In the this NFL season , all star quarterback Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, started growing his hair, since his wife asked him to grow his hair and keep it long. As the hair grew longer fans started comparing Brady to Justin Bieber, questioning the quarterback’s manliness and ridiculing him. After a couple of weeks the hair grew long enough that the helmet could not contain it. Brady’s hair became a joke by fellow teammates who were not accustomed to seeing their leader with long golden locks swaying as he played football. Also the media took great notice, from sports analysis taking about Brady’s hair instead of how well he played on the field, to newspapers, and magazines writing articles about the hair and hair cut options. All this comes down to the media, in the media most women are shown with long hair and in this case Tom with long hair seemed feminine and less manly since football players are shown as tough men.
The way feel about this, is the media is hyping up the hair too much, by having sports analysis talking about hair and not the game. Also your appearance is your business and other people should not intervene in your personal life.
My questions are: What are your opinions about Mr. Brady’s hair does it makes him less manly?
Do men all have to have short hair to accepted as profession athletes who are serious of about their careers?
Questions for the guy (sorry ladies) if you started growing your hair long would you get harassed to get a hair cut by friends and family?
The way feel about this, is the media is hyping up the hair too much, by having sports analysis talking about hair and not the game. Also your appearance is your business and other people should not intervene in your personal life.
My questions are: What are your opinions about Mr. Brady’s hair does it makes him less manly?
Do men all have to have short hair to accepted as profession athletes who are serious of about their careers?
Questions for the guy (sorry ladies) if you started growing your hair long would you get harassed to get a hair cut by friends and family?
Final question if Mr. Brady was a female with long hair and cut his hair very short do you think the media would react the same way and make head lines.
I don’t think his hair is going to make him less manly. He’s still playing the same it’s just the fact that he’s trying something different that everyone is teasing him for it. I think that his teammates are just playing around with him but the media takes everything too far. They always try to hype things up just like you said. Sometimes people’s hair can get in the way when there playing a sport. All you have to do is tie your hair back its no big deal. If I started growing my hair my dad would definitely tell me to cut it but I don’t think I would get harassed by anyone for growing my hair. I would probably get teased about it by my peers and that’s all. At the end of the day it all comes down to how an individual takes criticism. I think the media would react the same or worse if a woman cut her hair off because when Solange cut her hair everybody was questioning her about it until she came on Oprah. But if they cut their hair off like Britney Spears than the media will definitely hype the stories up and make a big ruckus about it.
ReplyDeleteI don't think if his hair make him look less manly. He is not the only one in this world who has long hair. There are so many other guys with long hair too. The media doesn't make fun of regular men who are not famous. The reason why the media only make fun of the famous individuals is because they want to make money of that. For example, if you see a magazine cover saying "Will Mr. Brady become another Justin Bieber". If you see this then you will want to buy the magazine because it grabbed your attention. This is how they make money. Media uses microscopes to find a little negative side and uses that to make money. Just because media says that he looks more feminine, it doesn't mean that he actually is. He never actually said that he is trying to become feminine or wants to be gay.
ReplyDeleteThis has influence on other players as well. When a player hears that the media was making fun of Mr. Brady then there is a good chance that he will not have long hair. He would not want to be the target. He will be used as an object for companies to make profit. He will also think that having long hair will affect his career.
If Mr. Brady was a female and he cut his hair very short then media would still make fun of him. I think that this is the little cycle of media. If a man has long hair then they will call him a female. If a female has short hair they will call her a male. This cycle keeps their business running. At the end, they just want money and for this they can cross many lines.
(By: Raisa)
I don't think his long hair makes him any less of a man. It's not hair that makes a person; it's about how their character is.
ReplyDeleteI don't think all men should have to have short hair in order to be accepted as professional athletes; they should be judged based on their athletic abilities.
Football is considered to be one of the most male oriented and manly sports in the world. Tom Brady has been riduculed by the media due to his choice of hairstyle because as you said the media picks on the tiny characterstics of a celebrity in order to have their newest pray to pick on. Toms hair doesnt make him any less of a man because it makes him more of man in the sense that even though hes been getting bad vibes and taunts he sticks with his personal decisions and doesnt get persuaded otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI dont believe any athlete who is professionally serious about their career should have to subject themslves to one appearnce to get far in life. Every individual is intilted to their own sense of style and if growing out your hair makes you feel unique then by all means contiune your growth. In my own past experiences ive seen that in my household hair growth for males is a absolute no and Toms choice of hair grooming would not be accepeted in my group of friends and with my parents.
If Tom had been a female then I believe the media would have a totally diffrent reacton to cutting his hair super short. In this day an age its socially accepted for females to experiment with diffrent types of looks, colors, and lenghts. An example would be Pop star Rihanna who has exposed the modern short hairstyle to many females. Women I would say have more flexibilty in their apperance and the way the media, while men would be percived as diffrent titles if they make the slightest change in their apperance.
In response to your last question, I don’t think the media would react in the same way. She wouldn’t be considered as being more “manly” with shorter hair. In fact cutting long hair short for women, known as the tom boy cut or pixie cut is a popular trend. An example of this would be celebrity Emma Watson cutting her long hair very short. She even commented in saying that it was a “liberating” experience. Her new look received many positive remarks. The point is that it is generally accepted in our society for women to cut their hair very short. Funny enough whenever a female does something that is attributed to what our society perceives as “manly” she is dubbed a tomboy but for males with attributes considered “feminie” (ex. long hair) it is perceived with negativity, even though the term tomboy holds no negative connotation towards it.
ReplyDeleteThis is the same "majority rules" idea. When the majority of men have short hair cuts that one "different" individuals becomes a target to pick on. Logically speaking, these fans/commentators should have the common sense to understand that a person's hair style has no impact of their athletic capabilities.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your final question: The trends and styles change as decades pass by. Yesterday's norm is today's anti-norm. It is important for the athlete to understand this and just be who they want to be. If we look back at the 70s, we would see a lot of men with longer hair styles(don't quote me on this one). If we look at the 90s we would see a baggy clothing style, rather than the close fitted look we have today. This is why I think that if a woman was in the shoes of this football player, her long hair would not raise any eyebrows, simply because long hair has become the norm for females of the 21st century.
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ReplyDeleteActually Safar I would argue that long hair for females is Not the norm in today’s society rather more and more females are sporting much shorter haircuts as opposed to the past. Longer hair was probably the norm in the past as it was traditionally considered more attractive. But in this day in age, what is considered "attractive" is being redefined and short haircuts are becoming a very popular trend. There wouldn’t be as much a fuss if Mr. Brady was a female because it has become socially acceptable for females to cut their hair very short. But that’s not to say that the media wouldn’t also discuss her haircut instead of her accomplishments as an athlete. Though her haircut would probably be discussed in a more positive light, magazines for women would issue articles like “How to get (Ms.Brady’s?) edgy new haircut”
ReplyDeleteI personally like his long hair! It is totally wrong to consider whether long hair makes a man "manly!" If people are commenting on the fact that long hair doesn't make you manly enough to be a football player, than maybe they ran out of topics to gossip about! When I say "gossip" I don't mean women gossiping, I mean anyone! Men or women!
ReplyDeleteNo I don't think men should have short hair to be serious about his career, it is totally wrong.
Yes, everyone will make it a BIG deal! Everyone is making Emma Watson's new look a huge topic! She wanted a change, and that's why she went for a short haircut!
I agree with Halimo's argument. It's not fair to say that because he has long hair he's feminine. More and more women seem to be sporting shorter hair nowadays and nobody blames them for being too "manly". I believe everyone has the right to express their individuality, and if Mr. Brady chooses to have long hair he should without people making a big deal out of it. Like Mohamed said earlier, when someone does something different, it's put on blast.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is absurd that a man should cut his hair down to a smaller proportion, just because it apparently makes him look more ''manly''. Yet it is of no surprise that the media is out on this kind of witch-hunt, they have simply run out of news so they go for what they can find.
ReplyDeleteIts funny how male celebs like Johnny Depp are complimented for their long flowy hair yet this athlete is getting bashed? But than again this all falls back to media and their influences on the public. If the media hadn't talked about his hair style than people wouldn't mind his image nor question his manliness. Its the medias job to spark controversy in order to make more money. But i guess considering that football is a male dominated sport consisting of big tough men, people are entitled to start rumors regarding his manliness. I don't think this makes him less manly because his hair style doesnt effect his performance on the field. We have female celebs such as Halle Berry and Amber Rose who aren't critisized for having short hair but probably would have been bashed 20 years ago since short hair wasn't the norm at that time.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, men having long hair isn't really feminine. That's like saying women can't have short hair, but there are females out there with short hair and are criticized about it. But the way you look shouldn't change the person you are. It's not like Tom having long hair makes him a weaker player. I think he's one of the greatest Quarterbacks that played the game. (Next to the Manning brothers) I don't think it makes him look less manly.
ReplyDeleteI think in any athletic association, it's a better idea to have shorter hair, just so they can move quick. And the hair wouldn't hold back their game. But there are still many players that have long hair. If the media has a problem with Brady's hair, why is that they can accept black males that have long braids or dreadlocks? Wouldn't that be considered less manly according to the media?
If I was to grow my hair, I wouldn't care what people thought, but I would probably be accused of being a girl for having long hair. I know my parents wouldn't accept it!
If Brady was a female, and he was to have shorter hair, the media would definitely make it a big deal. Just because the media likes to portray everything that occurs with well known people. (Actors/Actresses, Athletes, etc.)
Got Long Hair? Just Don't Care :)
1) I do not think Brady's longer hair makes him less manly, I kind of like it :)
ReplyDelete2) To be considered a professional athlete depends on how good an athlete's skill and character is in general. It has nothing to do with their appearance or sense of style. They're playing a game...not modeling. If they want to grow out their hair, why should anyone stop them?
last) If Brady was a girl...and she cut her hair really short, I don't think the media would make a big deal out of it at all. Women today have a lot of freedom with their appearance. Changing their hair is like an adventure. For example, Emma Watson recently cut her hair into a small pixie cut as many celebrity women are doing today. The media will definitely pick up on the change and even remark on its suitability, but the women aren't ridiculed as Brady is here because 1)he is male 2)an athlete.
Wow judging by what most of you guys said, I concur that the long hair does not make Mr. Brady less manly. Also the norm about hair styles changing over time, I never thought of that and makes, sense like in the 80’s guys had long hair and people were cool about it. Also mentioning Emma Watson she really got ripped by the media by shortening her hair, which was the opposite of that Tom did, but I guess if your famous the media, paparazzi, or sports analysis, will find any way to criticize you
ReplyDeleteHonestly the media is RIDICULOS!!!!
ReplyDeletewho cares what length the boy's hair is, its just another method for the industry to become rich and wealthy, and people can purchanse their magazine and read the lattest gossip. In due time this all shall pass!!!
However the media can go both ways, Rhianna for wxample with her hit cd good girl gone bad transformed herself. We all new her as the island beauty. However she underwent many crazy hairstyles to which she became a trend setter.
Answering your last question, I think the initial media reaction to the change in hairstyle would be the same. I remember when Rihanna cut her hair, everybody was thinking "she went crazy getting rid of all that hair. It will take forever to grow back". I think the reason for such a reaction is that it is predominately men that have short hair and women that have long hair. It is seen as normal and people don't want to steer away from what's normal and comfortable to them.
ReplyDelete