I was really stunned to realise this truth about women’s perceptions to be honest. Universally, among all cultures and religions, society has strongly tied the concept of long hair towards femininity and the status of being a woman. For the past two years I have grown my hair out vying to eventually donate a lot of length to a charity that shall aid cancer patients.

So how women in general see men’s long hair based on my experience and observations? 

Well, it depends.

Men will like long hair on women regardless and spare little thought to it, but women’s attitude varies very broadly. Their reactions differ mostly depending on these factors:

• the condition of the man’s hair
• the hair length
• the social status of the man
• the man’s personality

The condition is the biggest factor. Women will look for how well groomed the hair is, whether it is neat, tidy, and styled well, or whether it is greasy, matted, unwashed et cetera. Little will repulse women (on the subject of hair) more than a man who has a thin, wiry, and greasy ponytail. If a man can demonstrate care towards his hair and keep it washed, brushed, and well styled, then it will earn basic respect/appreciation from women.

“Shoulder length is ok” is something you’ll hear a lot from women when asked what long hair lengths they deem appropriate/desirable on a man. For the most part, the idea of a man spending a lot of time washing, combing, drying, and styling long hair for hours is in conflict with what the woman wants from a man. So on the occasion that the man really wants long hair they’ll be lenient to compromise to shoulder length but deep down they’ll prefer the man to cut if off. Equally, this could be motivated by jealousy of women who would be threatened by a man having longer (and well groomed) hair than her.

“It’d be cool if you’re rock band” is another common saying often referring to hair that is mid-back length and beyond, attributing the length to a particular style. For men who aren’t in a rock band, essentially the question running through women’s minds is WHY would a man want to grow long hair given how much time and effort it warrants? Headbanging while playing a guitar, being one easily understandable reason for these women.

This leads me to my next point.

A famous actor or musician can override the above criteria. Reasoning? Take Harry Styles, who is one of the most tweeted men in history. So many women admired his long hair purely as an extension of admiring him, being high social status, and without the fame may not have done so. An analogy: many women would probably admire Harry Styles if he bought 27 cats, praising him for being so devoted to felines. If the man down your road bought 27 cats, I promise you there’d be a starkly different reaction among locals.

On the topic of personality. 

For the minority of women who really like long men on hair, this is often coupled of the prerequisite of the man’s personality and whether he exudes a sense of leading confidence and care for himself and others, in essence a non-toxic expression of masculinity. To women, a man who has long hair is someone who is not afraid to stand out from the crowd, and this requires a sense of confidence. If he can style it in a way that isn’t over the top and flattering, then even better.

More traditionally minded women tend to find the idea of a man having long glossy well kept hair the source of a comedy sketch, and more socially progressive women tend to be more open and accepting towards long haired men. I have seldom faced critical comments about my hair, and on occasions when women aren’t a fan they simply keep their opinions to themselves but quite clearly respect me less. In conclusion, women who actively admire long haired men consider in my opinion tend to desire a more gender neutral society. The takeaway from this is that if a man is proud of his hair, then women will look on it more favourably rather than the hair just being there.

So in summary…

The rule seems to be the opposite for men as it is for women. The rule for men is their hair identifies a social value for women and the man otherwise being desirable may the long hair appealing. Whereas the common perception in society for women is that long hair makes a woman beautiful, with obvious exceptions and circumstances.

What are your thoughts and comments! Tell me 🙂