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Essay on Social Norm: Males cutting hair short

Updated August 13, 2022
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Essay on Social Norm: Males cutting hair short essay

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Background Behind the Norm: Men cutting their hair short, specifically relative to women, seems like common practice to the objective observer of history and culture. However, cultural acceptance of men growing their hair out does come to surface during certain time periods of the Western European traditions and it is witnessed as customary for Native American men to this day. I shared, in class one day, that my father has told me stories about when he used to have a job at Disneyland, probably in the early 1970s, in which “long-hairs” (as my dad refers to men with long hair as) were forbidden from entering the park.

I also remember in an anthropology class at Orange Coast College, an instructor told the class about Native American tradition of cutting one’s hair when someone close to them passes away. The closer related the family member who died, the shorter one would cut their hair. So, it is evident that hair has different social meaning in different times and in different cultures. According to Merrill Fabry, writing for Time, “the association between women and long hair is an ancient one. It dates back at least to ancient Greeks and Romans” (Fabry, 2016). Evidence of this social norm is also depicted as early as in the Bible, as sociologist Anthony Synnott points out that St. Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians:

“Doth not nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her.” (1 Cor. 11: 14-15)

Further confirmation that men cutting their hair short is a sexualized norm is provided by scientist and Professor of Pathology and Dermatology at the Yale University School of Medicine Kurt Stenn in his 2016 book Hair: a Human History. Stenn notes that the general reason that men began cutting their hair shorter than women is because it requires “you have your needs in life taken care of”. The school of thought around the subject of hair is that shorter hair is more practical (for working and fighting in battles which require helmets) and easier to manage. Longer hair may have been an advantage in fighting in non-Western societies, however, it is more specifically a norm for Westerners.

Another reason that long hair was more difficult to manage was that parasites such as lice were rampant in Medieval Europe, at least this was the case before the hygiene movement developed. Thus, the notion of hair as a social status symbol emerges, as wealthier individuals were more capable of wearing their hair long and so were women because they were more likely to be taken care of. In conclusion, the norm of Western cultures in which men cut their hair short can be traced back to efforts of both private and public health. To put it simply, men began cutting their hair short for pragmatic reasons; such as a Greek or Roman soldier fitting into his armor (specifically his helmet), or to prevent the spread of lice as a collective effort. (Deborah Pergament, 1999).

Social Value of the Norm: I believe hair length and hair style does indeed have value and (going along with the acknowledgement of the importance of occasional deviance from norms) such behavior ought to be challenged which is probably one of the reasons I have been growing out my hair. Hippies (or “long-hairs” as my dad would say) wore their hair long to effectively challenge this norm. Furthermore, for Black men and women during the Civil Rights Movement, big hair styles and afros appeared in a collective effort to reject the Western norms of short and straight hair (Pergament, 1999).

On the other end of this spectrum, one can draw upon the hairstyles of Nazis and skinheads to understand that authoritarian power structures seem to take a liking to short hair. On a similar note, common practice within Nazi concentration camps was to shave the heads of prisoners to dehumanize them (Pergament, 1999). There seems to be a pattern or correlation between war and the cutting of hair short. Another example of such is the case of women in the US cutting their hair short in the early 1900s as an overall war effort. Feminists may claim that this was a form of expressing female power, but “Rosie the Riveter” was not powerful; rather she was a representation of working class women whom were called upon and needed to replace working class men during World War II.

The norm does not really serve much of a purpose in contemporary life, especially considering that warfare has evolved and combat is taking place increasingly within developing states in the form of asymmetrical warfare, effectively rendering helmets obsolete. Short hair may have been an advantage during times of the Black Plague but today we have extensive public health knowledge and hygienic amenities to prevent lice and other parasites which may have been a concern in earlier times. As Dr. Wang pointed out on the last day of class, a little bit of deviance is a good thing, after all, we might still have a king and queen if it were not for our forefathers going against the grain. Therefore, I think we should continue to allow individuals to wear their hair as they please, even in the workplace. We should question authority and the norms that pressure us to conform and cut our hair as such practice is dehumanizing and an attempt to strip our individuality.

Works Cited

  1. ‘Chertsey Museum.’ Chertsey Museum – Hair: The Styling of Society. Accessed December 17, 2018. http://chertseymuseum.org/hair.
  2. Fabry, Merrill. ‘Long Hair for Women, Short Hair for Men: How Did That Start?’ Time. June 16, 2016. Accessed December 17, 2018. http://time.com/4348252/history-long-hair/.
  3. ‘HIST 234: Epidemics in Western Society Since 1600.’ CLCV 205 – Lecture 2 – The Dark Ages | Open Yale Courses. Accessed December 17, 2018. https://oyc.yale.edu/history/hist-234/lecture-11.
  4. Synnott, Anthony. ‘Shame and Glory: A Sociology of Hair.’ The British Journal of Sociology 38, no. 3 (1987): 381-413. doi:10.2307/590695.
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