Do you agree or diasgree that boys with long unkempt hair are afraid of being mistaken for a girl?

Question

I answered another question on this subject from a mother with a boy who plays with a skateboard. I also proposed a question on gender misidentification in children. I noticed that the boys in my school who play on skateboards and have long hair often have the hair unkempt and cut class a lot or ditch. Oh by the way it's lunch in my school and im on my laptop in the library (they have the wireless internet) Ok have to go very soon. I think that these boys refuse to style and groom their hair because they might be mistook for girls since young teens of either sex look similar and often you can only tell them apart by things such as short hair, or what they are wearing. These boys fear being mistaken for girls so have unkempt hair so that will not happen.

Answer 1

It's an interesting idea, but I don't know if it's the most reasonable suggestion.

Based on what I have seen, girls often have long hair because it makes them feel feminine, beautiful, grown-up, etc.

A boy has long hair, most likely, because he enjoys the feeling of freedom, hates disciplining himself to have his hair regularly cut, and thinks the long hair makes him look independent / unique. This fits with the "spirit" of the skateboarding kids, all of whom have these general traits -- they're wild riders, out to adventure, explore, and experience life hands-on.

Considering all this, it makes sense that girls will generally groom themselves (i.e., take care of their long hair, brushing or whatever) as part of wanting to be seen as beautiful and feminine.

The boys you describe, meanwhile, would naturally not care about grooming themselves that much; their long hair comes from other motivations. In fact, their activities naturally muss their hair, and it would be a pain to keep it straight.

(Still, I am sure that there are a few boys with long hair who also are grossed out by the idea of being viewed as a girl, so they avoid grooming themselves like one. Kids all go through a stage where they pull away from the opposite gender in order to establish their own gender identity.)

Answer 2

I'm not sure how to answer your questions. But I will tell you that my son started growing his hair out several months ago because he saw a famous person with long hair and thought it was cool. He did not style his hair, but it was well groomed.

He visited my mom, his grandma, right before school started. She lives in a small town with small town values. He was mistaken for a girl there and cut all his hair off when he came home.

As far as styling goes, he did the best that a 12 year old boy could do, but boys just aren't as good at hair as girls. (OK, I'm not talking about the ones who grow up to be stylists.)

Answer 3

That is a lot of supossition. I think that these skater types are following a trendin their hairstyle. There is no fear to be mistaken for girls it is just a fad.

Answer 4

if it bothered them they would cut it.