The Links Between Hair And Sex

They may occasionally be obscure – but hair can be a vital part of what attracts us to members of the opposite sex. So what way do you swing?

Anne Sexton, 05 Jul 2012

I had positioned myself where I could get a generous measure of eye candy. There he was, sitting at the bar – the most beautiful man in Dublin. Well, maybe not all of Dublin – perhaps just George’s St. Or if not the entire street, well certainly the most beautiful man in Izakaya.

My friend disagreed. “Ugh, long hair,” she said disdainfully. “I hate long hair on men.”

Me, I’m a fan. I like hair I can play with. Granted, since I have long hair myself there is twice the likelihood of getting an unwelcome strand in the mouth while kissing someone, which is never delightful; but on the plus side, I only get half the blame. I’d thank God for hair bands, but I’m pretty sure someone else invented them.

Of course, I don’t object to men with short hair – or even baldies, as that can be sexy too. Trichophilia, that’s arousal by the sight or touching of hair, is not one of my kinks. For me, long hair on a man is not a prerequisite, more of a preference, a penchant, or predilection, if you will.

Why do some women find long hair on men sexy and other women don’t? A friend of mine recently chopped off his hair and lovely hair it was too – dark brown with a bit of a curl – but he reckons he is more self-confident with short hair and that women in their early 20s prefer it too.

Really? Not so, responded another friend. “Don’t put a sweeping generalisation on my age bracket,” she complained. “On the right man, long hair is lovely.” The right kind of man being Johnny Depp; his nemesis, the wrong kind, would be Mick Wallace. “That man needs a deep-conditioning mask immediately!” she reckoned and I am not one to disagree – a trim wouldn’t go amiss either.

I was pondering hair, and its connection to sexual attraction so I decided to do some research.

In Western civilisation, long hair on women is almost universally regarded as a good thing. Most studies, both popular and scientific, conclude that long hair makes a woman more feminine and appealing to men. That’s probably not news to you. Nor would you be flabbergasted to learn that similar studies have found that men with short hair are generally seen as more masculine and attractive.

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