Long hair

Humans are believed to have lost their fur 2.5–3 million years ago as hominids when transitioning from a forest habitat to the open savanna, as an effect of natural selection, since this development made it possible to run fast and hunt animals close to the equator without getting overheated.

[7][need quotation to verify] An evolutionary biology explanation for this attraction is that hair length and quality may act as a cue to youth and health, signifying a woman's reproductive potential.

[10] Ways of life often viewed as more rigid, such as soldiering and religious discipline, frequently have explicit rules regarding hair length.

[11] Similarly, religious men with long hair is exemplified in modern Paganism, among Nazarites in the Hebrew Bible (Samson being a well-known example)[12] and among the Sikhs.

[13] Other cultures may view male long hair negatively; historically, some conquering groups have used the long hair of conquered people as a symbol of their imagined "otherness" or inferiority, as was the case with the Gaelic Irish under English rule and the Moors under Spanish rule in Medieval Spain.

The ancient Greeks had several gods and heroes who wore their hair long, including Zeus, Achilles, Apollo, and Poseidon.

Also, in order to keep enemies from getting hold of it in battle, they were known to cut the front short, but leave it long in the back, where it was more out of reach (mullet).

A widely held alternative interpretation of the conventional belief is that they kept it long, and simply tied it back in a style known as a ponytail in order to keep it out of their enemies' reach.

The ponytail method allowed warriors, who often traveled to battle with a minimal amount of equipment so that they could avoid excessively heavy loads over long marches, to keep their hair manageable with a small piece of string to hold it in place and a knife to cut the back to length with one slice.

[24] Pliny the Elder in his Natural History and Varro related that the Romans did not begin to cut their hair short until barbers were introduced to Italy from Sicily by P. Ticinius Mena in 299 BC.

[citation needed] The Gaelic Irish (both men and women)[28] took great pride in their long hair—for example, a person could be heavily fined for cutting a man's hair short against his will.

Muslims in Christian areas were ordered to keep their hair short and parted, as their longer style was considered rebellious and barbaric.

Wulfstan, a religious leader, worried that those with longer hair would fight like women, and be unable to protect England from foreign invasion.

Married women who let their hair flow out in public were frowned upon, as this was normally reserved for the unwed, although they were allowed to let it out in mourning, to show their distressed state.

Consistent with principles of evolutionary psychology, these results indicate that hair length and quality can act as a cue to a woman's youth and health, signifying reproductive potential.

[8] During the 19th century male hair lengths in Western cultures had varied widely; according to nationality, occupation, age, social status and passing fashion.

The trench warfare engaged in from 1914 to 1918 exposed men to flea and lice infestations, which prompted orders by the higher command to cut hair short, establishing a new military tradition.

[33] The trend even spread to some Eastern Bloc countries, such as the Mánička subculture of Czechoslovakia, which was met with discrimination by the authorities, who saw it as unwanted Western capitalistic influence.

Specific long hairstyles such as dreadlocks have been part of counterculture movements seeking to define other alternative cultures and lifestyles since this time.

The anti-establishment philosophy of Rastafari, echoed in much of the reggae of the time, resonated with left-leaning youth of all ethnicities – especially and primarily among African Americans and other Blacks, but among counterculture Whites as well.

[35] Today, longer hairstyles among men are still quite popular among neopagans and rock enthusiasts;[36] for example, musicians in metal bands and their fans often wear long hair.

[citation needed] Many Native American men wore long hair before the arrival of Western influences on their culture.

[43] However, during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, African-Americans such as Malcolm X advocated hairstyles such as Afros and dreadlocks, in order to embrace their race, and to return to West African roots.

Beginning in 1619, the ethnic Manchu Qing dynasty forced all men in China to adopt the queue: a long braid down the back with the hair near the forehead completely shaved.

[54] In late 1983, conservative factions of the Chinese Communist Party launched the short and unsuccessful Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign, which included the ridiculing of long hair.

In Southeast Asia and Indonesia, male long hair was valued until the 17th century, when the area adopted outside influences including Islam and Christianity.

[53] South Asia In India, especially rural parts, girls and young women generally grow their hair very long, often reaching hip- or thigh-length.

[citation needed] In the Old Testament, the Nazirites would go for long periods of time without cutting their hair to show devotion to God.

In the past, Bedouin Muslims often wore their hair in long braids, but influences from the Western world have caused a change in attitudes.

[62] The Taliban in Afghanistan viewed long hair for men as a Western influence, and punished it by arrest and forced haircuts,[63] although this would be a direct contradiction of the sunnah of Muhammad.