Is Long Hair Conceptualized Beauty?

[*Wednesday*]

I am new to the community and thought I'd post a topic. I recently responded to an interesting thread on LHC 'Do You Judge Women with Long Hair?"
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=118969&page=21

When I posted at this thread, I linked an article to where the writer said of long hair is, "conventional style of conceptualizing beauty." I don't want to hijack that thread, as this is a little off topic to that one. I wanted to put it out there.
http://elitedaily.com/women/men-long-short-hair/1028759/

Is long hair conceptualized beauty? People spend lots of money to imitate long hair styles with hair extensions. My question. Has long hair been conceptualized? Is it an idea which exists that long hair makes women "look" more attractive and feminine. Once it is gone, some attributes to her are gone as well?

[FONT=Helvetica Neue][FONT=tahoma]I wanted to use a few examples of three famous women, Beyonce (singer), Keri Russell (actress) and Alanis Morissette (singer). These women cut their famous locks and suddenly were not viewed as pretty as they were with long hair. Did the hair make their look or did was conceptualize by the public?

Back in 2013 Beyonce cut her hair to a pixie cut. It made news, all over the internet. I believe weeks later, after she cut her hair, the long hair extensions were back. You didn't see Beyonce performing on stage with her short haircut. It is a large part of her image, the waist long hair, before her "big chop." The pixie didn't last very long. Part of Beyonce's great looks are her hair. It is part of her brand. Perhaps why the extensions came back.

http://media1.s-nbcnews.com/j/streams/2014/May/140501/2D274905752168-beyonce-hair-growth.today-inline-large.jpg

[SIZE=3]Keri Russell, during her days on 'Felicity' did the "big chop." Her famously long curly hair left people in shock.

http://www.hairboutique.com/jerkyflea/images/loa04_full.jpg


Alanis Morissette also did the "big chop." In 2004 she cut off her long flowing locks, however today she sports ultra short hair.
http://i40.fastpic.ru/big/2012/0815/ef/07e72df53ced8ce26e64c41347e456ef.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/06/17/06/29AFAB1B00000578-0-image-a-89_1434519069934.jpg

[Ophidian]

Are there people who think long hair is more attractive/flattering/etc etc? Sure. Is long hair associated with a more conventional "feminine" aesthetic in many cases (I think this is what you mean by "conceptualized beauty"?) Often, yes. Are either of these things relevant to me personally? Not particularly. I base my choices regarding my own appearance on a) what I think looks good for whatever reason, and/or b) the amount of time and energy I want to spend maintaining it (translation: I'm lazy with this kind of stuff and not likely to spend more than 10 minutes getting ready to leave the house). I embrace the motto "I'm not here to decorate your world," and don't expect others to decorate mine. Plus, I like to think that something as complicated as attraction is not likely to be addressed adequately in anything that begins with "There's Finally an Answer to Why Men Prefer..." :)

[dvep]

I agree that it CAN be conceptualized, just like many other traits. Ultimately, these things aren't laws in nature. There are many exceptions. So yes, a large majority may find hair more feminine and attractive, but the truth is that this probably exists on a spectrum (eg, people who think long hair is attractive, people who think long hair is attractive and also like some short styles, people who like long hair but choose to have their short, etc.). It's not as big of a binary. My ex boyfriend wanted me to have short hair (he's my ex now for more reasons than that!).

In my mind, some people look great with long hair, some look great with short hair, and these can both be feminine. I think that "shock" factor mostly applies to extremely short styles anyway. I adore the 1930s, 40s, 50s, and pretty much all those hairstyles were shoulder length maximum.

Even if it is conceptualized by some, that doesn't make it the rule. For every person who feels pressured by outside forces to have long hair, there are probably five people who choose long hair for their own reasons.

[StartingAt35]

From a sexual selection perpsective: Long thick hair is a sign of health, since unhealth tends to cause slow hair growth, hair loss and weak hair. And most people will subconsiously be attracted to people who look healthy, since their offspring is more likely to be healthy. Of course there will be exceptions because of our individual experiences. But in general, we will be attracted to healthy looking people.

[OhSuzi]

My own personal opinion - Beyonce looks lovely in both - in fact with short hair hair her facial features stand out more and she looks beautiful.

Keri Russel on the other hand has an averagely pretty face and her big blonde curls are a pretty attribute that soften her face. The short hair cut is just awful, i like short cuts but that one is just a mess and makes her face look harder and pointier - I think she'd look nicer with just about any other cut.

Alanis Morrisette ok in both although the shorty pic is less flattering because its a full slap bang frontal close up of her face (with no make up - although I think i prefer the non make-up) and her hair is unkempt.
I think you just have to find a cut n colour long or short or in between that really suits your face. Long hair in general tends to be softer and its more difficult to make hard edges. Shorter hair can be soft but it's also easier to control and make hard lines and angles for a more striking look.
Audrey Hepburn - There's someone who was beautiful and possibly even more feminine with a pixie crop.

I generally prefer hair that's healthy and shiny rather than a specific length. I have had extensions twice in the past, not because I felt a pressure to have long hair or to please anyone else, but because I was young and impatient and I fancied long hair for myself. In both instances the hair was supposed to last a few months, but it only lasted about 1 - 2 wks before it was a tangly horrible mess that I got bored of and it ruined my actual hair.
I get the idea of a clip in hair piece to achieve a particular style but I wouldn't want to rely on it everyday. Hair extensions seem to be a Western idea of instant gratification and being able to just pay for something others must wait for. But other cultures in India Asia South America just seem to be able to grow their hair with out the need for extensions.

I felt more attractive and confident with my pixie cut because it was striking and styled and you could see my face. I'm in the awkward grow out stages and whilst I try not let my hair affect my confidence too much - there are a good handful of bad hair days & my hair often flops in my face and it hasn't been styled so there's no layer that hits my eyes and my jaw bone etc to flatter my face - so currently longer hair isn't doing it for me - but I know that it just needs a decent styling - I'm just waiting til its grown enough before neatening it up.

[OhSuzi]

Societies idea of what's fashionable or attractive changes all the time too, 20's Western Europe, really short bobs, and slicked back hair and ladies with mens clothes and or dropped hip length waist lines & straight up and down silhouette with flat chests were fashionable - because women had started doing mens jobs during the war, and after the war there were less men around and a lot of the men that were left had spent several years in war hanging around just males and found women more attractive when they looked boyish.

[lapushka]

I think people go through cycles in their lives, and are at various different places throughout. It's about your hair fitting your lifestyle, not more, not less. To me, at least. It is a very personal thing. And does anyone remember Brittney Spears freaking out and shaving her head. I think celebrities are under a fair amount of pressure to perform and bring in cash when they still can, and they go off the rails sometimes and think, I'm gonna do what I want. Some can pull it off and make it part of their style, other styles are too much ingrained, and it is too much a part of their "brand", to stick.

I don't think you can compare celebrity life to a normal person's life, IMMHO.

[MoonRabbit]

I thought the article was all over the place. It was more of an opinion piece than any fact of "why men prefer long or short hair". The author had a biased view from the beginning and wrote more from his emotions than from his sources. Other than that, I believe in our time women create the systematic standards of today's beauty trends and some women follow these standards and others don't. Like others have said, there are many exceptions that were not even addressed in this article such as the males relationship to his mother, his attraction to pornographic imagery, his culture and or geographical locations and so much more. Honestly, we could sub the word "Hair" from the title with anything from High Heels, Makeup to Bras and underwear and it would still pose the same questions.

[spidermom]

Oh, I don't know about all that. A lot of that is overthinking in my opinion. Different people prefer different things, and many people dislike change (like going from long to short).

[Kae612]

I think medium length hair is more "normal" while very short hair and very long hair are both strange enough to get commentary. People with very long hair comment that people come up to them and tell them to donate their hair, that they should cut it, etc (Torrin and Lucy both have videos about this). I think women with very short hair get comments as well, or some sort of sexuality assumption (a girl in my class had to defend that yes, she was straight, to a mildly shocked lesbian in the room who had thought she'd found a fellow. They remained friends, and both took it laughingly, but these are assumptions made that could be negative as well).

Celebrity is something completely different from how regular people exist. The scrutiny about gaining a few pounds or changing anything about their image is analyzed from every unflattering angle. Pink is another celebrity that is known for keeping her hair quite short. I think the issue with Beyonce was likely more that it was a change to her image, and every change that celebrities make is torn down.

Even if celebrity trends influence regular people, how Beyonce is treated for having short hair is not a normal woman's experience. Sure, someone could look at that and think "well maybe I shouldn't cut my hair that short, people will hate it." But not everyone pays attention to that sort of thing. Mostly I think what will influence us is the opinions of our parents, workplace, close friends, and acquaintances. But if you have your heart set on a look, it won't always change your mind.

My parents both desperately want me to cut my hair. My mom wants me to donate it (and keeps telling family members I am going to donate it), and my dad calls me "cousin it" and thinks it's decreasing my productivity at school. I'm only somewhere around mid-back length, and this isn't harsh backlash, but it's a commentary. A friend of mine just cut her long hair (about my length) to about APL, and got highlights, because she wanted to look more attractive. She thinks long hair is a sign of laziness and that it didn't look so nice. But she also refuses to get her hair cut short, because she did in high school, and people teased her for looking boyish. She thinks people would assume she was gay or something because she doesn't dress very feminine. She was more okay with letting it get "too long" in her mind than cutting it "too short" again, though.

What we find attractive depends somewhat on social trends and influence, for sure. I think medium-long hair is definitely considered feminine and attractive more often. But it isn't a rule or heavily enforced. Short hair on women is still often considered "daring" and less feminine. But very long hair seems to also be considered weird and lazy/unkempt as well. Hair also can't really be distinguished from the person, how they dress, and what they look like, and the society they're existing in. Lots of older women have told me they deliberately tried to look "masculine" for the workplace, if they were surrounded by men, to avoid harassment and get more respect.

[*Wednesday*]

Thank you for your replies. All great responses. I probably should have said, the celebrity pics were examples for a visual prospective (of any woman) not on their personal decision to wear it long or short. This is not a celebrity review. This topic could go off into other territories but I wanted to keep the topic central to the theme of "hair."

This could be at a subconscious level or as the article (written from a personal opinion) long hair is conceptual. We are taught rather then a natural inclination to "adore" long hair. I think it can be a mix of the two. The visual with the three women, regardless of how beautiful they are with their short hair (forget they are famous), most people would have an opinion to their shorter hair because they have seen their once longer hair.

The question, I may be articulating this awful....If we have a feeling toward shorter hair or longer hair, is this due to being inundated by images of what should be believe about a woman, conditioning or part of the natural psyche for women to have.....for Hair.

[Flipgirl24]

I think society has conceptulaized long hair as being a symbol of beauty, health and sexiness. It goes back to the times when cavemen used to drag their women by the hair.

To me, I love both long and short hair but I prefer both to have some style or movement. I believe it is how you carry yourself that makes you beautiful. If you carry yourself with confidence and kindness, your beauty will show regardless of what your hair looks like.

[*Wednesday*]

......She thinks long hair is a sign of laziness and that it didn't look so nice. But she also refuses to get her hair cut short, because she did in high school, and people teased her for looking boyish. She thinks people would assume she was gay or something because she doesn't dress very feminine......

.....But very long hair seems to also be considered weird and lazy/unkempt as well......

My mother, tells me to cut my hair as well. Due more to my age. I'm also of American Indian ancestry and our people typically will wear long hair. However, more urban Indians are adopting more mainstream styles. What you noted above, is very much conceptional, even with regard to lesbians and stereo-types. There are lesbians with long hair and feminine.

[Kae612]

My mother, tells me to cut my hair as well. Due more to my age. I'm also of American Indian ancestry and our people typically will wear long hair. However, more urban Indians are adopting more mainstream styles. What you noted above, is very much conceptional, even with regard to lesbians and stereo-types. There are lesbians with long hair and feminine.

Right, that's what I was focusing on, the stereotypes/worries people have of being perceived a certain way. Obviously there are long-haired lesbians, queer women, and people of all genders that enjoy long hair. I know a few :) I was thinking about societal perceptions and the way that influences people's perceptions, and decisions about their own hair & how they view other people's hair.

[neko_kawaii]

I think society has conceptulaized long hair as being a symbol of beauty, health and sexiness. It goes back to the times when cavemen used to drag their women by the hair.


Which is funny because it reinforces what someone else said upthread about how social concepts of beauty change over time. The trope of the caveman was a pure fictive invention of the 20th century and reflects the values of the time it was invented and very little reality of the past.

[OhSuzi]

I guess you could also apply this chat to mens hair - typical stereotypes (Not that I uphold to these beliefs just pointing out that they exist) skinhead men are dangerous, ginger men are geeky, long hair means scruffy lazy hippy, highlights and hair that's too well quaffed is associated with being effeminate or gay.
Or even as someone said earlier - their shoes, their clothes, their gait etc.
Media, Society, different groups, your friends, your family can all influence both your appearance and how you perceive others it changes through out history - some people pay attention to fashion or deliberately pick a certain style so they can be a part of that group/ so you think of them in a certain way, some people deliberately rebel against a particular style, some people couldn't give two figs about it either way and didn't give their hair / clothes etc much thought other than i need some shoes there's some i can walk in those theyll do. Or I have hair it keeps my head warm but it's in my face, chop, now its not.

[OhSuzi]

17th century a lot of people men and women shaved their heads to get rid of nits, if you were posh n rich you'd wear a wig, if you wanted to show you were poshist and richest and a total leader of fashion youd wear a very big elaborate wig with a ship in.
you might even just shave your head because it was a more practical way to get your wig on.

Medieval times & possibly into 1700s high foreheads were de rigueur women used to shave the fronts of their heads and sometimes shave their eyebrows so it'd all balance out & Im pretty sure they used mouse hair to make false eyebrows.

Romans bleached their hair with Pidgeon poop because being light and fair was fashionable

Tudors painted their faces with lead powder to get whiter

Women stuck Belladonna (poison ivy) in their eyes eventually causing them to go blind - all in the name of achieving dilated pupils.

Some Victorian women wore numerous petty coats then bustles then crinolines and had the bottom two (floating) ribs removed plus a corset in order to achieve the perfect S shape silhouette. But they were covered pretty much head to toe no actual flesh on show!

Only whores and Jezebels wore Rouge or dyed their hair red or revealed their ankles


Society, Morality, Fashion constantly changes throughout history whats good is bad whats bad is good - it's all bollocks just try to do what you think is right for you, based your own visual aesthetic - bearing in mind that your own asthetic has been influenced by everything around you!

[littlestarface]

I think society has conceptulaized long hair as being a symbol of beauty, health and sexiness. It goes back to the times when cavemen used to drag their women by the hair.

To me, I love both long and short hair but I prefer both to have some style or movement. I believe it is how you carry yourself that makes you beautiful. If you carry yourself with confidence and kindness, your beauty will show regardless of what your hair looks like.

How does anyone know what caveman did to their women with long hair? It's not like someone went back in time and watched them in their daily life.

[Greenfire]

I think there are standards of beauty that are certainly conceptualized. Is long hair one of them? That I don't think so, for the same reason that I don't think red lips, eye liner, blush and high heels are either. All of those create a standard of beauty that is determined by evolutionary biology.

Someone in the thread already noted that long hair signifies health. Red lips and blush, as well as eye liner, can simulate the look of arousal that is present in healthy fertile women around the time of ovulation. High heels can accentuate the fertile form, of wide hips, small waist, large breasts that are universal in evolutionary standards of beauty that are based on perceived reproductive health.

I think an argument could be made instead that short hair is conceptualized beauty.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

17th century a lot of people men and women shaved their heads to get rid of nits, if you were posh n rich you'd wear a wig, if you wanted to show you were poshist and richest and a total leader of fashion youd wear a very big elaborate wig with a ship in.
you might even just shave your head because it was a more practical way to get your wig on.

Medieval times & possibly into 1700s high foreheads were de rigueur women used to shave the fronts of their heads and sometimes shave their eyebrows so it'd all balance out & Im pretty sure they used mouse hair to make false eyebrows.

Romans bleached their hair with Pidgeon poop because being light and fair was fashionable

Tudors painted their faces with lead powder to get whiter

Women stuck Belladonna (poison ivy) in their eyes eventually causing them to go blind - all in the name of achieving dilated pupils.

Some Victorian women wore numerous petty coats then bustles then crinolines and had the bottom two (floating) ribs removed plus a corset in order to achieve the perfect S shape silhouette. But they were covered pretty much head to toe no actual flesh on show!

Only whores and Jezebels wore Rouge or dyed their hair red or revealed their ankles


Society, Morality, Fashion constantly changes throughout history whats good is bad whats bad is good - it's all bollocks just try to do what you think is right for you, based your own visual aesthetic - bearing in mind that your own asthetic has been influenced by everything around you!

Victorian women certainly did not have ribs removed to improve their figures, surgery was much too dangerous in those days.

[Flipgirl24]

How does anyone know what caveman did to their women with long hair? It's not like someone went back in time and watched them in their daily life.

How do we know there were dinosaurs? If God created the earth in 7 days or if earth came out of a big bang? If Jesus was a real man? It's more folklore or the whole idea about how men used to rule the roost.

[MoonRabbit]

How do we know there were dinosaurs? If God created the earth in 7 days or if earth came out of a big bang? If Jesus was a real man? It's more folklore or the whole idea about how men used to rule the roost.

But we do have tangible evidence of dinosaurs...

[sumidha]

Ugh, I can't get past that article. Viewing women's choice in hairstyles as something that is ultimately determined by whether they think men will find them attractive or not is stupid, reductive and insulting. And, since the whole article is about a man projecting his opinions about women's hair styles as if they're fact, and making blanket generalizations, here's one for him: you look and write like a douche, and your article is crap, bro.

What exactly is the definition of 'conceptualized beauty'?

[spirals]

It's an old article but I commented

I see some comments down there about "butthurt" long-haired women who look like everyone else. I have hip-length hair.
a) I'm definitely not butthurt, LOL. I may be female, but I happen to like me.
b) I definitely don't look like everyone else. If anything, I stand out because of my hair. That's not what I'm looking for, but I'm proof you don't have to have short hair to be edgy or whatever...

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

I think long hair in general is not only conceptualized but capitalized.

We spend lots of money to have something that makes us feel beautiful, but that feeling of beauty is a concept.
What really IS beauty?
We have companies like Pantene and such making commercials with golden words like "beautiful" "shiny" "healthy" "long".
I have had short hair all my life, and only feel beautiful when it is long.
Others validate these feelings by paying more attention to me when it is long, both in real life and here on online.

But is that because of the way society has deemed long hair to be, or is it because that is my own personal idea of beauty?
But we learn that society is what makes us. My ideas are just someone else's ideas. My ideas are really just societies ideas.
Our ideas and feelings dont come out of thin air, they come from somewhere.

Im just thinking out loud here.

[spirals]

^ Good points. Maybe we're all overthinking a little. Do what you like with your own body, you know?

[Alissalocks]

Some celebrities are under contract to keep their appearance in a fashion that is part of their market team. So Beyoncé, and Britney Spears (being signed under Disney, and then her label, most certainly), might have a contractual obligation regarding hair length, which I don't know if has been brought up yet (I read the first page only and got excited, and jumped in).

I think Brit's head shave was a big "Screw you," (to say it politely) to the managers, and the agents, and the execs, and all these people who had control over her. She took it back by controlling her look in a way they couldn't change to fit their own marketing-minded, greedy schemes. I would put real money on the fact that she violated a term of her contract when she did it, but how would they follow through with litigation when she was going off the rails at that point? That reflected badly on the brand Britney too, so that ultimately would lose them money, so no litigation.

But long hair is often associated with beauty. Classical art reflects this often. It is a cultural norm for many of us around the world, in many cultures and countries, which certainly might be due to our genetic proclivity to find long, healthy hair as a sign of virility/fertility.

So do we find long hair attractive -- but not exclusively so, as I agree, some women make it extraordinarily beautiful (Audrey Hepburn) -- because it signals our sex drive, genetically cueing our libido?

Or because we have seen examples of long haired figures in various cultures and religions as being beautiful, and a figure meant to be emulated and/or sought after?

It's such an interesting question, but naturally each of (especially LHCers) us has personal reasons that may not include emulating figures of traditional beauty at all. I think, as a Libra, I'm a little bit of both. :thumbsup:

[likelikepenny]

I think something that plays into this that wasn't mentioned, is culture.

I'm African American, in our community, short hair is the norm because of poor hair practices. Not so much now in the younger generation, but growing up that's how it was. Wigs, weaves, and relaxers ruled the day. Black women tend to be the butt of jokes that we're all "bald" and "can't grow hair". So much so, even getting an intentional hair cut feeds into the idea that you only cut your hair because you can't grow long hair. For people of other cultures, long hair may be seen as lazy or unkempt, whereas short, naturally curly hair is seen as a mark of shame in mine.

To make this a little more relatable, for those of you who are feminists (I am not), it's the same as white feminism and other branches of it. What one woman does in her community that defies conventionalism is completely different in another. Black women were often depicted as masculine and brutish, so growing my hair long, is a form of rebellion which for others, may be cutting their hair short. It really comes down to personal preference. I don't think a woman's hair choices define her as "damaged" or "gay". Although it can be an indicator of personality, it doesn't define the woman. A woman is more than her hair.

[proo]

Disney has certainly promoted the longhair concept -
Think it's about time for an African American princess!
For myself, it helps me feel lovely and different (58) and unconventional
And I love taking care of it and seeing it thrive

Looking forward to a grey haired Disney princess.

[proo]

I was trying to say I'm 58
Editing wouldn't work

[luxurioushair]

I don't really know. I personally find that long hair is (usually) prettier to me than short hair. Whether the person is male or female.

[Hairkay]

Disney has certainly promoted the longhair concept -
Think it's about time for an African American princess!
For myself, it helps me feel lovely and different (58) and unconventional
And I love taking care of it and seeing it thrive

Looking forward to a grey haired Disney princess.

They did have one African American princess, Tianna. Though she had short hair put in cute little twin ponytails in childhood and one ponytail for adulthood. I guess they worried that if they gave her long flowing locks there would be complaints from some saying that it looked as if she used extensions or that she was too mixed race to fully represent the average African American. Some just don't believe that she could have long hair.

[likelikepenny]

They did have one African American princess, Tianna. Though she had short hair put in cute little twin ponytails in childhood and one ponytail for adulthood. I guess they worried that if they gave her long flowing locks there would be complaints from some saying that it looked as if she used extensions or that she was too mixed race to fully represent the average African American. Some just don't believe that she could have long hair.

Unfortunately :(. I would love to see a dark african american disney princess with long hair. An afro Rapunzel if you will :D

[pili]

Or, you know, it really may not matter.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/face-value/201606/do-we-really-believe-long-haired-women-are-more-attractive

Personally, an opinion piece is just that one person's opinion. I can't put any store in what that person thinks in regards to my appearance. I've had hip length and I've had pixies. The last time I got a pixie (the shortest one) was when I got the most attention as a short-haired woman. Maybe it was because I was married, older, and way past the point of wondering if I looked good to the opposite sex. The other times I had pixies, I was very young and very self conscious (16 and 23).

Anyway, just because one person is vocal about their personal opinion does not mean anything. I personally like my man either long haired or shaved bald, and always with a beard. Does that mean all women think this? No.

[proo]

They did have one African American princess, Tianna. Though she had short hair put in cute little twin ponytails in childhood and one ponytail for adulthood. I guess they worried that if they gave her long flowing locks there would be complaints from some saying that it looked as if she used extensions or that she was too mixed race to fully represent the average African American. Some just don't believe that she could have long hair.

Thanks hairkay, I need to catch up

[Hairkay]

Unfortunately :(. I would love to see a dark african american disney princess with long hair. An afro Rapunzel if you will :D
The could have had such fun with plaits/braids or even a huge bouncy afro but they played it safe.

Thanks hairkay, I need to catch up

Here's the trailer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQBy6jqbmlU

My two cents on the topic is that hair is hair. Having it short or long is down to personal taste. I do know that family expect women to keep their hair longer than men. If a man is bald then the woman accompanying him can get away with a twa. For a close cut the woman could have a bigger afro or even a pixie cut. The only problem with trying to keep up with that is that men can grow their hair long too. If a guy has hip length hair is partner supposed to aim for classic? In my culture sex appeal has very little to do with hair and everything to do with what a body looks like.

[*Wednesday*]

....What exactly is the definition of 'conceptualized beauty'?

Example...A supermodels body (i.e. tall and very thin) is often a concept of what the female body should ideally look like, as trained by media and magazines. If you keep marketing images long enough they become ingrained. Even though most people don't find this body type desirable, overall thinness is pushed as a conceptualized ideal body type. The general public are taught through a barrage of media and images (brainwashing) that this is what a woman should look like. This is not to offend supermodel type bodies, it was an example. This is what the gentleman (douche if you will ;) ) was trying to convey. That people are taught that "long hair" is conceptual beauty.



.....In my culture sex appeal has very little to do with hair and everything to do with what a body looks like.

Sex appeal, more leaning toward attributes that make someone of sexual interest to another person. Not really on the topic of "conceptualized beauty." Beauty doesn't not always = sexy. I think there are some people whose hair gives them more sex appeal (i.e. Michael Bolton). My mother used to like him, once he cut his hair, she didn't find him as sexy or alluring.


I think long hair in general is not only conceptualized but capitalized.
But is that because of the way society has deemed long hair to be, or is it because that is my own personal idea of beauty?
But we learn that society is what makes us. My ideas are just someone else's ideas. My ideas are really just societies ideas.
Our ideas and feelings dont come out of thin air, they come from somewhere.
Im just thinking out loud here.

That is the million dollar question. I think you summed up that nicely.

[Ligeia Noire]

Long hair is still seen as the ideal for women but long hair, aka shoulder or bsl, sometimes they even consider waist more than that it is already yucky and disgusting for the majority . A boy's cut or a big Afro mane gets the same disdain. So,"long" but not too long, straight but has to be soft and shiny, curls are okay but not too curly, not coily, not untamed. Regardless of politically correct opinions on media that seem to accept all natural the bsl slightly wavy all soft and gold is still the holy Grail.