Boy 8 told long hair has to go

Clippings from news sources involving fashion freedom and other gender equality issues.
skirted84
Distinguished Member
Posts: 114
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2012 2:07 pm

Boy 8 told long hair has to go

Post by skirted84 »

Not a skirt issue but similar on gender conformity with hairstyles. A boy with lovely long hair being told by possible upper schools he would have to crop it all off. Reasonable asking to tie it back same as girls. Naturally he gets mistaken for a girl but he knows he is a boy and is happy as he is. What a way to enforce gender stereotyping from a young age and exactly the sort of messages that could make less confident kids think they are the wrong sex.

Why o why are schools still such drivers of arbitrary gender rules?

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uk-farouk- ... on-policy/
pelmut
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 1923
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 10:36 am
Location: Somerset, England

Re: Boy 8 told long hair has to go

Post by pelmut »

skirted84 wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 4:07 pm What a way to enforce gender stereotyping from a young age and exactly the sort of messages that could make less confident kids think they are the wrong sex.
Why is there such a fuss when one cisgender child is subjected to the sort of treatment that hundreds of transgender children have to endure every day of their school lives?
There is no such thing as a normal person, only someone you don't know very well yet.
skirted84
Distinguished Member
Posts: 114
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2012 2:07 pm

Re: Boy 8 told long hair has to go

Post by skirted84 »

There should be a "fuss" over any kid treated this way, cis or trans.
pelmut
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 1923
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 10:36 am
Location: Somerset, England

Re: Boy 8 told long hair has to go

Post by pelmut »

I agree completely.
There is no such thing as a normal person, only someone you don't know very well yet.
User avatar
moonshadow
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 6994
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 1:58 am
Location: Warm Beach, Washington
Contact:

Re: Boy 8 told long hair has to go

Post by moonshadow »

Gheeze... they've got a maximum AND a minimum hair length...

Talk about micromanaging!
-Andrea
The old hillbilly from the coal fields of the Appalachian mountains currently living like there's no tomorrow on the west coast.
User avatar
crfriend
Master Barista
Posts: 14431
Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 9:52 pm
Location: New England (U.S.)
Contact:

Re: Boy 8 told long hair has to go

Post by crfriend »

I'll say it again here and wait for Dave to have a go at me: "How about we stop confusing style choices with other sorts of 'alignment'?" Teach and embrace difference, diversity, and tolerance -- and that, for many, is a very tough walk to walk. Talk is cheap; what matters is behaviour.

I can see some constraints, e.g. "hair beyond 'x' length should be tied back or otherwise restrained (and give a cogent reason why)". All sexes, all genders, all style choices, all equal. No aspersions in any area. Done. What in blazes is so hard about that?

Why can't the lad have his luxurious locks, and why can't some tomboy have her flattop? Both are human beings, and both have a right to self-expression and self-determination. The only absolute constraint should be that it not physically injure others.
Retrocomputing -- It's not just a job, it's an adventure!
User avatar
Uncle Al
Moderator
Posts: 3861
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2003 10:07 pm
Location: Duncanville, TX USA

Re: Boy 8 told long hair has to go

Post by Uncle Al »

A couple of comments on "Long Hair".

A) A person from a drain cleaning company came to auger out our drain. He had a power auger
and he had long hair. He told me that one time he got his hair caught in the auger. Buy the time
he was able to shut it down, the auger pulled his head to with-in 5 inches of the auger line.

B) A high school kid was in wood shop. He refused to tie his hair back. As he was leaning over
a table saw, his hair got caught by the blade. That scared the crap out of him. From then on
he tied his hair back when using shop tools.

So, there is a danger to the person with long hair when using any type of power tools.
Better to be safe than sorry or even loss of life.

Uncle Al
:mrgreen: :ugeek: :mrgreen:
Kilted Organist/Musician
Grand Musician of the Grand Lodge, I.O.O.F. of Texas 2008-2009, 2015-2016,
2018-202 ? (and the beat goes on ;) )
When asked 'Why the Kilt?'
I respond-The why is F.T.H.O.I. (For The H--- Of It)
User avatar
crfriend
Master Barista
Posts: 14431
Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 9:52 pm
Location: New England (U.S.)
Contact:

Re: Boy 8 told long hair has to go

Post by crfriend »

Uncle Al wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:02 pmSo, there is a danger to the person with long hair when using any type of power tools. Better to be safe than sorry or even loss of life.
That applies to anyone working around any sort of high-speed machinery or other hazardous things (like chemicals). Experienced "long-hairs" get this quite naturally and it sometimes confuses the on-lookers. Many years ago, various field-service manuals would have warnings about loose ties getting caught in the machinery. (The answer to that was to tuck the tie into one of the upper gaps in the placket to keep it out of the way. And I'm dating myself...)

An example of that last bit happened one time when I was watching and listening to a housemate's car trying to figure out why it was doing something -- and my hair at the time was "down" -- and I grabbed it and made very sure I had a good grasp on all of it when I stuck my head into the engine compartment for a better listen. She wondered why I did that for a few moments until I told her the possible consequences of it getting caught in a belt! (She has short hair.)
Retrocomputing -- It's not just a job, it's an adventure!
User avatar
moonshadow
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 6994
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 1:58 am
Location: Warm Beach, Washington
Contact:

Re: Boy 8 told long hair has to go

Post by moonshadow »

You all may recall a few years back I let my hair grow enough to put it in a small pony tail. As I tend to have labor intensive jobs, and in addition I also tend to work very hard at home in all types of nasty environments, I found that my hair was constantly feeling icky.

Also considering my thinning on top, I finally just decided to keep it buzzed. To this day I run the clippers over my head about once per fortnight.

Long hair is just too much fuss for me, I can see why so many women are embracing the shorter cuts.
-Andrea
The old hillbilly from the coal fields of the Appalachian mountains currently living like there's no tomorrow on the west coast.
Happy-N-Skirts
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 406
Joined: Tue Nov 08, 2016 5:39 pm

Re: Boy 8 told long hair has to go

Post by Happy-N-Skirts »

During the early 70's I was rebellious and grew my hair long. It was always in the way and the wind blew it in my face. I cut it off for convenience purposes and continue to be rebellious. Now I am an unreconstructed rebellious eccentric old man in skirts minus the long hair. Now I can afford to be one.
STEVIE
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 4188
Joined: Fri Sep 17, 2010 11:01 pm
Location: North East Scotland.

Re: Boy 8 told long hair has to go

Post by STEVIE »

I too am a child of the seventies. I do not regard hair length as any expression of gender preference. It is merely a fashion choice plain and simple.
Prior to commencing technical classes at school we were shown some very graphic movies of a guy having been scalped by his hair getting caught in a lathe,
The other thing is that most of our parents would not have allowed us to have long hair either.
Ah, the good old days.
Steve.
pelmut
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 1923
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 10:36 am
Location: Somerset, England

Re: Boy 8 told long hair has to go

Post by pelmut »

Uncle Al wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:02 pm ... there is a danger to the person with long hair when using any type of power tools.
I am always wary that, although my long hair is usually held back with an Alice band, it could easily slip down and get caught in the chuck of my lathe.  The lathe was made in 1945 from whatever parts Harrisons had left in stock at the end of WWII, so although it is a short-bed machine it is fitted with long-bed controls that allow it to be operated from the tailstock end; this is fortunate for me, as it allows me to keep well out of the way of the moving parts.
There is no such thing as a normal person, only someone you don't know very well yet.
Stu
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 1314
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2003 8:25 am
Location: North Lincolnshire, UK

Re: Boy 8 told long hair has to go

Post by Stu »

Hair length can be a personal preference, a job requirement, or a signifier of masculinity/femininity.

Many lesbians opt for very short haircuts that straight women would never contemplate. Marines and other "tough guy" occupations often come with an expectation of cropped hair which has both a practical advantage and presents a desired impression. Males with long hair have to be careful and wear it as part of a set look. While a man with otherwise highly masculine characteristics like facial hair and a rugged face could get away with long hair with an Alice band as individualistic and rebellious, a typical 12-year-old boy who sported that would invite questions as to his sexual identity - and a desire for ribbons or hair decorations would result in a trip to the psychiatrist. Any hairstyle which is clearly high-maintenance, such as extremely long and well-brushed hair, or one with luxuriant curls and wisps, would suggest an effort by the wearer to appear feminine.

The general rule that men have shorter hair than women pertains even today, but of course there is scope for, and tolerance of, individual deviation from that rule.
Bertino56
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 160
Joined: Wed Dec 16, 2015 9:36 pm

Re: Boy 8 told long hair has to go

Post by Bertino56 »

For an interesting case-study of this, look for pictures of Naomi Watts
and her younger son.
That family's problem is that, being celebrities, they are pestered by
paparazzi everywhere they go. That means you can easily find many
photos.
He is not labelled trans-anything or gender-anything, but his clothing
and hairstyles strongly trend toward the "female side of the aisle."
It is not known if this tendency is his own preference or his mother's
preference. (His father is actor Liev Schreiber.) At age 11, it remains
to be seen whether he will continue it through adolescence.
User avatar
Sinned
Member Extraordinaire
Posts: 5804
Joined: Sun Aug 19, 2012 5:28 pm
Location: York, England

Re: Boy 8 told long hair has to go

Post by Sinned »

I have had my hair long at times all my life. In my teens in the sixties long hair was the fashion. Until recently I had my hair in a pony tail until the effect was a bit straggly so I trimmed it back. My first impression was that his hair may have been back combed or combed to make it frizz out like that. I'd say that the way he has it it's a bit of an accident waiting to happen. If he must have it long then at least tie it back otherwise it looks a bit ott to me.
I believe in offering every assistance short of actual help but then mainly just want to be left to be myself in all my difference and uniqueness.
Post Reply