Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

High and Tight, Please: Self-explanations for Experiencing Short Haircuts as Erotic

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Sexuality & Culture Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sexologists have infrequently asked individuals to describe what led them to their sexual desires. In this study, 264 men and 7 women answered a questionnaire about their sexual interest in short haircuts on men, part of which asked them about any events or ideas they had that might explain their sexual desires. Surprisingly, a substantial minority of the men desired women as sexual partners. Almost 80% of the participants provided responses, which were examined for themes related to what might have caused their sexual interest in short haircuts on men, resulting in 16 themes, most of which help explain why short haircuts became objects of interest and fascination. The 10 most common themes are presented in detail, and a general theory about how sexual desires develop is provided that may explain how something, including another person, becomes an object of sexual desire.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Availability of Data and Material

Due to promise of anonymity to participants, original data are not available for others; however, anonymized transcripts can be provided.

References

  • Bem, D. J. (1996). Exotic becomes erotic: A developmental theory of sexual orientation. Psychological Review, 103, 320–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bensie, D. M. (2011). Shorn: Toys to men. Seattle: Coffeetown Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Binet, A. (1887). Du fétichisme dans l’amour [Fetishism in love]. Revue Philosophique de la France et L’étranger, 12, 143–167.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boratav, H. B. (2006). Making sense of heterosexuality: An exploratory study of young heterosexual identities in Turkey. Sex Roles, 54, 213–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butler, J. (1988). Performative acts and gender constitution: An essay in phenomenology and feminist theory. Theatre Journal, 40, 519–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, B. C., Prossinger, H., & Mbzivo, M. (2005). Timing of pubertal maturation and the onset of sexual behavior among zimbabwe school boys. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 24(5), 505–516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carson, W., Christopher, J., & James, M. (1970). Always on my mind [Recorded by Pet Shop Boys.] On Introspective [CD]. London: Advision & Sarm West. (Recorded 1987–1988).

  • Cole, S. (2008). Hair and male (homo) sexuality. In G. Biddle-Perry & S. Cheang (Eds.), Hair: Styling, culture and fashion (pp. 81–95). Oxford: Berg.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, W. (1971). Hair: Sex, society, symbolism. New York: Stein & Day.

    Google Scholar 

  • Docter, R. F. (1988). Transvestites and transsexuals: Toward a theory of cross-gender behavior. New York: Plenum.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dolgin, K., Price, D., & Hollmeyer, E. (2002). Ages and stages: Is that the same child I taught last year? The adolescent student. The American Music Teacher, 52(2), 33–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eliason, M. (1995). Accounts of sexual identity formation in heterosexual students. Sex Roles, 32, 821–834.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, A. L., & Mitchell, R. W. (1999). Sexual orientation. In F. Muscarella & L. Szuchman (Eds.), Psychological perspectives on human sexuality (pp. 196–231). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1925/1962). Three essays on the theory of sexuality. New York: Basic Books.

  • Gagnon, J. H. (1974). Scripts and the coordination of sexual conduct. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 1973(21), 27–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ganna, A., Verweij, K. J. H., Nivard, M. G., Maier, R., Wedow, R., Busch, A. S., et al. (2019). Large-scale GWAS reveals insight into the genetic architecture of same-sex sexual behavior. Science, 365(6456), eaat7693. Retreived September 14, 2019, from http://science.sciencemag.org/.

  • Giambra, L. M. (1974). Daydreaming across the life span: Late adolescent to senior citizen. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 5(2), 115–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goisauf, M., Akyüz, K., & Martin, G. M. (2020). Moving back to the future of big data-driven research: Reflecting on the social in genomics. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 7(55), 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gold, S. R., & Gold, R. G. (1991). Gender differences in first sexual fantasies. Journal of Sex Education and Therapy, 17, 207–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grant, V. W. (1949). A fetishistic theory of amorous fixation. Journal of Social Psychology, 30, 17–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammack, P. L. (2005). The life course development of human sexual orientation: An integrative paradigm. Human Development, 48, 267–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hauser, R. (1994). Krafft-Ebing’s psychological understanding of sexual behaviour. In R. Porter & M. Teich (Eds.), Sexual knowledge, sexual science (pp. 210–227). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Healy, M. (1996). Gay skins: Class, masculinity and queer appropriation. London: Cassell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heartwell, P. (Ed.). (2015). A little off the top: Stories of haircuts, barbers, and barber shops. Published by the author.

  • Hirschfeld, M. (1948). Sexual anomalies. New York: Emerson Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann, H. (2012). Considering the role of conditioning in sexual orientation. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41, 63–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan-Young, S. (2010). Brain storm: The flaws in the science of sex difference. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Junginger, J. (1997). Fetishism: Assessment and treatment. In D. R. Laws & W. O’Donohue (Eds.), Sexual deviance: Theory, assessment, and treatment (pp. 92–110). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahr, B. (2009). Who’s been sleeping in my head? The secret world of sexual fantasies. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. B., & Martin, C. E. (1948). Sexual behavior in the human male. Philadelphia: Saunders.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klinger, E. (1971). Structure and functions of fantasy. New York: Wiley Interscience.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kogan, I., & Schneider, C. (2002). The Nazi heritage and gender identity. Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 4, 49–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krafft-Ebing, R. von (1886/1978). Psychopathia sexualis. New York: Scarborough Book, Stein and Day.

  • Langevin, R. (1983). Sexual strands. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leitenberg, H., & Henning, C. (1995). Sexual fantasy. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 469–496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lowe, S. (2016). Hair. New York: Bloomsbury Academic.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Maddock, J. W. (1973). Sex in adolescence: Its meaning and its future. Adolescence, 8(31), 325–342.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mares, W. (1971). Marine machine: The making of the United States marine. New York: Doubleday.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGuire, R. J., Carlisle, J. M., & Young, B. G. (1965). Sexual deviations as conditioned behaviour: A hypothesis. Behavioral Research and Therapy, 2, 185–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, B. C., & Benson, B. (1999). Romantic and sexual relationship development during adolescence. In W. Furman, B. B. Brown, & C. Feiring (Eds.), The development of romantic relationships in adolescence (pp. 99–121). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mills, M. C. (2019). How do genes affect same-sex behavior? Genetic loci linked with same-sex behavior cannot predict orientation of individuals. Science, 365(6456), 869–870.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Money, J. (1988). Lovemaps and paraphilia. Gay, straight, and in-between (pp. 126–185). Oxford: Oxford UP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Person, E. S. (1995). By force of fantasy: How we make our lives. New York: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfaus, J. G., Quintana, G. R., Mac Cionnaith, C. E., Gerson, C. A., Dubé, S., & Coria-Avila, G. A. (2020). Conditioning of sexual interests and paraphilias in humans is difficult to see, virtually impossible to test, and probably exactly how it happens: A comment on Hsu and Bailey (2020). Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49, 1403–1407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, A. (2007). The erotic life of electric hair clippers: A social history. In C. Calhoun & R. Sennett (Eds.), Practicing culture (pp. 193–214). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Purcell, C. E., & Arrigo, B. A. (2006). The psychology of lust murder: Paraphilia, sexual killing, and serial homicide. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rabinowitz, J. (1984). The haircut: Its meaning in childhood. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 1, 270–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rich, A. (1980/1983). Compulsory heterosexuality and lesbian experience. In A. Snitow, C. Stansell, & S. Thompson (eds.), Powers of desire: The politics of sexuality (pp. 177–205). New York: Monthly Review Press.

  • Ridgeon, L. (2010). Shaggy or shaved? Symbolism of hair among Persian Qalandar Sufis. Iran and the Caucasus, 14, 233–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saghir, M. T., & Robins, E. (1973). Male and female homosexuality. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Savin-Williams, R. C. (1997). “…And then I became gay”: Young men’s stories. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singer, J. L. (1976). Daydreaming and fantasy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sorensen, R. C. (1973). Adolescent sexuality in contemporary America: Personal values and sexual behavior ages thirteen to nineteen. New York: World Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stekel, W. (1930). Sexual aberrations. New York: Liveright.

    Google Scholar 

  • Storms, M. D. (1981). A theory of erotic orientation development. Psychological Review, 88, 340–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Synnott, A. (1987). Shame and glory: A sociology of hair. The British Journal of Sociology, 38, 381–413.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thorne, B., & Luria, Z. (1986). Sexuality and gender in childhood. Social Problems, 33, 176–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trousdale, W. (2010). Military high schools in America. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Overbeek, W. (1982). Aggies: Life in the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M. Austin: Texas Monthly Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weinberg, M. S., Williams, C. J., & Calhan, C. (1995). “If the shoe fits …”: Exploring male homosexual foot fetishism. Journal of Social Research, 32, 17–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whatley, M. H. (1988). Schooling in the postmodern age. The Journal of Education, 170(3), 100–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, G. L., Fishbein, S., & Rutstein, J. (1981). Passionate love and the misattribution of arousal. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41(1), 56–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, C. J., & Weinberg, M. S. (2003). Zoophilia in men: A study of sexual interest in animals. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 32, 523–535.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wyngaard, A. S. (2006). The fetish in/as text: Rétif de la Bretonne and the development of modern sexual science and French literary studies, 1887–1934. PMLA, 121(3), 662–686.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yost, M. R., & Hunter, L. E. (2012). BDSM practitioners’ understandings of their initial attraction to BDSM sexuality: Essentialist and constructionist narratives. Psychology & Sexuality, 3(3), 244–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

I greatly appreciate the assistance provided by Butch, the webmaster of the THCsite, as well as the time participants took to answer the questionnaire and the candor with which they offered their self-reflections about the causes of their sexual desires. I also appreciate comments on earlier versions of the manuscript from Linda Phillips, Catherine Clement, Ron Mawby, and anonymous reviewers.

Funding

This research received no funding.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY, 40475, USA

    Robert W. Mitchell

Authors
  1. Robert W. Mitchell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert W. Mitchell.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

I have no conflict of interests/competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mitchell, R.W. High and Tight, Please: Self-explanations for Experiencing Short Haircuts as Erotic. Sexuality & Culture 25, 1397–1427 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-021-09815-y

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-021-09815-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation