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.
Really? I heard otherwise. 
Societal strictures about hair length has varied for all of American history.
Women were expected - essentially required - to have long hair until the flappers of the 1920s. Then the Depression reversed that. Then the sixties made short hair cool. But for almost the entire length of the 20th century short hair denoted lesbians. Then the lesbian cohort of the feminist movement embraced the stereotype and shouted their right to have short hair and wear masculine clothing.
Men in revolutionary America tended to either have long hair - look at all the ponytails in old images - or shaved their heads so that they could more comfortably wear wigs. Then wigs faded and beards became the symbol. Then after WWI men kept the clean-cut look and short hair. “Longhairs” (c1920s) were classical musicians, who copied the look from earlier music heroes. WWII cut that short. (Sorry.) You know the story since. I find hilarious that when I pass by a construction site I see more men today with long hair than anywhere else, given the hated they espoused for hippies in the 60s and 70s.
(Please don’t tell me this is oversimplified. Sure it is. For the book-length version, read a book.)
Will the norms for hair length change in the future? Bet on it. But don’t try to specify when or where or how or among what groups or why. Society doesn’t progress; it leaps.
It’s The Man trying to keep us down.
I think the teenagers in this case are the smart ones.
It’s the morons in charge of that school who belong removed from any position of authority over anything more complicated than maybe a schnauzer and perhaps laughed out of town.
You’re probably right.
I understand the highschool has eased up on the dress code. Within reason. Not sure who’s reason, but…
This school had just came out a strict uniform requirement when my girls entered the higher grades. The administration was nervous and overzealous with the dress code at the time.
But, teenagers can be nuts. Following the crowd and peer pressure can cause a kid to do way worse than dying ones hair blue.
I’m happy my kids are out of there.
Having long hair on a male doesn’t seem like a very big deal. The OP says he was kicked for long hair and maybe other things. I need to know what the other things might be to decide on that case.
I’d be more concerned with the kid with a skinhead and unfortunate tattoos.
I’ve heard that many schools in Japan include perfectly natural (but uncommon in Japan) hair colours in their banned ‘odd colours’ list, and force kids of immigrants to straighten their hair and dye it black. Extremely OTT.
The theory I heard, which might amount to the same thing, is that femininity is defined positively, and consists of doing female-coded things, while masculinity is defined negatively and consists of avoiding doing anything female-coded. Thus as women adopt some formerly male style, pastime or job, there is pressure on men to abandon it. This is definitely true of names; there are plenty of examples of formerly male names that have switched to being female, and AFAIK zero examples of the reverse.
Barbers Hill Independent School District? Who’d a thunk they’d be obsessed with hair?
I don’t think it’s “ability to tell man from woman” as it is simply an arbitrary social convention. Women tend to wear their hair longer and men tend to wear their hair shorter. But there is no logical reason why that convention couldn’t be women wearing GI Jane buzz cuts or pixie cuts with men wearing their hair long like some sort of Viking berserker.
Apparently moustaches were required were a mandatory requirement for British Soldiers from 1860 to 1916.
Some school districts are obviously very big on conformity. I suppose the logic (such as there is any) is that they are there to educate kids on how to act in society, not have them express themselves with outlandish or unconventional hairstyles or unnatural coloring.
It makes more sense in a military setting, where you want a certain degree in conformity and predictability with your soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airpeople. 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). People who are into conformity tend to emulate the military.
One possibly logical reason: men are considerably more likely to lose some or all of their hair as they get older.
And easier to spot and control head lice.
I am not convinced of this military/short hair theory, lice or no lice.
Here is The Sailor’s Return, 1786:
Washington Crossing the Delaware:
I had a conversation with my dad about long hair, about 1972. He had male pattern baldness, as did all of his seven brothers.
I asked him “when did your hair fall out?” He said when he was about 22 yrs old it was all gone and looked like it did now.
And I asked him, “why are we having the conversation?” He just laughed and that was the end of our arguements about long hair.
I looked just like him and there was no doubt, but my hair never did fall out.
Yep. I was going to post but you already said what I was going to. It is just like women being able to wear pants but men can’t wear dresses. It’s misogyny; homophobia can be seen as a subset of misogyny.
My guy has long hair and after he washes it and combs it out there are stray hairs landing everywhere in the bathroom. He thinks it’s under control but I think he’s just oblivious and honestly I want him to cut it off. Much cuter without it. Ain’t never seen his clean shaven face either so maybe age will take care of the hair on his head and will fall out. Also he uses my pricey shampoo, two too many pumps every time he washes it and he washes it every day. Who does that !
Fashion designers have been pushing dhotis, skirts, frocks, etc. for men for ages
The question is, will a male student get suspended from a Texas school for wearing one…
Depends. Does he pull it down far enough his butt crack is showing?
LOL. My husband also has long hair, also uses my shampoo, and also washes his hair every day - and he’s slowly thinning on top, too. But I like his hair; I’ll be sad when it gets so thin he has to cut it all off.
I wash my hair every day too, it gets greasy otherwise.
There’s a fairly large canyon between High Fashion and what normal men wear. Same with women but maybe not quite as large. High Fashion seems to me to be modern art hung on people, not clothing.