Hair Giving Out Signs
Long Hair versus Short Hair in the Art of SeductionLong hair, spread over a pillow and almost begging to be touched is for many men the embodiment of female beauty and sexual desire.
For centuries, long hair has exuded sex appeal and denoted femininity, fertility, and sexual availability. In comparison, women wearing short hair 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.
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.
While a woman who cuts her hair short, for years feigned masculinity, a primal reaction which sparked negative reactions from men, in contemporary society there are more amicable attitudes towards short haircuts. Within these merging boundaries, is a woman's hair still a sign of her sexual status?
The Changing Role of a Woman
To get to the crux of the "tumbling tresses sending more positive sexual signals than a devoid of sexuality short crop" debate, we need to explore how women and their role in civilization have changed over the decades.
"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, 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 princes rescuing princesses, with hair as long as a tower, remains a fictitious legend, the story of Rapunzel enchanted the hearts of children and adults alike. While many men still lust after a Rapunzel-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 equalizations. 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 haircuts. In the Roaring Twenties and Swinging Sixties, women decided to cut off their locks as a sign of liberation. Today, with more and more women reaching managerial positions and being rivals to men in the workplace, a woman's hairstyle can be representative of "office politics".
Short hairstyles not only denote power and status, but also exude 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 aroused by the self-assured businesswoman - the bridges are being burned.
Fashion and Celebrities
When the likes of Meg Ryan, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Victoria Beckham step out sporting a stunningly short haircut, it is followed by a chaotic influx of females, battling for an appointment at the hairdresser, 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 or leading hairdresser's moment of scissor happiness.
Although it must be said, whenever there is a trend for cutting the hair short, it is usually only temporary, and is quickly followed by a return to longer locks. Is this because women realize they don't feel as attractive and sexually desirable with shorter hair?
Continue reading ...