# Why the bias against men's long hair? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 12, 2023, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481 "2023-10-12T21:40:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2023, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/61 "2023-10-19T22:06:28Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Like other appearance options, it conveys a package of messages which others pick up in a gestalt. Around here it suggests ‘drug dealer’, judging by the number of times my husband was asked for drugs back when we used to go clubbing. 🫣 ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2023, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/62 "2023-10-19T22:09:22Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I like long hair on men. Me too. ☺ I hope my husband keeps his long enough for it to turn silver. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/63 "2023-10-21T19:51:32Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > So I took off my hat I said: Imagine that, huh, me working for you Wishful thinking! 😆 ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/64 "2023-10-21T20:54:26Z")
I love a man with long hair… Now the man bun? Nope. Nope. Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/65 "2023-10-21T21:04:21Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I love a man with long hair… Does your husband know? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/66 "2023-10-21T21:35:31Z")
I love a man with long hair, too. He’s my husband. 😉 And i enjoy the hair. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/67 "2023-10-21T22:35:45Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I love a man with long hair Does it count if it’s nose hair? ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/68 "2023-10-22T02:09:55Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Wishful thinking! 😆 You know me! 🙃 ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/69 "2023-10-22T03:51:47Z")
Between the two of us, we have perfectly average hair length. See you on the snow, My Friend! ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/70 "2023-10-22T19:40:58Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I see from the article that it involves dreadlocks. So, you can probably add a racial component to all of this. And religious. > [@Odesio](#): > > I don’t think a clean shaven look on a day-to-day basis became standard until the disposable razor. Using a straight razor is pretty labor intensive when you include maintaining the blade. Are you skipping over safety razors, or including them in “disposable”? Because there was a good long time between straight razors and what I consider disposables (almost all plastic, often multi-blade). Only the blade of a safety razor is disposable. And they are making a comeback. > [@msmith537](#): > > For men, it’s easier to have them all look the same by keeping ones hair “high and tight” (plus I would guess there is a practical reason as it’s less likely for short hair to get caught in machinery and equipment). But women in the military are allowed anything from shaved bald to long hair in a ponytail. > [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > FWIW, I thought your comment was perceptive, insightful, and intelligent. Yes, this. And I understood the sense of the word you were using. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/71 "2023-10-22T21:15:16Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > Are you skipping over safety razors, or including them in “disposable”? Because there was a good long time between straight razors and what I consider disposables (almost all plastic, often multi-blade). Only the blade of a safety razor is disposable. And they are making a comeback. Technically I think they’re all considered types of safety razors. But, yes, I’m lumping them all in as disposable. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/72 "2023-10-22T21:35:22Z")
I agree that they’re probably all technically safety razors, so I should have said early safety razors, maybe. But I don’t think they should all be considered disposable. I own a vintage straight razor as a curiosity. I own a Gillette Red Tip Super Speed safety razor that’s over 63 years old because it’s excellent to shave with. That’s not a disposable razor. That said, I agree with the assessment that being clean shaven was not easy or expected before the advent of good disposable razor _blades._ ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/73 "2023-10-22T21:46:14Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > I own a vintage straight razor as a curiosity. I own a Gillette Red Tip Super Speed safety razor that’s over 63 years old because it’s excellent to shave with. That’s not a disposable razor. You don’t throw away the blade on the Red Tip when it gets dull? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/74 "2023-10-22T22:02:41Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > That said, I agree with the assessment that being clean shaven was not easy or expected before the advent of good disposable razor _blades._ I can see that, yes (really the combination of the disposable blade _and_ the “safety” razor head that holds it fixed and limits how much of it is exposed). I can imagine before that even men who did _not_ affect full facial hair as their style would be stubbly much of the time. Of course, after that, the shaving products industry made a Big Deal of building up an expectation of _always_ having a clean, baby-smooth finish when your activities involved being seen in public. It has worked itself into many men’s (and women’s) psyches, too, the apprehension that you are looking unkempt as soon as you can barely feel yourself minimally scratchy, so a lot shave daily when maybe we really should not need to. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/75 "2023-10-22T23:34:40Z")
As a women I am not shaving my face I’ll epilate my chin as needed but peach fuzz is okay. But then I go sans makeup. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/76 "2023-10-23T01:49:38Z")
Yes, that’s why I emphasized disposable _blades_ in the sentence after the one you quoted. As @JRDelirious says, it’s the combination of the safety razor and the disposable blade that made shaving much easier and safer. You can get a straight razor that holds disposable blades – it’s called a shavette. But it’s rarely used because shaving with a straight razor can be tricky, even if you’re starting with a very sharp blade. I wonder how the same innovations affected how common it is to be shaved bald? (Vs clipped close, but stubbly.) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/77 "2023-10-23T04:20:21Z")
And here I thought the expectation was always whatever pissed off one’s parents, or at the very least the opposite of whatever hipsters were sporting 5–10 years ago. Analogous for covering oneself with tattoos or piercings. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/78 "2023-10-23T23:09:38Z")
That my wife will tell me to trim. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/79 "2023-11-10T22:29:57Z")
> [@chela](#): > > As a women I am not shaving my face I’ll epilate my chin as needed but peach fuzz is okay. I shave my face. I have dark hair and paleish skin, so the peach fuzz looks like dark shadow if I let it grow. I really resent having to shave half my body, but at least it’s usually not painful. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2023, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481/80 "2023-11-11T23:38:27Z")
I’d be up for a dermaplaning session, using razor, laser? for extreme facial exfoliation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-bias-against-mens-long-hair/991481.md?page=5)