For anyone raised on Rupunzel and fairy tail princesses,
it’s no secret
Long hair has been the defining ideal of beauty and femininity for women.
And while beauty standards have evolved to reflect
many different types of femininity,
long hair is still the defining factor.
In a culture where shorter hairstyles have been associated with masculinity,
short-haired women can break our long held expectations apart.
And sometimes this can result in presumptions about short-haired femininity.
In a society where we’re taught that long means lady-like,
having a short hairdo can be a pretty strong statement for a woman.
And for ladies who go the short hair route,
that statement is meant with plenty of opinions.
This is Mane, and today we’re taking the plunge into the lives of women with short hair.
Brooklynite Mila Myles is a self-identified queer woman who wears her hair short.
As an artist, Mila uses mediums like film and poetry to express her own experiences
as a short-haired woman in the queer community.
How often are you getting your hair cut?
I try to go every two weeks.
When it comes to short hair and women, people only talk about
androgyny and masculinity, but in a heteronormative way about feminine or straight women.
I feel like all the straight boys wear queer girl haircuts within a few months, so
I try to get ahead of the curve and do some other @%$#, so
You know, it’s between me and my barber.
As long as I have a creative barber, and he can work with the vision that I have,
we’re in love, like I’m staying with him forever.
That was the hard part
of starting the process of even getting comfortable and finding my style and
barber and everything.
So I let them— especially being a masculine presenting person,
they kind of know what I’m going for—
you know, in that, like, looking pretty but still masculine.
I think about what I saw on TV when I was a kid in the 90s, and I would see
women, who then favored some of the features and ways that I look now,
the aesthetics that I have now.
Back then when I was a kid, I would just be like, “I’m never going to look like those men, women,"
You know?
Then I have moments I look in the mirror and I’m like
I have the exact haircut that I thought back then was just...
too much, you know? And it’s—
I didn’t do it intentionally, you know? It was just kind of like—
and now I’m looking back and I’m like,
I think a part of me was like internalized homophobia
as a child.
And I think that hair, when it comes to short hair,
It’s always— when talking about queer people, it’s always reserved like “oh that’s a queer thing,"
So they can look queer and it’s not expanded on or an impact on all these other types of ways—
how it affects our lives.
Tell me about your big "chop” moment.
Oh man, it was this side of my hair.
And the word "fame"
cut into the side of my head, like designed.
I thought I was doing it.
I really wanted to try it and I wanted— I think there was a part—
the album inspired me to not be afraid of looking beautiful in other people’s eyes.
You’re in the barber chair,
he spun you around,
the dramatic reveal.
How did you view yourself?
Honestly, I was like, “oh my God, girls are going to totally look at me when they see this."
[Laughing]
I was like “Yes, now girls will know!"
Or at least question it.
Because I presented like tom boy-ish, you know?
But also, I was just really excited that I had—
you know, it was like when you go and get that tattoo.
It’s like, there’s no room left for regret,
so you have to see the things that you love about it.
And that’s what changing my hair felt like, you know?
There’s no turning back, so
I was really excited to see how I continued to feel about it
and I don’t know if it’s more of a "want” as more of like a "need”
to express that on that outside too.
And also, comfort and everything and it's
It’s less for everybody else and more so
when I look at myself in the mirror, how I feel about it.
For young women who identify as straight,
short hair comes with its own set of stereotypes too.
After years of curiosity,
artist, Meredith Miotke
finally decided to go for the big chop after a lifetime of long hair.
But while Meredith felt excited and empowered by her decision,
she noticed that the response from those around her—
even hairstylists wasn't always encouraging.
Your short hair represents your truest self?
Yeah, I felt more like myself than I ever did with long hair.
A lot of times people just ask me "why?" And sometimes it feels kind of confrontational.
I’m like, I just cut off my hair, that’s not a big deal.
And they’re like, “but why did you do it? Short hair is not pretty."
Stuff like that. It happens enough that it’s like
of note.
I had been dating a guy at one point and he was like “I don’t really go for girls with short hair because it’s too boyish"
or something.
And I’m like, "do I seem like a boy to you?
”short hair looks better on me, than your short hair looks on you."
How long have you been rocking short hair?
Three years about now. Three-four years.
It’s longer than a lot of relationships.
Yeah.
Did you ever have long hair before having it—
Oh, yeah.
First time living away from home, it was a really rough transition for me.
I was just kind of like, “I need to make a change, like, I need to do something for myself."
I’m going to get on a plane.
Yeah!
I was like “I’m going home, I’m going to see my mom, and I’m going to cut off all my hair."
It was really weird, because I’ve had haircuts where it like,
they've spun me around, looked in the mirror, and I’m like,
”What have I done?"
”Why did I decide to get bangs?”
Like something like that.
But with this one, I was like "no, this looks completely right
”this was absolutely the right decision,
”I love how this looks,
”why didn’t I do this like ten years ago?"
And what’s that feeling like when you have just gotten your haircut and then you walk out the door?
It feels nice, and I feel really fresh and clean
and then being like, "okay, this is me at my best self right now and I'm ready to tackle things."
As Meredith and Mila’s experiences show,
hair length is an individual choice that women make for themselves.
But there’s one thing that women who have dared to go short have in common:
they celebrate their femininity on their own terms at any hair length they choose.