of your opinions and kind (or critical) words!
If you play sports of any kind you will change your mind. You can get away with wearing a hat for some activities but it’s a pain.
Absolutely. I play softball, and while a baseball cap will help a little bit, the only way i can keep my hair out of my face is to tie it back.
Also, in hot and humid climates it can sometimes just be too uncomfortable wearing long hair out. Tying it back gives you some room around your neck for air to circulate, and helps keep you a bit cooler.
This is a very good point. Now, with temperatures hovering only slightly above freezing, the long hair is great insulation, but I can imagine that it will be a hot mess (and not the good kind) come summer. Luckily, Itoigawa has ridiculously strong winds, so that may help, but I might have to find other ways to cope.
Another good point. However, while I used to enjoy shooting hoops and playing tennis at uni, now I generally cycle, hike, and/or run around screaming like a five-year-old to stay in shape (elementary schools are half of why I love this job). I seldom wear a helmet when I’m cycling in the summer (bad, I know, but as I said above, it’s hot and humid here!), so my hair will probably be annoyingly flopping in front of my face then, but that’s nothing a sweatband won’t fix. Also, if I pick up tennis again, I’ll get to pretend I’m a young, straight-haired John McEnroe!
YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS! CLEARLY INSIDE THE LINE! etc
Jensen Ackles GIRLIE?!? Okay, that’s it - bicycle rack, four o’clock. Got me some ass-whuppin’ to do.
Kids these days, don’t KNOW a good looking man when they see one…
How about Brandon Routh? That’s a nice short do. Or something a little longer but still very stylish. You don’t want to follow in Ronnie Spector’s footsteps, though. 
Hmmmm…
I see 3 factors here. There’s what image you want to project, what type of hairstyle you like wearing, and what others think looks good on you.
Right now you project a kind of British 60’s look. Both short and long look good on you. Honestly the short is not short, it’s just less long. A short hairstyle would make you look totally different.
Your Japanese bosses don’t mind that look? You must have pretty laid-back bosses. It’s definitely not a sensei hairstyle. Oh, you could always dye your hair black and use the copious hair products to get that J-Rock look.
Seriously though I dunno… I never know what to do with my hair either. And I’m a lot less cute as well!
Long hair rocks the casbah, mine’s about shoulder length at the mo’, but I wouldn’t ponytail it up - under every ponytail is an…
It’s not ridiculous - long hair is a very feminine look, IMO. Oh well, different strokes and all that…
more of the do what you want with your head here but
I am 40, this year I have been hit on by a 22, a 25, and a 26 year old…women that is…well hell and a 20 something guy but I wasnt planning on going there.
my point is if it works for you go with it, my hair is low maintenance and healthy as hell, thick enough to make women jealous kind of hair. I do know a guy whos in his early 30’s with long super thin hair, bald on top and always wears a dirty felt hat to cover the bald spot…hes in serious denial about what that long hair is doing for him to say the least.
I will almost certainly end up shaving my head in the next 10 years (maybe 5) as my hairline keeps sloooooowly receding but screw it, if I am getting hit on by women 15 years younger than me I would say its working for me (that and the 45 year old the other night who kept playing with it.)
I have always had a thing for guys with long hair. I remember being 15 and just sitting at my window, watching a neighbor boy my age riding his skateboard down the street, his long brown hair floating in the breeze. I still like guys with long hair, but it depends on the guy. Some guys just look better with short hair, particularly if they’re getting a little thin on top.
seodoa, you look cute with long hair. BTW, I’m a straight woman, age 37.
I think it would look good a little longer than the “short” pic, and a little shorter than the “long” pic.