Just wanna add in my 2 cents worth...
The fact remains that deciding how one's own hairstyle should be is one's personal choice. It's an outward expression of ourselves on what he/she feels is best suited for himself/herself. By supressing that and having an institution dictate how we should express ourselves, it leads to a slippery slope whereby a person in authority can not only decide on what hairstyle is acceptable, but maybe even what bodyshape is acceptable, what colour of skin is acceptable.. etc. If we can accept diversity in race, language and religion.. why can't we accept diversity in hairstyles?
Undoubtedly this issue on hair lengths is not as major as say for example decreeing how many blacks can be in a bus at one time or not allowing the Chinese culture to be expressed in public (as was the case in Indonesia under Suharto's rule) but it really sends a message that if I can control even a small issue like hair length.. why can't I control bigger things like their physical attributes (eg.footbinding), their minds (eg.brainwashing) or even their souls? (this is of course an extreme and based on assumptions, but it does seem plausible).
Of course, some may bring in the "army argument" of why then shouldn't we let army boys leave long hair. This however is a totally different playing field as I heard (don't know if its true) that soldiers in the past would creep up behind enemies, pull their hair back to expose their necks and slit their throats. Hence, it is justified in this sense that in order to reduce the risk of this kind of attack that soldiers should keep short hair. However in a school setting, students aren't in danger of having their throats cut, we aren't harming anyone or depriving anyone of anything by leaving long hair, if we give off a bad impression to people it just shows how narrow-minded society is. Guys who choose to leave long hair are choosing to undertake this mantle of being "black-labelled" and it is purely their business. Who are we to poke our noses into others' businesses?
Some may object and say that imposing standards on hair lengths is to project a good, professional image and it will give others a good impression of ourselves. I agree that this stereotype exists albeit a bad one. We often say "Do not judge a book by its cover" but how often do we see it played out in society? Does having short hair guarantee us a job? Does having long hair prevent us from getting a job? The fact remains that a stereotype exists and like it or not, it holds true and is prominent in our society. Whether it changes or not will depend on when society gets "enlightened" and becomes more accomodating.
Going against the flow and being a rebel may not be the best way to achieve our goals of having a stereotype-free society as it merely serves to fuel the stereotype that "long hair=messy=bad boy". Yes, it is true that throughout history we see great men like Albert Einstein, Rene Descartes, Leonardo Da Vinci, Qin Shi Huang and even Jesus Christ himself having long hair. It is interesting however, to note though that it was acceptable in their society at that point of time. Hence we need to ask ourselves.. is having long hair an acceptable image in our society? It is undoubtedly a bad stereotype that guys should have short hair but sometimes conformity is the only way we can progress in this society we live in.
Thus, we need to step back and take a look at both sides of the issue. I myself detest the rule that guys have to have short hair in schools as my opinion is that this rule is flawed and totally unjustified. Although the stereotype of having short hair=presentable exists strongly in our society, it is in reality a flawed perspective and the very fact that it is a perspective and point-of-view shows that it is not a fact that is tested and true and resounds universally..
However, having said that, we need to understand that rules are rules and (yes I know that this one in particular is flawed) conformity can make life a whole lot easier as it opens up opportunities. (it's true, no denying this fact) Therefore, it is again back to the whole root of this discussion, our freedom of choice and our freedom of expression. If we choose to express ourselves by leaving long hair, that's our choice and ours alone and we live through the consequences of it. No one should be allowed to dictate on the choices we make but then again if these rules can make our lives easier... would u choose to accept it? Or would you stand and fight for something you believe in?
*I thank you for your taking of time to read through my lengthy post... heh
, great essay there dude, A+
