I was thinking about our discussion today of what makes certain perceptions of the 'correct' type of hairstyle so persistent. Then I remembered one of my all-time favorite musicals, Hair. At one point in the show the characters (who are sixties era hippies) are asked why they keep their hair long. In the following song they conclude that they don't really know why. Maybe this is the answer. Maybe their are things about ourselves and our culture that we are not able to perceive or understand. Do you think this is possible?
-Melissa C.
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I find it hard to believe that there's not at least some sort of explanation for a popular trend in culture. Certainly, a bandwagon effect helps spread a trend throughout the country, but there is almost always an underlying reason why something becomes popular. In the end, even if we aren't able to identify something's cause, there is a reason why things happen.
ReplyDelete-Bryce Cody
As far as hair goes, I think convenience is the main reason behind length. As many people said today, it is easier for them to have their hair long, and maybe they think it looks better that way. I know that as far as my hair goes, if I cut it short I would literally have an afro.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I was thinking about was just the fact that hair grows. Many people don't put too much thought into their hairstyles, and thus they simply let hair grow long and trim the dead ends every once in a while. The decision to cut hair short is a decision to keep it short and maintain it that way for a while. No one wants to have to deal with an awkward hair length that results from growing out short hair that they only kept for a little while.
-Alexa
I don't fully know whether Bryce is simply suggesting that there are underlying causes for the popularity of certain trends, or whether he is expanding on said pop culture theory to generalize that everything in the world operates according to cause and effect. Either way, I think Melissa is completely right. Regardless of whether there is or isn't a reason for something, we may not always be able to understand it. Not to be a debbie downer, but I feel like some things are simply beyond the human capacity to understand. That applies to big, scary, philosophical things and small trends in pop culture. Perhaps Angelina Jolie and an army of female celebrities will sponataneously decide to cut their hair and wear it short, causing a ripple effect that reaches women every where. Why did Angelina do so? Who knows. Maybe Brad suggested it. Maybe Angelina is tired of bad hair in the morning and finds short hair easier to manage. Even more enigmatically, perhaps she just feels like it. Either way, the reason is unperceivable and has little effect compared to the haircut (or whatever action) itself. Sometimes the reason is beyond us, and sometimes the reason isn't that important. As Freud said (though probably not in this context..), sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
ReplyDeleteUgh... I forgot my name again... Sorry.
ReplyDeleteColin
I think people keep hairstyles for a combination of what's easier and what looks better. Long hair might be easier for some, but there is also a group for which short is easier. I know with my hair, the longer it is the more tangled and frizzy it becomes. However, I like the look of it longer so I try to keep it somewhere in the middle -- short enough to be manageble, but long enough to still be called long.
ReplyDelete~Becca
I think it has to do with personal preference. One might find a man or woman with longer hair more appealing than a man or woman with short hair, and vice versa. I've heard men say that women with longer hair look more "feminine."
ReplyDeleteIt all depends on the person. As the cliche goes: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
-Chloe Martianou
Wow, this got a lot of comments. I don't think I made my point quite clear, however (oops). What I meant was that there were some things for which we can't formulate a solid explanation for. There are some things that can be definitely traced to one cause. Its kind of like a very extreme case of not seeing the forest for the trees.
ReplyDeleteSpecifically, with hair length, I'm still not convinced there is a good explanation. While easiness of management could be a factor, it seems to be too split between the two. Some say longer is easier, some say shorter is easier. And if it's just 'what looks nicer' why do we think one looks better than the other? Where do we draw the line? Why do we give so much thought to a bunch of dead skin cells coming out of our heads?
-Melissa C.
To answer your last question, it's part of human nature -- all humans want to look attractive to the opposite sex. And for some reason this means long hair for girls (there are exceptions to this, some guys prefer short and other girls just look better with short, but this is the trend). I agree that we can never fully comprehend why this the case. I highly doubt that there is one real cause, but a combination of convenience, idols with long hair, societal factors, etc. The guys could probably answer the question about what hair is attractive in girls and why better than I could. However, I'm not sure they could answer the why part, at least not without thought. Something in your brain, that we can't really understand, just says "this looks good".
ReplyDelete~Becca
Hmmm... another musing on hair length - if there was a specific length that was considered the current trend, it would always be unobtainable. If we were to take this literally, a certain hair length could not be obtained, as hair is constantly growing, nanometer by nanometer. It's as if the perfect look were constantly slipping from our grasp - we would have to trim our hair constantly to achieve absolute perfection.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, as far as a reason behind a hairstyle, I refer back to the original post, where Melissa said that none of the characters knew why they kept their hair long. Perhaps there once was a reason that one or two chose this style, but once the others adopted it (out of whim or conforming), the original explanation for why the hair was cut the way it was was lost. Much like words losing their meanings from trite overuse.
-Emily Donahue