Little Boy Suspended for Long Hair

[Gravekeeper]

Wow, this one went downhill fast.

In my defense I am both at work and heavily medicated due to that ligament in my back I tore a year or so ago acting up again. -.-

[draggar]

I used to have long hair and defended it. It is OK for girls to have long hair but not guys? As long as it is neat and clean (like the OP mentioned, not a green Mohawk) and tied back when it needs to be, I don't see an issue with it nor there should be.

[Mishi]

Just my two cents on the ear piercing: It's a body modification. A parent wouldn't get away with giving their young child any of the more extreme mods as that would rightly be classed as abuse. I don't understand why anyone would have their child's ears pierced before they ask for it AND understand what they're asking for. Cleaning an infected piercing/s on a squalling baby is not my idea of cute or fun!

[Gravekeeper]

I used to have long hair and defended it. It is OK for girls to have long hair but not guys? As long as it is neat and clean (like the OP mentioned, not a green Mohawk) and tied back when it needs to be, I don't see an issue with it nor there should be.

I had a luxuriant mane when I was in school. But our dress code was basically only "Pull up your pants and don't dress like a stripper'.

[Lace Neil Singer]

The fact is that the mother knew there was a dress code and chose to violate it. Dress codes may not seem fair, but there it is. When I was at school (and this is normal for most UK schools) I had to wear a uniform. So I can't really have much sympathy for people whining about dress codes in American schools, sorry.

[draggar]

I had a luxuriant mane when I was in school. But our dress code was basically only "Pull up your pants and don't dress like a stripper'.

... my principal went on the speaker system and said "no huggy bear kissy-face".

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Well, at the very least you're better equipped for ventriliquism. -.-

Okay, lookie here, you made me spew coffee TWICE within thirty seconds.

Which I guess means I need to start learning from my own screw ups.

Being in the SCA for thirty years, and also being an old metal head from the eighties, long hair does not even register as a gender identifying trait to me. That we are here in the year 2011 and people are still worrying about some fashion stigma from decades ago truly baffles me. Hair should be clean, and it should be free of creepy crawlies. Beyond that, I don't get why it would even occur to anyone to make a fuss over it.

Long hair on a man has been in and out of fashion for hundreds of years. Why is it such a big deal that people are hassling children about it?

[Rageaholic]

If its okay for girls, why is it not okay for boys?

I never thought of it like that. I think it's just another social construct to tell boys and girls apart. Even though I wouldn't want long hair myself, I think these constructs are outdated.

Anyway, if that was me, I would be more inclined to make my hair long. Not to rebel against "the man" but to get free days off of school.

[Jester]

I have to side with the school district here. I mean, seriously? Long hair on boys? This is hardly a good example to set. I mean, think of some of the troublemakers history has given us that, at one point or more in their lives, wore their hair long:

Jim Morrison.
Howard Stern.
Axl Rose.
Slash.
Bob Marley.
Jimi Hendrix.
Johnny Depp.
David Beckham.
Tom Brady.
Troy Polamalu.
Pat Tillman.
George Carlin.
John Lennon.
Paul McCartney.
George Harrison.
Ringo Starr.
William Wallace.
Albert Einstein.
Saladin.
Archimedes.
Rene Descartes.
Blaise Pascal.
Nicolaus Copernicus.
John Milton.
Rembrandt.
Isaac Newton.
Oscar Wilde.
Ludwig von Beethoven.
Leonardo da Vinci.
Samson.
Benjamin Franklin.
George Washington.
Thomas Jefferson.
John Hancock.
Moses.
Jesus.

Long hair on a guy? Not only is it ridiculous, it is clearly a recipe for failure and shame.

[Ginger Tea]

What if girls had 'boy' hair cuts, would they send them home till it grew out again?

It just screams "your dressing your child in pink/blue is going to mess with his/her gender identity."

[Lace Neil Singer]

A five year old hardly has feelings about rebelliousness and identity, tho. This is clearly the mother projecting her own desires on to her son. When he gets old enough for his own identity, who's to say he won't cut his hair and take the earring out?

[anakhouri]

I agree that if the mother wants the dress code altered she needs to go through the correct channels. I kind of feel like she has a right to complain (to the proper people) since this is a public school and, as far as I know, people don't generally have a choice which public school their kids attend (if it was a private school she CHOSE and then violated the dress code, I would have little sympathy for her).

However, my point was that the dress code is dumb. Navy blue pants and a white shirt? OK. No midriff tops or nose rings? OK? A little boy's hair isn't even as long as the Beatles' back in the day (seriously, it looks like it MIGHT touch his collar)? Idiotic.

And a kid of six can tell you what he wants regarding his appearance; my friend's 3-year-old asked to have his hair cut a couple weeks ago (it was also long, but she honored his wishes and cut it).

I am not commenting on the earring, because I think piercing a baby's ears is stupid, but if girls can wear them why not boys?

[MadMike]

It is OK for girls to have long hair but not guys?

See, that's the biggest problem I have with it -- apparently you can have long hair or a dick, but not both. I guess you have to cut one of them off.

We had a manager like that at my job who had a huge problem with long hair on guys. For some reason, he would never say anything to my face, but his lackey used to really pressure one of my coworkers about his long hair. One day, he even went as far as to promise him a promotion if he got his hair cut. So he got his hair cut, and got completely screwed on the promotion. If I had any respect at all for that manager, I lost it after that.

Thankfully, that manager is gone and I'm still there.

[Eisa]

That's my problem, too. Why can't boys have long hair? Can girls have short hair? Is there like some minimum hair length to be a girl and maximum hair length to be a boy? WTF?

[blas87]

For some reason, if a girl gets flack for having short hair, she can scream she was called a dyke and Ellen and all kinds of other stuff, meanwhile a guy is pretty defenseless against the whole thing.