Long Hair versus Short Hair in the Art of Seduction
Long, luscious locks teasingly brushing against a bare thigh, crying out to be touched and spread over a pillow is for many men, the embodiment of female beauty and sexual desire. For centuries, long hair has
bathed sex appeal and denoted femininity, fertility and sexual availability. In comparison, women donning short crops have traditionally been subjected to less desirable glances, and instead have made men feel
intimidated, as a short head of hair closes the gap between femininity and masculinity.
Hair, like the way we dress, is an important indicator of who we are as individual human beings. Although the way we choose to have our hair is reaped in stereotypes. Traditionally, long hair is seen as feminine
and sexy, whilst short hair is often seen as a revolutionary symbol of rebellion whose bearer is devoid of sexual feelings towards the opposite sex.
Although times have changed since cavemen celebrated female sexuality by drawing pictures of women as objects of desire - the longer the hair the more desirable the woman. As we stride into the 21st century, the
signals that women send out with their hair are a lot less ‘black and white’, and as importantly, the way men receive these signals, are shifting in equal proportions. Whilst a woman who cuts her hair short, for
years feigned masculinity, a primeval reaction which sparked negative reactions from men, in contemporary society there are more convivial attitudes towards short hair cuts. Within these merging boundaries, is a
woman’s hair still a signal of her sexual status?
The Changing Role of a Woman:
To get to the crux of the, ‘tumbling tresses airing more positive sexual signals than a devoid of sexuality short crop’ debate, we need to explore how women and their role in civilization has changed over the
decades. “Repunzel, Repunzel, let down your hair’, cried the prince to the poor and passive princess, whose flowing long locks were an effervescent emblem of virginity, sexuality and female submissiveness.
Although prince’s rescuing princess’s, with hair as long as a tower, remains a fictitious legend, the story of Repunzel enchanted the hearts of children and adults alike. Whilst many men, still lust after a
Repunzel-like damsel in distress, it is women who have long shattered the fairytale from becoming a reality. Throughout history, women have become progressively equal to men, and their increasingly shorter
hairstyles are symbolic of these gender adjustments. In the late 18th century, the French Revolution was a
period of radical social change in European history, and in the wake of the Revolution, many women
from England adopted cropped hair cuts. In the Roaring Twenties and Swinging Sixties, women decided to chop of their locks as a sign of liberation. Today, with more and more women reaching managerial positions
and being a rival to men in the workplace, a woman’s hair style can be representative of ‘office politics’. Short hair styles, not only denote power and status, but also ooze confidence for being able to carry
off a short crop. As a consequence of this new ‘female dominance’, which challenges the traditional long, flowing female virgin, men are becoming more and more turned on by the self-assured businesswoman – the bridges are being turned.
Fashion and Celebrities:
When the likes of Meg Ryan, Gwyneth Paltrow and Victoria Beckham step out sporting a stunningly short crop, it is followed by a chaotic influx of females, battling for an appointment at the hair dressers,
all crying “Give me a Gwyneth” or “Make mine a Meg”! Short hair regularly comes in and out of fashion, and is often sparked by a certain celebrity’s moment of scissor happiness. Although it has to be said,
whenever there is a fashion for cutting the hair short, it is usually only brief, and is quickly followed by a return to longer locks. Is this because women realize they do not feel as attractive and sexually desirable with shorter hair?