Written by Sumeragne Gibson

Femininity has been illustrated as soft, nurturing, sensitive, and vulnerable. These traits define how society expects women to behave, as well as their appearance: a bright smile, soft features, and long hair. Throughout history, the world has deemed long hair a woman’s “symbol”. Ancient Egyptians associated long hair with fertility, social status, and wealth. In contrast to that idea, The Holy Bible mentions that a woman’s long hair is her glory and covering; as the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:15, “But that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering” (1 Corinthians 11:15 NIV). Long hair has become one of the most predominant features of traditional femininity, while short hair has been marked as masculine–rebellious, assertive, and intimidating. As taught in kindergarten, “Girls have long hair, Boys have short hair.” This binary applies to pink and blue, skirts and pants, heels and sneakers. 

“Short Hair”

A deep dive into the societal standards for women.

This contrast is predominant in movies, TV Shows, and cartoons, where the short-haired female character is independent, edgier, and more challenging than her long-haired counterparts. An example is GoGo Tomago from the 2016 Disney film Big Hero Six. Her uneven bob with blue streaks compliments her cool girl persona. Her design signals that she differs from the average “girly”  female character and she defies the rules given to her; she’s “not like other girls”. She automatically fits in with the male crowd because she’s not feminine, she has mystique. “Woah, a girl that knows sports, drives motorcycles, and plays games!” is the reaction whenever it comes to women with shorter hair in animated films. Even in live-action films, the woman with shorter hair is rebellious, a trouble-maker, she lives on the edge and she’s simply not your average girl. When a female character is known to have short hair, she appeals not because of her short hair but normally because of her body and her persona. Take Wreck It Ralph  (2012) for example; There’s a female character named Sergeant Calhoun. She has short hair, an edgy and aggressive personality, and a body with round hips and hourglass-like figure. If her hips were reduced or her breasts flattened, would she have the same appeal? I think not, her intrigue comes from a mixture of her body figure and her personality. She’s edgy just like her hair but for almost every film that I have seen, the short haired woman is edgy and her body is what brings forth her appeal. Almost like if you have short hair, you better have an attractive body to go with it or else you’re really not going to be appealing.  Now, what if a character starts off with long hair and then later ends up with her hair cut or completely gone; What would be the reaction? Same body, same face, same personality, simply a different haircut. Let’s take a look at Rapunzel. 

In the 2010 Disney film Tangled, Rapunzel, the main character, started with extravagantly long golden hair. Her hair was the premise of her story; it’s seen as the most desirable factor due to its magical powers. Later in the movie, when Mother Gothel is “defeated,” Flynn Rider cuts Rapunzel’s hair; essentially symbolizing the freedom Rapunzel now has from killing Mother Gothel. The cut left Rapunzel with a brunette pixie that reached slightly below her ears. The pixie was a little choppy but that’s normally how pixies look. The audience reacted so negatively to this sudden change, claiming they liked her long locks more. Her face stayed the exact same, her figure was still petite and curved, her personality was still bubbly, she stayed the same, it was just her hair that changed. But, her appearance was no longer “soft” and “vulnerable” but instead became “ragged”, especially for a princess. Though, it would make sense for Rapunzel to look ragged being that she’s been on an extremely chaotic journey; can’t expect her to look put together the entire film, she didn’t bathe once in that movie but anyways. The symbolism of Rapunzel’s hair illustrates her journey from being held captive due to her hair to finally being free from those chains. To the audience, regardless of the meaning, her look became “boyish”, she lost her femininity because her hair was cut. Many viewers of the film expressed disappointment at the sudden transformation, even though the character stayed relatively the same; which reflects a societal discomfort with women who do not appear traditionally feminine. In an online discussion I read about long hair, a parent on Quora asked  “Can I force my daughter to grow her hair like Rapunzel?” (Quora).  Alone, this question demonstrates how long hair is a desirable beauty factor being that the word “force” was used. I mean, forcing a child to uphold what society deems as attractive, that’s twisted. Especially being that most beauty standards are targeted towards adults. In regards to the question, another commenter replied, and I quote,  “Rather, tell her why you want her to grow long hair and let her decide on it. If she falls on your side, be happy, or if she disagrees and goes for short hair, you try to accept her tomboy look.” (Quora). I’d like to highlight the term tomboy that was used in this reply. It’s so clear that short hair is perceived as masculine, even in the most feminine characters such as Rapunzel. It’s even seen as a negative thing. Society has tied gender to hairstyles but is this societal view American? Where did this idea of long equals girl and short equals boy come from? There are many cultures where long hair is normalized on men and short hair normalized on women. Native Tribes have long hair embedded into their culture; it represents their history and their spiritual connection to their tribe. African women maintain mini-afros and, outside of the eurocentric view, are seen as beautiful beings; far from masculine.

 Going back to the word tomboy, according to the Urban Dictionary, a tomboy is a woman who exhibits characteristics or interests that are normally associated with boys. This term is normally used amongst young girls, but its context remains the same for any age of a woman. Doing more research on where the word came from, I’ve found that it dated in the 1500s and it was used to describe girls who were energetic, interested in sports and games, or they were spirited individuals. The word from my eyes is an insult, it’s sexist. It was created to place women in a box and make them feel low of themselves when they try to travel outside of that box. The word is basically saying that you as a woman are not allowed to have any form of a personality outside of the boundaries of what a woman should be from the male perspective. Am I getting too deep? I don’t think so. A ton of female characters with short hair are considered tomboys, especially in animated films which are directly targeted towards children and adolescents. It’s conditioning European societal gender norms. The example travels further than animated films, it’s in live-actions films too. Like Jinx Johnson in the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day. 

Jinx portrays a bold, independent, confident woman as well as being a skilled NSA agent. She matched Bond’s personality with her charm. Though her character would arguably be the same with longer hair, her pixie cut amplified her “cool-sexy factor.” This image is because short hair fits in the fearless, and self-assured category compared to long hair. Though these are all good traits, they are traditionally projected toward men more than women. While many men find women with shorter hair attractive, long hair is the more socially desirable standard. It is natural for a man to be attracted towards their opposite. Feminine traits are often symbolized by physical features–specifically long hair. Which is why so many short-haired characters are normally fearless. The dynamic of men liking the image of longer hair appears in the sitcom Friends as well. Bonnie (Ross’s girlfriend) shaves her head because Rachel convinced her that Ross was attracted to “bald women.” This conversation occurred due to Bonnie’s earlier comment about how much easier it was for her, hygienically, when she used to shave her head. Though Bonnie remained the same flirty and attractive woman she is, Ross’s reaction to Bonnie’s transformation was negative. Ross retreats both emotionally and physically to his ex-girlfriend, Rachel, who now has a more “acceptable” appearance. Though Bonnie had become completely bald, the message stays consistent to the idea that: escaping from the traditional feminine look risks becoming less desirable in the eyes of society. Long hair is the beauty standard for women, hence why it is favored. 

In a small survey I conducted with eleven men from my university, nine stated they preferred women with long hair over short. Whilst the survey is limited, it still showcases the societal image that long hair is the marker of femininity. Is the traditional view of femininity a proper portrayal of women? Fortunately, it is not. More correctly, the word “femininity” derived from the Latin term “femina” –which when translated, it becomes “female”. Femininity is not a performance–it is a being that resides in every woman. Something as inconsequential as a hairstyle does not define that. Whether a woman wears an afro, a shaved head, long hair to her feet, a bob, cornrows, or a pixie cut, her femininity is never revoked. Though society has regarded independence and confidence as masculine traits, I wholeheartedly believe those belong to women as well. Women do not need to prove they are strong, nor must they become lenient to be seen as soft. Femininity is not black and white–it is a palette of many characteristics and that is, the beauty of women.