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View Full Version : BSL and guys' dilemma (acronym doesn't work now does it?)



beez1717
May 24th, 2010, 03:59 AM
So I was searching around the forums for the simple answer to this question: What do you call BSL on guys, since they obviously don't wear bras? I was curious and searched and searched and came up with nothing. So what do you call BSL on guys? I think we need to come up with something that will go in this: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=10
thread. That way I won't (and hopefully other members) don't get confused when they think a little too much into the BSL acronym.

julliams
May 24th, 2010, 04:33 AM
This is a tricky one. Mid Back Length perhaps? Someone mentioned NTL (Nipple Tip Length) but my issue with that is that it has changed for me since I have had children - lol! I'll be interested to see what other people suggest.

Hana
May 24th, 2010, 04:51 AM
but guys dont breastfeed, so unless there is great weight fluctuation, i think nip-tip length sounds good.

i thought mid-back was between BSL and Waist.

FrannyG
May 24th, 2010, 05:09 AM
Maybe "Below Shoulder Blades"?

Belisarius
May 24th, 2010, 05:21 AM
You could always try on a training bra and see where that one ends? I for one see bsl as the where my chesthair stops growing.

FrannyG
May 24th, 2010, 05:33 AM
This is a tricky one. Mid Back Length perhaps? Someone mentioned NTL (Nipple Tip Length) but my issue with that is that it has changed for me since I have had children - lol! I'll be interested to see what other people suggest.

Yes, it does change after children, and it will change again in another 5, 10 and 15 years. :p

toaster
May 24th, 2010, 07:18 AM
I have three kids (well, grown adults now) and my nipples haven't moved a bit. We're talking about guys here right?

I shudder when I have to type BSL, but the nipple thing doesn't work for me either. Training bra, really?

Don't know the answer, but I'd like one.

Jessica Trapp
May 24th, 2010, 07:37 AM
MBL?

mid-back level or male back level

Just throwing out ideas.

spidermom
May 24th, 2010, 07:42 AM
Think of it as Blade of Shoulder Length (Shoulderblade length).

Beets
May 24th, 2010, 07:45 AM
Think of it as Blade of Shoulder Length (Shoulderblade length).

YES! Love this one.

spidermom
May 24th, 2010, 08:07 AM
Bra Strap Length has bothered me from the very beginning because the strap goes over the shoulder so really anything from shoulder length to about middle of shoulder-blades could be BSL. Ridiculous! I don't know who came up with that one.

LoversLullaby
May 24th, 2010, 09:00 AM
I would say MBL or mid back length - since that's right around where the woman's bra strap ends anyway. This is a good question though... :confused:

joiekimochi
May 24th, 2010, 09:18 AM
I thought the Bra Strap referred to the band, not the shoulder straps. And BSL means the hem hits where the bra hooks are.

Why not call it 15-17th Vertebrae Length?

curlylocks85
May 24th, 2010, 09:22 AM
I am not a guy, but I will say that BSL is not a term I would use on myself, I prefer Midback Length (MBL).

Joette
May 24th, 2010, 09:28 AM
My hubby's got MBL hair and that's what I've always called it, personally. But BSL (below shoulder length) or SBL (shoulder blade length) or something along those lines works too!

GoddesJourney
May 24th, 2010, 10:53 AM
Chest length, xyphoid process, solar plexus... I know those are on the front, but it's really about that level if you pull BSL hair to the front. On the back, I don't know. Midback is a little longer but not as long as waist. Honestly, I think you should find a mark that YOU like. These are just milestones on a woman's body. You are a man so you should use milestones on a man's body. There's no way to compare anyway since these lengths are different on everyone, so just choose what works for you. If you want to go from APL to shoulderblade to midback to waist, fine. Men's waists are lower and their torsos are often longer. You guys should all just use your own terms in that area, since you obviously don't wear bras.

mellie89
May 24th, 2010, 10:57 AM
MBL -- Mid Back Length or Man Boob Length :p

princessp
May 24th, 2010, 11:00 AM
Bra Strap Length has bothered me from the very beginning because the strap goes over the shoulder so really anything from shoulder length to about middle of shoulder-blades could be BSL. Ridiculous! I don't know who came up with that one.

Wow, I thought BSL meant below shoulder length! Honestly, I don't like this acronym now that I know what it means. Good thing I'm past it. :p

JenniferNoel
May 24th, 2010, 11:11 AM
Yeah, BSL is weird. And it's different on every bra I wear anyways. So I've been calling BSL for quite some time.
SBL or Shoulder Blade Length is what my male friends refer to their long hair as. :p

zenobia
May 24th, 2010, 11:16 AM
Well as a new poster I found the BSL acronym very confusing because I was thinking of the two bra straps that go over your shoulders, not the band that clasps in the back. I had to look at pictures to figure out what it meant.

Tabitha
May 24th, 2010, 11:50 AM
I dislike the term BSL too, I was brought up that one didn't talk about underwear in public :p

I think mid-back is more accurate a description - the position of a bra can vary.

teela1978
May 24th, 2010, 11:55 AM
I've always understood mid-back length to be the gender-neutral version of BSL.

beez1717
May 25th, 2010, 01:44 AM
I think mid back length works as well as BSL meaning Below shoulderblade length or whatever that one was. Either way, I can't wait until I get there.

Sunsailing
May 25th, 2010, 02:43 PM
I don't really think anyone is going to change BSL to something else. It's been used for too long.

For guys, how about BSEL (Bra Strap Equivalent Length) :)

BelleBot
May 25th, 2010, 03:17 PM
I can't stand BSL, simply because depending on how well fitting your bra is depends on where the band of your bra sits. I've seen loads of people who bra bands sit at armpit level as they wear poor fitting bras. Plus BSL should be below nipple level really if you've got a decent fitting bra regardless of boob size. So it's not a well defined point on the body. Ah well, doubt it will change.

Perhaps mid ribcage?

GlassEyes
May 25th, 2010, 03:57 PM
Bottom of Shoulderblade Length.

It's where I think BSL typically falls anyway. Then again, I admit to a certain...lack of knowledge about bra placement...thankfully.

Deborah
May 25th, 2010, 11:24 PM
I have always thought of it as mid-back length, for men and women alike. Bras sit at different spots on different women, so I don't think BSL really works for anyone. MBL, in my book, is half way between shoulders and waist, pretty simple.

pennylane
May 26th, 2010, 02:49 AM
I think that for girls BSL is perfect!


For guys ... may be Chest Length?

FrannyG
May 26th, 2010, 04:12 AM
I think that for girls BSL is perfect!


For guys ... may be Chest Length?

Actually, I disagree that BSL is perfect for females. So many women have bras that ride up in the middle. Other women wear bras that have a very thick strap, and claim BSL when their hair hits the top of it.

There is still a lot of confusion over what is and isn't BSL even among the women.

For men, even chest length can be confusing. Which part of the chest?

I prefer going with a true body marker such as shoulder blades, or any part of the body that is defined and stationary.

Having said all that, I still do use BSL as a marker for myself. :o

adiapalic
May 26th, 2010, 09:24 AM
To me, Mid-Back Length is longer than BSL and shorter than Waist.

I think SBL (Shoulder-Blade Length) would be a fine equivalent, but since BSL is the widely accepted acronym that's in use, we could add "Below Shoulder-blade Length" to the definition along with Bra-Strap Length. This would preserve what's already known, and allow for gender neutral use as well. Bra-strap Length and Below Shoulder-blade are roughly the same on me.

Personally, I would think of it as Below Shoulder-blade Length if I were using it for myself, but my hair is quite past that point.

:flower:

GoddesJourney
May 26th, 2010, 01:02 PM
For women, BSL works great. Without knit-picking about word usage, I think it's pretty well understood that BSL is refering to the bra band. It doesn't really matter that some people have ill-fitting bras, since I think we all know where the bra band should fit, under bust, parallel to the floor. I also don't think it's really a big deal if it's different on other people since their torso length is different anyway. Honestly, it's not a competition. These are just milestones to help us keep track of our progress and help us more or less compare length with eachother just for reference. This is useful for someone who wants to ask what updos are good for BSL, ii, 3a or whatever the example may be.

This kind of thing seems strange to me. There was a thread some time ago about circumference and head size. It was an interesting idea that I had considered, but was confused when some people mentioned that it was un "unfair" typing system, since people with small heads were less likely to have a iii. Why? Even if I was running a race I couldn't complain about losing to someone who has longer legs. This isn't even a race, it's LHC. I like it here because it usually seems like people are just in it to share and be in good company. People are open and give others their "secrets" freely so we can all have beautiful hair. I had always assumed the hair typing was just a general system for reference so we can communicate with eachother in the general spirit of LHC with some kind of standard so we all have an idea of what we're talking about.

farewell_nancy
May 26th, 2010, 01:55 PM
I'm not a guy but I don't care for BSL either. I've been going by nips instead which works for me (I don't worry about them moving about since I'm committed to a baby free life style and I am sure to be long past nip by the time my boobs go south). I'll probably hit the tradition BSL around Christmas or early next year and then I won't have to worry about how awkward the measurement is.

I don't care much for shoulder blades since they're highly mobile and not very visble on me unless I do something weird with my arms. Maybe the spot your ribs meet at the bottom of the sternum could work? You could still call it BSL - Below Sternum Length, though BBL - Breastbone Length seems less awkward to me.

jasper
May 26th, 2010, 06:28 PM
I thought the Bra Strap referred to the band, not the shoulder straps. And BSL means the hem hits where the bra hooks are.

Why not call it 15-17th Vertebrae Length?

BSL has never made sense to me. I mean, at first i thought it meant Below Shoulder Length. I eventually figured out that people were talking about the bra band. And knowing that, I am still not clear what is meant. Bra bands come in a lot of different widths. I don't know if we're talking the top of that band or the bottom. Lucky for me, I was past that milestone by the time I found out about this community. :cheese:

APL bothers me too- arm pit length? Is that the length where your hair is long enough to be in the way if you aren't watching what you're doing applying deodorant?

For a milestone between shoulder and waist, how about elbow length?

pinchbeck
May 26th, 2010, 07:05 PM
BAAM! This sounds kinda neat. It is short for "between arm pit length and mid back length".

Silver & Gold
May 26th, 2010, 07:47 PM
Honestly, I think I read somewhere a long time ago that BSL originally meant "Bottom of Shoulderblade Length" and that because many women wore their bras at that level that it eventually got dubbed "Bra Strap Length".

So if my memory is correct a guy need never worry about it because it's the women who have got the name all wrong. Besides, as many have already argued, a lot of women wear the back of their bras at varying heights creating some confusion as to exactly where BSL lay. However, everybody knows where their shoulder-blades end.

So even if I'm wrong about this, you do have to admit that it makes more sense anyway. It also makes sense in to call it 'Bottom of Shoulder-blade Length" rather than naming it for a piece of clothing since all other terms of measurement (with the exception of classic) refer to a body part - chin, neck, back, etc. And isn't, 'neck length' far less confusing that 'shirt collar length'?

*Raises hand to make a motion.*

I hereby move that BSL be known from this day forward as "Bottom of Shoulder [Blade] Length". Can I get a second?

Wind Dragon
May 26th, 2010, 09:54 PM
Actually, I disagree that BSL is perfect for females. So many women have bras that ride up in the middle. Other women wear bras that have a very thick strap, and claim BSL when their hair hits the top of it.

And, um -- some don't wear them at all.

:whistle:

hanne jensen
May 27th, 2010, 01:36 AM
I know that I get confused with BSL. I have many bras and they all sit differently on me and have varying widths of back bands.

How about Tricept Length?

beez1717
May 27th, 2010, 02:05 AM
Honestly, I think I read somewhere a long time ago that BSL originally meant "Bottom of Shoulderblade Length" and that because many women wore their bras at that level that it eventually got dubbed "Bra Strap Length".

So if my memory is correct a guy need never worry about it because it's the women who have got the name all wrong. Besides, as many have already argued, a lot of women wear the back of their bras at varying heights creating some confusion as to exactly where BSL lay. However, everybody knows where their shoulder-blades end.

So even if I'm wrong about this, you do have to admit that it makes more sense anyway. It also makes sense in to call it 'Bottom of Shoulder-blade Length" rather than naming it for a piece of clothing since all other terms of measurement (with the exception of classic) refer to a body part - chin, neck, back, etc. And isn't, 'neck length' far less confusing that 'shirt collar length'?

*Raises hand to make a motion.*

I hereby move that BSL be known from this day forward as "Bottom of Shoulder [Blade] Length". Can I get a second?
I second that one :)

Silver & Gold
May 27th, 2010, 08:13 AM
I second that one :)

And we have second. The floor is now open for discussion before putting it to a vote.

x0h_bother
May 27th, 2010, 08:26 AM
Maybe "Below Shoulder Blades"?
This is my vote. I just checked and that's where my bra strap is on my body :)
BSL or BSB :)

TrudieCat
May 27th, 2010, 09:09 AM
This was also mentioned on the thread for people who only want to grow to BSL. Someone on that thread suggested "T9" length (T9L), because that is apparently the name of the vertebra which is right below the shoulder blades. A quick google confirms this (I, sadly, never paid attention in science class). I like that idea because it is so scientific and accurate - so the opposite of the often confusing "BSL" - it made me smile. :D

XcaliburGirl
May 27th, 2010, 09:29 AM
Bra Strap length has never made sense to me either, mainly because it's the bra band, not straps (as others have mentioned).

I like the Below Shoulder-blades Length, too. Mid-back is OK, but kind of vague. Plus, "BSL" seems firmly entrenched.

kristymarie87
May 27th, 2010, 09:35 AM
What about Breast bone length since both men and women have them and its arond the same place as a bra strap!

???

alabaster
May 27th, 2010, 09:39 AM
LOL, nipple tip length.... i like that one

yellowchariot
May 27th, 2010, 11:03 AM
So I was searching around the forums for the simple answer to this question: What do you call BSL on guys, since they obviously don't wear bras? I was curious and searched and searched and came up with nothing. So what do you call BSL on guys? I think we need to come up with something that will go in this: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=10
thread. That way I won't (and hopefully other members) don't get confused when they think a little too much into the BSL acronym.

^ beez1717, I'm glad you started this thread. I always crack up when I mention BSL on myself :D LOL. Here are a few suggestions to throw in:

1. UBL (upper back length)

2. BBL (back brace length) lol (I used to work at a hardware store that required the wear of one, if lifting)

3. IDHABSL (I Don't Have A Bra Strap, Length) :laugh:

4. USB (upper shoulder blade) also Universal Serial Bus :p

5. MSB (mid shoulder blade)

6. LSB (lower shoulder blade)

I've noticed that BSL varies on individuals.

7. PMS (Past My Shoulders) hehe :tongue: for those of us that stopped trying to measure our hair.

DARKMARTIAN
May 27th, 2010, 11:09 AM
funny...I asked this very same question basically in another thread......

But I made up my own for my hair and called it TSL......."tramp stamp length"

....and noooo...I dont have one.....:p

sweetestday
May 27th, 2010, 12:50 PM
I thought it meant "below shoulder length" for a very long time. Glad I don't have hair short enough to use the term, as I don't think that's a good way to measure in the first place.