Endless jokes at work about my long hair

[Juniper Hedge]

Just give your hair a flip and say "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful"

[Kernos]

Synchronicity again. I was listening to music from Hair this morning on the way to work. Hmmmm we need a long hair smiley....

I thought all this stuff was a thing of the past. I also think it is sexism against males, as females can do almost anything with their hair and other body adornonment in most jobs. It is like a tie, that most useless of conservative adornments.

I am self employed and do what I like and left my employees do what they like. I get a hair cut (clippers and the mirror) every 4-6 months going from short to long; have tried long hair, but found it takes too much time and has a higher carbon foot print if one geeks it clean and shiny.

As I have gotten older, I find it much easier to ignore societal expectations. I wear an earring, jeans and tennies, hair how it is, and a favorite hat, even to medical staff meetings.

It seems the words to the song, "My Conviction" from Hair still have some relevance today, esp for working people and corporate types. This from an older generation Mom to the younger draft age kids during the Viet Nam war:

You know kids, I wish every mom

and dad would make a speech to their

teenagers and say kids, be free,

be whatever you are, do whatever you

want to do, just so long as you don't hurt anybody. 

And remember kids,

I am your friend.



I would just like to say that it is my conviction

That longer hair and other flamboyant affectations

Of appearance are nothing more

Than the male's emergence from his drab camoflage

Into the gaudy plumage

Which is the birthright of his sex



There is a peculiar notion that elegant plumage

And fine feathers are not proper for the male

When ac---tually

That is the way things are

In most species



[Badger Bob]

Hair seems to be a big thing in employment again over here. I lived through the 70s and so I associate close-cropped hair with the racist, neo-nazi extreme right, whereas long hair is something I associate with free-thinking and creativity. Someone less than ten years younger than me can have a completely different view of those associations and shaved hair seems to represent a businesslike ruthlessness while long hair is associated with rebellion and non-conformity.

Personally I would rather see someone naturally bald than pretending to be bald but hair fascism is entrenched in the workplace these days. You only have to look at the recent BNP and EDL gatherings to see that people with short hair can be very uptight, there are no flowing locks there.

[lavouivre]

I find this conversation very interesting. My husband is clean shaved with short hair, but I think the real reason is that the roots of his hair are irregular, so that he doesn't like the effect it has on him when it grows. He actually would love to have a nice beard, with full-grown thick hair...

I add that the first time I met "in reality" (not in images) with tall men wearing kilt and long hairs, I was moved, in a very woman-like way. I found them beautiful, proud and manly.

and wild...!

Maybe there is something "animal-like" about long hair in men. I am not meaning this in a bad way, on the contrary. In our true nature, we ARE from the animal world, from nature. Intelligent, but still, animals, and I think because we deny this all the time, because we want to sever the tie with nature, we are unhappy, unfulfilled animals on top of this.

I was making a research on combs not long ago (in fairy tales, mythology and superstitions). A comb is a day to day humble object, yet full of meanings. I think it has, amongst many other things (sexuality, death...), a dual meaning. It represents civilization over our animal side and appearance, but also control and repression over what is natural.
Same goes with hair.

Don't cut it, and don't let them get to you. As someone else said, long hair can be creativity and freedom for some, or rebellion and provocation for others. In Egypt, they had their own hair cut to replace it with a wig. Who knows what society will next imagine long hair mean??

[Frog]

I've tried not cutting my hair, but it goes really weird as it grows out - and as I get older I've started to notice thinning at the back (where Mrs Frog's thumb goes ). Additionally I can get quite hot and "leaky" - so longer hair matts up and looks horrid on me. So currently I have a fairly long fringe but really close cropped sides (this also means I can dry my hair with a flannel!!)

[kashi_light]

I have a funny story to add to this thread, as I am a long haired man who has gone through a fair share of ridicule (now its just ladies sensually stroking my hair as they walk by ). So here it goes. I was at the beach with my friends and we were taking turns burying each other's upper bodies in the sand (which is an interesting experience). While I was buried a group of kids slightly younger than us had come up and started arguing with my friends trying to tell them that I was a girl. Of course I could not hear, but when after I began to run out of air I kicked my legs to signal my uncovering. As I emerge from the sand I hear screams "see I told you its a girl, you were lying!". And then I scream a man cry and shake my mane of flowing delight through the air. Oh boy did they run away like scared girls . When my buddies explain to me what happened we all had a good laugh. I have also has a guy ask me out from behind. When I turned around the look on his face was priceless . I hope your long haired problems are gone by now. Im currently trying a job and have found that my hair has definitely thinned out the job pool, but I dont wish to continue such foolish prejudice so I will not cut my hair simply to get a job(though I REALLY need one). My friend cut his hair and got a job the next day haha. Rember, the Scotts could pull off kilts because they were manly to begin with, the kilts just helped since they were worn with unerring confidence. The longer you have long hair the easier it is to pull off because you begin to wear it so naturally, and the insults die away in time.

[Melasha]

My guy has always had very long hair, even longer than mine - and it really suits him. Everyone here seems to like it and accept it just fine on him. He's promised me he has no plans on ever cutting it
So I would say keep your hair however you want to...if you like it long go with the flowwwww!

[Zylah]

I cast my vote with those who say long hair is manly! (and sexy.) My fiance is growing his out; I don't like a beard on him so much, though...it's prickly. And it hides his excellent bone structure.

[ranbowbrokenwings]

i know how this one feels. i recently decided to get dreadlocks, as it was always something i had wanted to do but never had the courage. so i got them....was loving it....until a few of my colleagues started on me about it.

"how can i take you seriously with hair like that? what is it for, some kind of cult or something?"

well....i told them straight...my decision, my life, my faith, my CHOICE.

so there is my random input.


rainbow (yes i typo'd my usename)

[celticmodes]

I'm growing mine longer and I work for one of the big 3 auto companies in the IT section. We'll see how long it take for the comments to start

[Ghostrider]

The endless taunts of I might like to wear a skirt to work

There's a very easy way to stop that one. Wear a KILT to work.

[Morgana2010]

All of my life I had a very short skinhead haircut. Then 18 months ago I started to grow it longer at my wife hinting I looked like a "thug" and why don't we grow my hair a bit... now it is getting on for shoulder length. Not wishing to sound vain here but it suits me long, my wife and daughter love it and actually it's not the problem I thought it would be to look after. It is trimmed and styled regularly so it's not as if its all over the place like some rampant bush..
The only problem is certain people at work even now can't seem to get over it.
The endless taunts of I might like to wear a skirt to work, middle aged men trying to regain a lost youth.. and being called by female names is now getting on my nerves. It is only certain people and when I confronted one who is actually a manager and quoted harrasment in the workplace it all stopped, but not for long.
I contacted the head office and they were brilliant and very concerned, giving me a number to ring if it gets over the top.
My supervisor is great and as far as he is concerned my hair is always clean and well groomed and he doesn't have a problem. Why should a male with a long hair cut be such a novelty? I don't understand, I'm the same bloke and I'm good at my job. I just don't understand this playground mentality. I expected some jokes and a bit of ribbing at first but it has gone from a bit of a laugh to annoying now.

White Star

I think it's wonderful that you have grown your hair but I am jealous that it didn't take you very long. As a female, it takes me ages and I notice that lots of men are able to grow their hair very quickly. Your colleagues are ignorant, jealous of your individuality and very narrow-minded. I am really pleased that your office head is supportive. Wear your hair proudly I say!

[Morgana2010]

The endless taunts of I might like to wear a skirt to work

There's a very easy way to stop that one. Wear a KILT to work.

BRILLIANT idea!

[skydove]

By the way for those hankering to wear a kilt and worried about what or if to wear anything under it a little tip from my husband a proud Scot. If you go for the full modern rig with all the buckles and belts and several layers of material it is much easier and quicker if you go 'alfresco' as the time taken to unbelt your underpants from underneath it all and put it all back together again makes 'paying a call' a major operation. He has a resplendent head of long wavy hair and looks very good in a kilt too!

[Donagh MacBran]

Long hair and a beard ROCK. BTW people start calling me Hamish (from braveheart) ever since I started growing a beard I take it as a compliment because he is my favorite character of the film

[Bartholomew]

I'm a woman and I've got long dark hair and I have endless jokes from my own kith and kin about my looks. At the moment the in joke is I look like a female version of Snape from Harry Potter. Although they do say that Snape's hair is in better condition than mine, much sleeker and more shiny. They hold pictures of this character up on their new christmas mobiles next to me to compare whilst saying "Go on do the face", at which point they fall about laughing.
Prior to that I was frequently compared to Freddy Mercury (Bohemian Rapshody style) and then they would laugh and say "Look mom's on the telly again."
So I can fully understand the angst caused by this type of teasing. Wounded.

[Huathe]

If they find out that you are a druid they may possibly pester you about that too. Does anyone at your job know?

[Ghostrider]

Long hair and a beard ROCK. BTW people start calling me Hamish (from braveheart) ever since I started growing a beard I take it as a compliment because he is my favorite character of the film

Hmm... mine usually call me Hagrid...
That is.. when they're not calling me Wodan!

[Kima]

Sounds like gay-bashing to me. You're no longer masculine enough!

Honestly, you can get a lot of that when you step out of the norm, and it's hard to make people admit that "just a joke" is starting to look more like harrassment.

[Whitemane]

It's your head. It's up to you what you grow on it, and what you nurture in it.

When people in my age group comment on my hair (shoulder length and pretty much white), I just tell them I grew it myself. As most of them have shiny scalps, it seems to have a quieting effect. I also have a very capable hairdresser who does an excellent job of cutting and grooming.

You just don't get that sort of reaction in the Midwestern US. Long hair is quite common here, and you may even get a passing greeting from someone of any age group who also has long hair.

I did once get confused by a nice old lady with the local Orthodox bishop, and once when we were returning to the US, my wife went up the customs officer first, and he pointed at me and asked "Is Jesus with you?"