Hair Politics - Are short haired girls more assertive?

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Are short haired girls more assertive?

Printed From: HairBoutique.com
Category: Hair Talk
Forum Name: Hair Politics
Forum Description: The politics of Hair is a slippery slope...
URL: /forum_posts.php?TID=8732
Printed Date: Dec 26, 2024 at 9:32am

Topic: Are short haired girls more assertive?

Posted By: phil
Subject: Are short haired girls more assertive?
Date Posted: Jun 10, 2002 at 4:16pm

I found myself writing this earlier and thought - do I believe it? The answer is YES! I know you cannot generalise but in the same way that I find short people more noisy (they find they have to be to get noticed at an early age) I also find that the shorter a girl`s hair is, the greater the likelihood that she`ll be self-opinionated. Nothing wrong in this of course (note I didn`t say bossy), it just seems to me that you can go some way to determining a woman`s character by the extent to which she is prepared to "go against the grain", by cutting her hair the way that her mom probably doesn`t like. Am I right?

-------------
phil

Replies: 35

Posted By: phil
Date Posted: Jun 10, 2002 at 4:16pm

Posted By: Lyris
Date Posted: Jun 11, 2002 at 1:24pm

According to Physique.com, a http://www.physique.com/sn/sn_yale-study2.asp - http://www.physique.com/sn/sn_yale-study2.asp ">Yale study outlined the assumptions people make based upon hair style:

"Women wearing short, tousled hairstyles (think Meg Ryan and Charlize Theron) are seen as the most confident and outgoing, an asset when meeting new people or starting a career."

Perhaps short-haired women and girls grow into the beliefs people hold about them based upon their hair; in effect, a self-fulfilling propecy argument. But then again, I`m a journalist, not a psychologist. I agree with the post below that it`s a primative way of rushing to judgment....but people still judge based upon color, clothes, possessions, etc.

Posted By: dianefromcanada
Date Posted: Jun 11, 2002 at 8:37pm

determining a woman`s character by the extent to which she is prepared to "go against the grain", by cutting her hair the way that her mom probably doesn`t like. Am I right?

Interesting topic PHil. Is a short hair woman more assertive than a long hair woman? hum. I don`t know about that Phil but what I do know is that being a long hair woman never stopped me from being assertive, confident in my myself. Never stop me from asking men out or asking them to marry me etc. Never stop me to romance the opposite sex. ( wait a second I am a long hair woman!!!)
I met some very sweet short hair women who couldn`t even stand up for themselves and turn around and met some arrogant long hair women who feel that the world owes them. Long hair or short hair doesn`t make up a character. It can give some possible clues to someone character like myself who wear red a lot. Wears the reddest lipstick on the market and can do it with class.
$!!, B`gla`d`d

Posted By: dianefromcanada
Date Posted: Jun 11, 2002 at 8:38pm

Posted By: Beatnik Guy
Date Posted: Jun 14, 2002 at 8:16pm

So, growing hair long - or very long for that matter - doesn`t count as `going against the grain` then Phil? Sorry, but this sounds like a load of hogwash to me.

Chris

Posted By: dianefromcanada
Date Posted: Jun 15, 2002 at 2:14pm

I understand what Phil is trying to say and at the same time I totally agree with Chris. It takes a lot more character to grow one`s hair long than it takes to cut it. In my opinion when we see someone with long hair it tells us that person is dertermine to accomplish their goals in life and will actually take the necessary steps to carry out the mission.
It takes years to grow a certain length, years of being torture to change our paths by others, and most of all we have to be certain in our heart that is what we want. Can`t be weak tree in a storm and can`t change our mind monthly. Its like having cruise control on a car and going on a straight road without stopping.
$!!, B`gla`d`d

Posted By: dianefromcanada
Date Posted: Jun 15, 2002 at 2:16pm

Posted By: wozziewoo
Date Posted: Jun 15, 2002 at 5:40pm

I think it depends on a number of things. It is always hard to make general statements & include everybody in those groups, but it doesn`t stop us from doing it any way. For the purposes of this post I`d like to consider long hair, as hair that falls, at about just below the shoulders to about mid-to-3/4 of the way down the back. I consider this the average hair length on most women, & I think society sees it this way too. To have your hair longer then that is seen by many as having long, envious hair, & there is a certain amount of idealising & admiration to those that do. However, I think those who choose to wear their hair shorter, are seen in a different light. While I don`t agree 100% with the statement, I do think there is a certain amount of truth to it. Many short hairer girls that I know seem to feel more confident. While some longer-haired women used thier hair as an identity or a way of attracting men, those with shorter hair uses other methods & traits to do so. However, I also feel there is a lot to be said about the woman who changes her look all the time & doesn`t get tied down to always looking the same, regardless of what their hair length is.

Posted By: oOoStArSpArKoOo
Date Posted: Jun 15, 2002 at 6:01pm

:|That`s weird.
People acctually make assuptions on people`s personality baised on their hair length? PAbJ

Posted By: duke
Date Posted: Jun 16, 2002 at 1:47pm

This is such a stupid subject.

My mother has long hair, and she is totally assertive, to the point of being domineering,
defensive, and often insisting that she is
right.

How primitive to judge people on their length
of hair. A zillion factors can determine why
we cut or grow, style heavily or leave natural,
etc our hair. It might have something to do
with our strength of character, but that may
be just baloney. Sheesh..........

Posted By: Rachel A
Date Posted: Jun 16, 2002 at 1:58pm

Hair length has nothing to do with the character of a person.
There are just as many strogly committed short hair/medium har people as long hair people.
Hair is a statement of one`s preference.
Hey Duke, we agree!!! )! Baddap pe (!6$ ` &$$ ` $ ,-!$ $(!, ,%$$b /

Posted By: oOoStArSpArKoOo
Date Posted: Jun 16, 2002 at 2:39pm

:)Well said Duke! PAbJ

Posted By: Noreen
Date Posted: Jun 16, 2002 at 5:21pm

Actually, I find this interesting on many levels. Having gone from calf length hair to very short, does this mean that I can no longer be committed to anything? Does the fact that I once showed a committment to grow very long hair mean that by defacto I still am a committed personality? Does the fact that I now spend time every few weeks getting my hair trimed show a committment to short hair? And if so, does that mean anyone else that has short hair shows a committment also? Did my assertiveness happen because I cut my hair or did I cut my hair because I became more assertive? I do know that I am much more assertive now than I was a year ago, and a year ago I had long hair. Hmmmm...Could it be that other things in my life caused this assertive quality to come forward? So much to ponder...:-)

Posted By: dianefromcanada
Date Posted: Jun 16, 2002 at 8:06pm

Noreen,
Something to ponder.

Is it really the fact you cut your long hair short makes you more assertive? In my opinion, maybe I am wrong and your the only one that can answer this, I think that when you cut your hair you felt like a brand new woman and you probably started to wear different styles of clothing to suit your new look and it was exciting. When we feel great about ourselves we become more assertive.
This reminds me right after the birth of my second child I had 50lbs to lose and I felt awful and when I lost those 50lbs I felt like I was a new woman and my personality change a lot, I bought new clothes, I notice curves where I thought there weren`t and that made me more confident, more assertive. I think the same holds to colouring hair.$!!, B`gla`d`d

Posted By: oOoStArSpArKoOo
Date Posted: Jun 16, 2002 at 8:28pm

:|Diane has a point too!!:)
:DLoL:D PAbJ

Posted By: Amanda
Date Posted: Jun 17, 2002 at 4:27pm

Could it be that having your hair cut short can be a frightening experience and those that manage to overcome their fears in the chair (the restictions of the cape and stuff) feel therefore stronger and able to take on other new challenges?
Of course the length in itself is not a sign of character, but for many overcoming inner fears and pre-set opinions of others is an enormous boost for morale! I`ve done it and it has helped me...@GF@ TB BB "2< 2 '*! ,%$$

Posted By: Highland Colonel
Date Posted: Jun 19, 2002 at 7:32pm

While a person`s character may ultimately
result in a certain way of wearing the hair,
one can certainly not draw such clear-cut
parallels. One should not fall into the ugly
trap of judging people by their hair. It
ultimately depends on the person.

Note that many people do not wear their
hair the same way all their lives. The Meg
Ryan example above is a moot point, for
ten or so years ago, she had long
hair(piece?), then had it cropped. In the
recent film Kate and Leopold, it is longer
again but cut in a sharp "modern" style.
Being an actress, her employers or their
crew may have had more of a say in the
matter than she.

Colonel John Doe
Commanding Officer, the Cameron
Highlanders Militia for Freedom and
Democracy

Posted By: Lyris
Date Posted: Jun 19, 2002 at 7:57pm

Hi Colonel....I`ve seen a lot of your posts and I`ve been wondering, what does your screename and signature mean? Friendly curiosity :-)

btw I agree about Meg Ryan....what style HASN`T she had? And yet she still holds that same persona as America`s sweetheart (minus that unfortunate Russell Crowe thing) regardless of her hair. I mentioned the survey because I thought it was interesting...although paid for by Physique, so that might tell you something why they place emphasis on having the "right" style for the "right" look.

Posted By: Rachel A
Date Posted: Jun 19, 2002 at 10:15pm

Hey Colonel, we agree, finally we agree! Well done! )! Baddap pe (!6$ ` &$$ ` $ ,-!$ $(!, ,%$$b /

Posted By: Highland Colonel
Date Posted: Jun 23, 2002 at 2:18pm

Lyris, I head a budding military-style lobby group
for the preservation and extension of human
rights and freedoms. The Militia is supposed to
perpetuate the tradition of the Scottish Highland
regiments, but so far, its only Highland attribute
is a serviceman who is a piper. The group is
dedicated, in these complacent times, to helping
people know and fight for greater rights in a
spirit of equality, mutual respect, and fairness.
Last winter, this website caught my eye for it
allows people to discuss issues relating to
hair, which is something that is unfairly used in
our world to judge and control people, ans well
as to pressure them to conform.

Colonel John Doe

Posted By: phil
Date Posted: Jun 26, 2002 at 5:40pm

Of all the replies I think Amanda has the best point; it could be that girls who are willing to take the plunge are also those who feel better able to conquer innermost fears. This may at least on the surface give them the appearance of being more assertive. Well said!
I think Diane, you have a good point also that it must take an awful lot of character to grow hair long, quite a different quality altogether to one who has it chopped off. Maybe I was doing long hair women a disservice implying they are not assertive, perhaps instead we should celebrate their perseverance!
Duke, I don`t think it`s entirely hogwash that we judge a person`s character by their hairstyle. I know it`s subjective and probably unfair but we all do it, that`s why we are members of HB, because hair matters! All the time people are trying to guage personalities using external factors, personally I think hair is as good a pointer as any, and even if I`m wrong I still get a lot of fun out of it.
Noreen , so many things to ponder. I don`t suppose your personality will be changed the moment you cut your hair but my original question referred to the motive behind the action. Is it only the more assertive, the ones more prepared to embrace change who reach for the scissors? I don`t know, but to finish I just want to point out that I don`t consider one quality any better than the other, just different.0 ),

Posted By: Lyris
Date Posted: Jul 8, 2002 at 7:39am

The last pictures I saw of Charlize and Cameron had them with chin-length styles, which many people don`t consider short.

Posted By: dianefromcanada
Date Posted: Jul 8, 2002 at 6:12pm

Posted By: phil
Date Posted: Jul 28, 2002 at 1:24pm

Yes Diane, I do take your point, like I said maybe we should instead be celebrating the perserverance of those girls who are able to grow their hair long. Just one thing though, do you think that short hair in women is so commonplace these days that actually *growing it* is now going against the flow?0 ),

Posted By: dianefromcanada
Date Posted: Jul 28, 2002 at 2:16pm

Yes Phil growing it is coming against the flow. It has become very obvious these days even more when events occur like huge social dances and I find that maybe there might be two other women in the group of 200 people who have long hair like mine. The other day dancing under the canapy among 2,000 I only noticed three other women that had long hair.$!!, B`gla`d`d

Posted By: Emily
Date Posted: Aug 20, 2002 at 11:00pm

Posted By: dianefromcanada
Date Posted: Aug 21, 2002 at 8:30am

It`s definitly going against the flow to have long hair these days. My hair is about tailbone length and I`m continually being asked when I`m going to cut it. I`m 15, so I don`t really get "teased", just the prodding annoys me.

Emily your hair sounds very nice. It always amazes me how it can drive some people batty to the point of poking their business into ours. I am sure that you have never went up to someone and said"when you are planning to grow that hair". lol$!!, B`gla`d`d

Posted By: Ingrid16
Date Posted: Oct 14, 2002 at 3:15pm

Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Soembody back there said that there are a million factors as to why someone would grow out or cut their hair- I think that age and position in life are the biggest. Often if a woman has short hair it can mean that she has `shed` the traditional roles of society, but that`s becoming less and less true. In my own experience, it seems that girls with longer hair are more confident and assertive (in general), but I`m in high school and I`m sure its different in other ages and settings. I have short hair, and I`m pretty shy and quiet, while my friend Jennie has very long hair & is extremely confident and sociable. So, I guess its hard to tell, altho about 20 or 30 years ago I`d say that this was definitely true... short hair has become much more popular in more recent times, and much more common among any personality type. @ad a`dba $($, @ #.4`` $ )% )-% ),, ,"` #4

Posted By: sammy
Date Posted: Oct 14, 2002 at 8:28pm

I think girls with very little hair on their heads have to be assertive. They have little femininity to help them! No offense to women with very little hair, but when most of the hair is gone, there isn`t much else, so they have to be aggressive; otherwise people will ignore them. They are kind of like "men" girls -- they`re girls in reality, but they have to act like men because they aren`t very ladylike. They have nothing to lose, so they have to act like men and be dominant and aggressive to get people to notice them; their lack of hair sure isn`t going to do it.

Posted By: sandy
Date Posted: Oct 20, 2002 at 3:08pm

I`m totally bald! Not from choice, may I add. Does that make me really assertive? No it doesn`t, in fact I daren`t even venture out without my wig on.!,$Ahdba

Posted By: Albert
Date Posted: Oct 21, 2002 at 9:40pm

Sandy,
Hair length or having no hair like yourself has nothing to do with a woman`s assertiveness or shyness or whatever, nor does it have anything to do with a woman`s femininity! Guys like Sammy associate a woman`s femininity with her hair length which isn`t true at all. Some of the most unfeminine masculine bulldyke lesbians I ever met had medium or longer hair, they acted like guys in a heavy metal band or something, and for sure I have met short haired women who looked and acted feminine, including the woman I am with. I am sure Sandy you are beautiful and feminine, just like the people on that other thread were stating, just believe in yourself Sandy, as a person and as a woman, and you will be just fine! It is the person that counts;your femininity comes through as a person, and your goodness comes through as a person whether you are a long haired girl, short haired girl or bald girl, your hair isn`t your essense as a woman, you are your essence as a woman!

Posted By: Debbie
Date Posted: Oct 25, 2002 at 7:37pm

:Debbie38550.8779861111 % ic adp` - ,(b` $( b !( ,,,--% -,--,Bb '$

Posted By: Jennifer
Date Posted: Nov 27, 2002 at 10:51am

>>>>>Hair length or having no hair like yourself has nothing to do with a woman`s assertiveness or shyness or whatever, nor does it have anything to do with a woman`s femininity!

Well, I`ve had both long and short hair. Short hair definitely made me feel less feminine and more aggressive (I`m not fat, and I have petite facial features, so it was definitely the lack of hair). With short hair, very generally, one does have to make up for "femininity" in many other ways -- make-up, jewelry, clothing. I know that a lot of women don`t feel this way, but I just felt a bit "neutered" without long, beautiful, flowing hair. A woman without her "crown" will probably tend to feel and act more aggressive, since short hair can be seen as invasive against traditional femininity.

Oh, for whomever mentioned Charlize Theron -- if you think she looks good now, have you ever seen her with long hair. I`m a totally heterosexual female, yet I was nearly drooling when I saw her with long hair! She looked like a fairy princess in a dream -- completely unreal. Of course, she`s devastating gorgeous, and she`ll look good no matter what. But with her hair long, she was absolutely unreal. Even short hair lovers would have a change of heart if they saw her. {grin}

Jennifer

Posted By: phil
Date Posted: Nov 30, 2002 at 9:07am

Thanks for all your replies. I agree that as short hair has become far more commonplace in women, they are less likely now to stand out from the crowd. So as a "look at me" statement conducive with assertiveness and agression, it perhaps does not apply these days as it did in say the 80s, when big hair was in.
So are short haired girls more assertive? I have to say I don`t hold with the idea that they have to compensate for a perceived lack of femininity. Girls don`t need long hair or pretty clothes. As regards femininity - in my view attitude is everything and the rest just `garnish`.
Maybe I`ve just got the cart in front of the horse here. Could it just be that your `Alpha` women with the more aggressive and assertive tendencies are the ones more likely to march into the salon with orders to "cut it off", whilst your `Beta` types aren`t too much into upsetting the applecart and just want the ends trimmed, please? Just a thought.0 ),

Posted By: DaveDecker
Date Posted: Dec 5, 2002 at 9:32pm

I respectfully disagree, Phil.

I don`t think you`re doing yourself a service by deluding yourself into thinking that the women who physically appear most attractive to you (shorter-haired) are primarily of strong will, whereas longer-haired women are mostly "meek and mild-mannered."

I`ve known women with long hair who were strong-willed, and some who weren`t so much. And I`ve known women with short hair who were strong-willed, and some who weren`t so much.

I think that strength of character is entirely independent of a woman`s preferred hair length. I think that, as far as hair goes (or visits to hair salons), strength of character is expressed by determination to get the service that is desired. If a long-haired woman wants short hair, and has it cut short, to which state would you ascribe her strong will to change? The fact that she had long hair when she made this decision could lead an bystander to conclude that long-haired women are more strong-willed, because they either definitively decide to cut their hair, or definitively decide to keep it long. And woe be to the woman who has and prefers long hair who is meek, for her hair is in trouble at the salon. Furthermore, how about a short-haired women who resolutely decides to grow her hair long? Presuming that she sticks to this plan, she starts the journey with short hair and strong will. And when her hair is long, she is still of strong mind.

Now, mind you, I`m not saying here that long-haired women are *without a doubt* of stronger mind than short haired women, but a case could be made to that effect.

The message here is that the strong willed determinedly get their way, whether it be short or long -- though the amount of time such determination must be with the person depends on where they are and where they want to go (if change is desired). Going from long to short takes but a brief fraction of the time required to go from short to long, so IMO the latter expresses a more enduring sense of determination.

Posted By: phil
Date Posted: Dec 13, 2002 at 8:37am

Greetings, O hirsute one! It`s been a long time!

I have read your piece over and over and find I cannot disagree with a single word. True there is no correlation between strength of character and hair length, and the amount of will power required for a woman (or man!) to grow their hair long leaves me green with envy. So yes, endurance, strong will, determination - the long haired have it in abundance.

This puts me in mind of a new question - "Does the longer the hair mean the longer the marriage?", as all the above qualities would seem to be conducive to a good relationship, whereas the chop-and-change merchants..... well, I digress.

But the question was, are the short-haired girls more *assertive.* Is that the same as strong-willed, etc? - I`m not sure. By assertive I was meaning touchy, spiky, forceful, argumentative, inclined to want (and get) their own way, which in my experience is the case. Maybe my definition of assertive is too narrow in order to support my case, or yours too wide to support yours, but I dont want to get bogged down in semantics.

One thing I think we can all agree on is that hair length is no indication of character, as you rightfully point out. I was just pointing out was I see as a minor "tendency".0 ),

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