Culturally, long hair—particularly amongst men—typically signals the individual's separation from structures and rules, although there are exceptions, such as the Thai people. Ways of life often viewed as more rigid, such as religious cultures, often have explicit rules regarding hair length. For example, one passage in the New Testament of Christianity considers long hair shameful for men, while encouraging it for women. Also, Buddhist monks shave their heads as part of their order of worship. Even outside religious structures, cultures often associate long hair with ways of life outside of what is culturally accepted. Subservient cultures, for example, are sometimes detected by their rulers through hair length, as was the case with the Irish under English rule and the Moors under Spanish rule in Medieval times. During the cultural revolutions of the sixties and seventies in America and across the western world, long hair remained a strong symbol of rebellion against the cultural norm. Again, though, there are exceptions to these rules, notably among the long-haired and religiously devoted Nazarites of the Hebrew Bible (Samson being a famous example) and among the Sikhs. Modern non-western cultures such as Islam and China see long hair as a western influence. The Taliban of Afghanistan punished its male citizens for western long hairstyles at times.

Among women, this is often reversed: Long hair becomes an acceptance of culture, while short hair signals a rebellion from it. Long hair is traditionally accepted as a female characteristic in western cultures. Feminists and women's rights activists have long debated whether to advocate long hair as a solely feminine trait, or to call for short hair in opposition to a stereotype. Asian cultures see long, unkempt hair in a woman as a sign of sexual intent or a recent sexual encounter, as usually their hair is tied up.

Meaning

Exactly what "long hair" is can change from culture to culture, or even within cultures. For example, a woman with chin-length hair may be said to have short hair, while a man with the same length of hair could be said to have long hair. The traditional definition of "long hair" in English meant, roughly, someone artistically knowledgeable or wise, an aesthete.Oxford English dictionary As a descriptive term, it has been applied to Merovingians and classical music enthusiasts, as well as hippies and aesthetes.

Science

Anthropologists speculate that the functional significance of long head hair may be adornment, a by-product of secondary natural selection once other somatic hair had been lost. Another possibility is that long head hair is a result of Fisherian runaway sexual selection, where long lustrous hair is a visible marker for a healthy individual. For some groups, however, short hair is the selected trait. Some Psychoanalysts and Freudians argue that long hair represents the id and aggression, and that cutting the hair is thus akin to castration.Leach, E. R. "Magical Hair." The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. (July 1958) 88.2 pgs. 147-164 Hair is thus considered to be a potent sexual emblem, both for men and women, having many parallels with intercourse. Further connections made with sexuality are made with the fact that historically, adulterous men would cut off their partner's hair if she threatened to reveal their secret, thus violating the role of her husband.