aging, becoming "genderless", and cutting hair

[holly golightly]

im just thinking here and wondered why ladies do this. doesnt count if you already have, look good with short hair, but if youve always had length till you hit about 40 or menopause. sex books say that, not by their decision, but societies, women, in a sense, become genderless once we pass reproductive age. not literally of course but thats how we are viewed. Anyway thats annoying in itsself. im 26 so i have no input as i havent reached the age where i am "supposed" to cut off my hair but im curious if im the only one who thinks its odd. Maybe i'll see the light when i reach a certain point in my life. doesnt this just add to the "genderless" slam. i realize if it makes you look better go for it, but, the few ladies i see who do keep there hair look great with it. a lady in my office is in her 50's with waistelength, thick hair and she's gourgous. even older women with long gray hair tend to look better than most of the short poodle curls i see. easier to take care of? maybe, but when then why not have done it when you had a carreer and kids? my best friends mom had long hair and when she turned 40 all of the women she new pushed and pushed for her to lop it. she caved and cut it, and hated it. i said to her... hmmm you say it was all women saying to cut it but how many men thought it would look nice? she gasped and realized none of them! even her husband was against it. Not that we are out to please men by anymeans but im just curious as to the purpose of this ritual... ??? Also, i love short hair on younger women so no one get the impression im being negative to short hair, im only negative to the ritual of cutting of long hair b/c of a certain age. :trick:

[spud]

I'm 49 and I've still got long hair. I don't wear it loose any more though, it's in a pony tail. When I was 26 a horrid woman who was my boss told me to get my hair cut because I was too old for long hair and looked like a witch. Bah!

[borealis]

Funny, I kept mine short until the last couple of years. I'm 41. I love it long, and I don't feel genderless at all. :p

[Gracie]

As I get older, I care less and less about what other people think is attractive, feminine, or appropriate for a woman. So by the time I am 60, I probably will be one of the women you might consider "genderless".

[misq17]

I've always noticed that too, it bugs me. A larger percent of older women have thinning hair than that of younger women so maybe they think it looks better?

[rabid_child]

My Mom had long hair (it still is to about her shoulders) until she was in her 30's and my Nana (my dad's mom) always gave her crap about it. Her hair is very thin, and I think it would look bad short because there wouldn't be as much "combover." Then again, she needs a good stylist because she doesn't really know what to do with it and it just kind of lays there.

[aliciam712]

i intend on growing mine out very long when i hit 60 or so...

i'm 24 now and go through cycles of growing it out and cutting it off very short...

i've also noticed that trend in older women, though...all of the older women in my extended family have very short hair...

[AngelOfDance]

It may have something to do with practicality. Really old women don't tend to have too much dexterity in their fingers, for one, and that would make it difficult to fiddle with hair ties, hair pins, wrestling tangles out of long hair, making buns and braids look right, etc.

[jenni]

My Mom had long hair (it still is to about her shoulders) until she was in her 30's and my Nana (my dad's mom) always gave her crap about it. Her hair is very thin, and I think it would look bad short because there wouldn't be as much "combover." Then again, she needs a good stylist because she doesn't really know what to do with it and it just kind of lays there.

actually, i've been watching makeover shows with all of my jobless free time, (i'm embarrassed to admit,) and the top stylists were saying that often older women look better with shorter hair because thinning longer hair tends to look stringy.

another factor might be that grey hairs are coarser than your typical hair and keeping it shorter makes it easier to style.

[revelsunrise]

It may have something to do with practicality. Really old women don't tend to have too much dexterity in their fingers, for one, and that would make it difficult to fiddle with hair ties, hair pins, wrestling tangles out of long hair, making buns and braids look right, etc.

This is the first thing that I thought of. My grandmother has had really long hair almost all of her life and she recently just cut it to her shoulders. It's not because it's thinning or anything...it just became too much of a hassle for her to maintain. When you have arthritis, it becomes a lot more difficult to mess with your hair.

[rainbowmoon]

emmylou harris is one gorgeous lady.
http://www.starpolish.com/news/interviews/emmylou/Harris03.jpg

[Descentia]

long grey hair looks great on older women. I saw an older lady at the markets a few weeks ago - at least 70, she had long flowing hair down her back - and it was in good condition even if a bit thin, but she had dyed bright streaks of red and purple in it. She had normal 'old lady' type flowery clothes on too. So cool.

[Dirty Martini]

My mom is in her mid-50s and has had completely silver hair for about 10 years now. I love it! She had short hair from the time my brother was born (26 yrs ago), until just recently.

She's growing it out and it's to the middle of her back. Completely silver. It's absolutely gorgeous. I have a few silver hairs & am hoping I'll get gorgeous silver hair like hers in 20 years. :D

But honestly, I think a lot of the short hair thing has to do with professionality as well. Long hair is often seen as a "young" thing to do; short hair tends to communicate maturity and a professional demeanor. So I think a lot of women, especially those with professional careers, will cut it short. Yes, it's another nod to the notion of masculinity = respect & power in the workplace. (you can get power by using feminity, but it's often not associated with respect.)

[Kiz]

I'm 49 and I've still got long hair. I don't wear it loose any more though, it's in a pony tail. When I was 26 a horrid woman who was my boss told me to get my hair cut because I was too old for long hair and looked like a witch. Bah!


Too old for long hair at 26?!? That's dreadful.

Some women find their hair thinning after menopause. This seems to happen more with Asian ladies, but it's not uncommon. Perhaps the poodle-hair women are just hiding some thinness.

[LadyFaile]

i've wondered about this too actually, why most older women have short hair. i figure maybe it's just cause by that age they're tired of dealing with it and short hair is just easier to maintain. i know that's why i hacked mine off ;) but yeah it's kinda freaky how they all seem to go short past a certain age. i remember one of my aunts had gorgeous long straight hair, grey as grey can be, that she always wore in a ponytail, and i thought it looked awesome on her. (i use past tense cause i haven't seen her since i was like 10, she's still alive but by now maybe has cut it off for all i know)

[mouse]

I don't think that short hair makes one "genderless"; quite the opposite - most people I know (women and men) look better with short hair. This effect is more pronounced with age, since long hair, unless it's worn "up", tends to pull the face down visually. I think that you'll find that most women who had long hair when they were young but who cut it as they age do so because (a) they look younger with short hair, (b) it's easier to maintain a more sophisticated/well groomed look, and (c) it's easier and less time consuming.

[eggplant]

I envision myself when I get old as one of those women with long silver hair. I love that!

I guess it makes sense that most older women cut their hair because it's easier to manage and it looks better if your hair is thinning, but how do you explain how so many American women after the age of 65 or 70 seem to suddenly want to wear pastel polyester outfits and white shoes?

[holly golightly]

okay i could see cutting hair shorter if it is thin, i've never thought of that since it doesnt run in my family. otherwise i guess i still just dont get it :) oh well. never heard of emmylou harris. she is pretty.

[Christy]

I would think that in some cases, women who have long hair just get tired of the maintenance. I used to have mine to my waist and got it cut to the middle of my back about 2 years ago. (I'm only 30.) It's still long, but it's certainly easier to deal with.

And I don't get the poodle 'do, either.

Sort of O/T: I've always wondered what my hair would do when I get older. I know some women's hair goes white, some gray, some just get a scattering of gray. My hair is blonde blonde blonde and never darkened as everyone said it would as I got older. Someone told me it'd stay the same color. I have no clue.

[vggiegirl]

I have short hair now again (after letting it reach shoulder length) and I'm 25. I have thinner hair though so I decided I like it better short. I will probably grown it out again in my 30's...but when I'm older, I will keep it short.
I also dye my hair and can't imagine long grey hair for me. I don't particularly like it...I have 7 greys right now (yes, I obsess and count them) that I pluck, hide, dye. :juggle:

[carnelian]

I also dye my hair and can't imagine long grey hair for me. I don't particularly like it...


Hope ya don't mind mine when we meet...I have a ton of grey hair, and it's past my shoulders...:yes:

[mouse]

Your hair is gorgeous, carnelian. :yes:

[rincaro]

Today I have my hair up in a barrette. I'm 32 and it's sitting on my shoulders length. I'm planning on growing it quite a bit longer again. But having it up, I can see all the grey that is coming in. If I let it go, my hair would be better than 50% grey. I have two boxes of dye in my cupboard. I wish I was brave enough to let it go.

[carnelian]

Your hair is gorgeous, carnelian. :yes:

Awww shucks...thank you, mouse! You're so sweet! I've had people tell me that I should dye my hair because it makes me look "old"...I don't care if anyone dyes his/her hair, and I tried it once a number of years back, but I didn't feel comfortable...it just wasn't me. I'm of the mindset, "I am what I am." :bow:

[vggiegirl]

Hope ya don't mind mine when we meet...I have a ton of grey hair, and it's past my shoulders...:yes:

LOL! I know...and it is gorgeous. I gotta say, you are an exception...I saw your pic and was like holy crap!

I think I am more adverse to the folks who grey and let their hair get stringy and down to their butt. It just drives me nuts....But you my dear....I would kill for hair like yours!!!
;)