h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What is it with society, American in particular, and hair cuts? I went to get my hair cut today, and teared up while getting it done, because of the need to find a job. I had about 6 or 7 inches taken off. Employers want nice, clean cut people showing up for interviews, after you get the job you can have your hair as long as you want. What is up with that?

GDZ, I think I can help answer the question- Why all the fuss over hair length ? I was raised in a culturally extremely conservative atmosphere. Long hair on men was bad for the following reasons:

1) the Bible seems to regard long hair as effeminate ( I Corinthians 11: 14-15). For this reason , boys in youth group were not allowed to participate in youth activities if their hair was over their collar. My parents also felt that a man with long hair was "trying to be pretty like a woman"

2) My parents and many others of their generation saw long hair as a sign of rebellion against the social order ( as indeed it was in the Sixties) To them, it meant dirty speech, ungratitude, laziness, physical hygiene problems, sexual immorality, and lack of respect for God, family and country in general. Possibly also drunkennness and drug addiction.

3)Many men that wear long hair, I personally have noticed, make little effort to keep it neatly groomed ( ditto for many with beards and mustaches). Potential employers have noticed this and tended to equate long hair itself with unprofessional ethics. After all, if someone is sloppy with their grooming and dress, are they also sloppy with their work? Presumably, after they already have hired you and know you are a diligent worker, they can overlook personal eccentricities.

I don't necessarily agree with the reasons above, but I do understand why people feel the way they do...

BC

Almost every depiction of Christ I have seen has him with long hair.

That aside, the fuss is that I am having to do away with a personal choice to satisfy someone who does not know me.

I quite understand your unwillingness to be defined by others in what should be merely personal preference. Unfortunately the human race (ourselves included) seem to function primarily by stereotype.

You are quite correct that the pictures of Jesus all show him with long hair. Bear in mind, however, that all these pictures were done centuries after he lived, and that no one really knows what he looked like. In fact, the oldest pictures show him with shorter hair, gradually lengthening as the centuries progressed. A careful reading of the Bible and knowledge of the styles of his day make it unlikely that he had long hair.

I assume you are responding to the Bible reference. I personally believe the Apostle Paul was correct, FOR HIS SOCIETY. Styles do change. In the same way, my father regards earrings on men as effeminate ( because it WAS in the society he grew up in), and no amount of explanation from me that this is no longer true suffices.