Thursday, August 25, 2011

Crowning Glories?

Hair is usually referred to as “a woman’s crowning glory” and I would agree with that. I have to admit I’ve been fascinated by long hair ever since I read the fairy tale of Rapunzel, when I was struck with serious hair envy. But what about for men?

When I tried looking up that saying on Google, I found the following quote from the Bible instead – “Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is dishonour to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is glory to her?” (1 Corinthians 11: 14-15). Well, I would totally disagree with that!

Long hair on men seems to be one of those things that you either love or hate – like Marmite or anchovies. I hate both of those, but I LOVE long hair on men. I’m not sure why, but I always have and it has nothing to do with my age or fashion – to me it just adds to the overall impression. It seems right somehow.

The other week I was dragged along to a rock concert, the kind where hairy biker types predominate and you can’t move an inch without seeing leather and tattoos. I hardly noticed, however, because all around me were men with glorious long hair – I was in seventh heaven! For instance, walking past me, two guys with dark, wavy hair halfway down their backs. Seated in the row in front of me a Viking lookalike with strawberry blond, straight hair all the way to his waist. And everywhere else shoulder-length tresses or longer, some beautifully kept, some not so much.

So why don’t more men have long hair? If you look at the animal kingdoms, the males of the species are meant to be more flamboyant, with manes like lions. It would make sense for this to be the case with humans too, but although occasionally this becomes the fashion, the majority of men stick to having it shorn. A case of laziness perhaps? (Long hair is hard work if you want to keep it looking good). Or a general sense of feeling more groomed that way? I don’t know, but I often wish myself back to the mid 1600s when the Cavaliers (and others) flaunted their locks unashamedly. I mean, just look at the picture of Prince Rupert of the Rhine – gorgeous or what?

Or what about the Vikings, who seem to have plaited theirs to keep it out of their eyes, but otherwise let it grow long? Yes, those were the days ...

So do you love it or hate it? And do you like Marmite and anchovies? I wonder if these things go together ...

Please come back on Sunday to hear from Liz

24 comments:

  1. I hate marmite and anchovies and not keen on long hair on men...possibly because there were no attractive ones while I was growing up...however I enjoyed the longer hair length in Lord of the Rings ect....maybe I could be converted but not sure...may have to do some research :-)

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  2. LOVE long hair on men. Always have. One reason I write Georgian because I can still have them long haired and tied in nape of neck sometimes. My heroes usually wear their own hair rather than a wig, if I can get away with it. Love it on modern men too. AND I like pony tails!

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  3. Liz beat me to the Lord of the Rings! I do confess I loved all the long-haired men in that one, though when it gets past shoulder-length it depends entirely on the man -- some men can pull it off, while others just look...odd.

    This must be your Viking heritage coming out, Christina!

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  4. I loathe long hair on men.. but I really shouldn't judge as most men hate short hair on women and I have cut all of mine off. LOL. I think in my case, the reason I don't like long hair on men, is I have always dug the military look. There is nothing better than a sexy man in uniform and long hair and a uniform is just not right. However, I DO like long hair on pirates. That works. :)

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  5. Oh, swoon, Christina. Especially that guy in the first photo you included. I love longer hair on guys, although it does to some degree depend on the guy/style and some guys pull it off a lot better than others. But shoulder-length slightly wavy hair will get me nearly every time. Especially when combined with a few-day scruff. The protagonist in my current WIP has shoulder-length wavy hair; quelle surprise.

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  6. Great the Lord of the Rings may have converted you, Liz and Susanna! Those blonde elves were really something, weren't they :)
    Liz B - yes, I'm really glad I write historicals as well and I too prefer my heroes without wigs.
    Tara - uniforms and long hair, hmm, you're right about that, doesn't really go. Pirates - yes!!
    Seabrooke - totally agree :D

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  7. Love long hair on SOME men (your first pic especially!), hate marmite, love anchovies.

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  8. Christina, my own long-hair thing probably has something to do with my being raised in the 70s, when lots of guys had shoulder-length hair, and I had crushes on David Cassidy and Kevin Brophy (Lucan the wolf boy, for those younger than me...:-)

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  9. Oh, yes, David Cassidy! Had posters of him on my walls. And the guys at school mostly had shoulder-length hair too, at least the ones I liked :)

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  10. Love long hair on men. Always have. I did actually break up with someone because he had his hair cut without telling me...

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  11. Men get the short end of the stick, fashion-wise. In our workplace, women may have long hair, but men cannot, as it isn't "professional". (Men also can't wear dress shorts, but women may wear culottes, Capri pants, and "dressy Bermuda shorts" with a matching jacket. Go figure.) For centuries, men have worn their hair long, and for two or three centuries, they wore long wigs! You quoted a passage from the Bible that says that it's wrong for men to have long hair "like women". That same passage goes on to say that women should cover their long hair with a veil as an act of submission, or cut their hair short if they refuse! The whole Biblical long hair for women, short hair for men thing is about gender, power, and submission. Odd too that Jesus is always depicted in Christian art (even early art) with long hair, and to my knowledge, He never spoke against it. :)

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  12. Can you tell me the name of the man in the car?

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  13. Some men look fine with long hair, and others look ridiculous. All women look good with hair as long as it will grow and still looks good. When I see a chick with short hair who still looks hot, I think that maybe it's good that her hair isn't long b/c my heart might pop out of my chest.

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  14. I'm with Myri, what is the name of the hottie in the car???

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  15. I'm with Myri, what is the name of the hottie in the car???

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  16. I'm with Myri, what is the name of the hottie in the car???

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  17. I'm with Myri, what is the name of the hottie in the car???

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  18. I'm with Myri, what is the name of the hottie in the car???

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  19. I'm with Myri, what is the name of the hottie in the car???

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  20. I LOVE Rupert and have his name. Ruperts hair in other pictures is very long and very beautiful. He is my favourite historical figure who did much for my country and I love him very much for all he has given to England. I visit him often in Westminster Abbey. He was a wonderful man!!!

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