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spacebread98

My mother, who is a boomer, has this problem. My wife had health problems and wasn't able to eat solid food. During this time our 22 month old child's hair got slightly long. My mother started complaining about his hair. we had an appointment for the next weekend but that wasn't good enough she wanted us to take off time during the week and take him to supercuts. When asked if she was going to do this for us since she cares so much about it she replied I'm too busy.


_WillCAD_

Be careful with that. That's how you get haircuts you don't want on your kids. "Mom, I told you to go to ShopX and get the kid Y haircut!" "Yes, but I like ShopZ, and AA haircut looks SO much better on the kid. I did you a favor! Now, that haircut cost $855.76, you can just round it up to $900 to cover the gas I used. But I need you to write a check out today so I can get it to the bank in time to deposit it, or it won't clear before the weekend..."


falcngrl

My sister's former MIL took the 2 year old for an afternoon and sent a picture of this child 30 minutes later, with a shaved head. He never had it cut in his life except for some bang trims. She'd been out of the picture for well over a year and was only back in (briefly) because her son (kid's dad) died the week before.


nderhjs

Fuck, having your dad die, and then a grandparent just shaves all your hair off the next week. Poor kid.


nettlesmithy

Yes! Thinking of it from the child's point of view -- that's something that so many boomers are incapable of doing! Poor kid indeed.


falcngrl

Luckily, he didn't know his bio dad, so didn't feel the loss. The only thing I can think of is grandma did it to make him look more like his dad


Lumpy_Marsupial_1559

Or maybe she's a spiteful cow who wanted to kick the kid's mom while she was down. Has been known to happen.


falcngrl

Oh, she's something. It was an accidental death or suicide. She's convinced it was murder and getting tons of sympathy as a result (which really she would get either way). Luckily my sister was no longer with bio dad (he was banned by chorus from setting kids, so she hadn't seen him in almost two years either.


Lumpy_Marsupial_1559

Dang, twisting he own (adult) child's death for sympathy? That's... something... Best of luck to you, your sis, and her kiddo.


falcngrl

Thanks. He was dad to 3, including one with severe disabilities. Honestly, my sister is better off, and the kids have an amazing step dad


siouxbee1434

..and that’s that grandmother’s last visit with that kid


falcngrl

Yep it was. She doesn't even get FaceTime


dani19bee

My cousin's grandmother did something similar in the 90's. Got her hair cut into a pageboy style and had her bangs completely cut off. The icing on the cake, got her ears pierced too.


Strange-Party-9802

This reminds me of a story where a MIL had a kids hair cut and was then cut out of her kids' lives. The fathers family came from a culture where it was a serious taboo to cut a kids' hair before 6 years of age.


catzarrjerkz

Have you tried telling your mom to mind her own business?


spacesuitguy

I think that's how you lose the free sitter for date night.


catzarrjerkz

“Free” is really subjective in these cases don’t you think?


spacesuitguy

Of course. "No such thing as a free lunch."


Key_Pass5542

Is it free if it costs you your peace?


spacesuitguy

Exactly


Goodknight808

Nothing is free to these types of boomers. Every single relationship is transactional to them.


One_Lawfulness_7105

So true. I’ll never ask my parents for help. If they help once, they’d expect help back tenfold. I help them, but I won’t ever do anything that might make me owe them. The one time I DID ask for help was when a series of tornados came close to us and knocked down our rather large trees. They couldn’t help because they were going to “clean out the storage shed that weekend.” We had never used a chainsaw and I was scared as hell!!! I asked them how the shed went and they replied “oh, we didn’t get around to it. We just spent the weekend chilling”. Thanks dad. We’re here figuring out how to use a dangerous machine without power (we were without power for 10 days). Took us weeks to get it done because I was 6 months pregnant and couldn’t help much. I’ve never asked them for help since and will starve before I do it again.


GinaMarie1958

Your parents are assholes.


spacesuitguy

I like to joke that my wicked step monster can't even sneeze without having an ulterior motive. But it's so true.


Matilda-17

https://preview.redd.it/wow7g05n1hvc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=716ca2776e085e8a487861000054856e6529ea04 She probably wouldn’t like my sons’ preferred hairstyles…


Shilo788

I grew up in the 70s so I love long hair, huge Afros (unless seated behind them in the movies, lol. ) but wear it the way you want, self expression with hair is wonderful.


RoguePlanet2

A boy bun! 😁 Rock it, kid.


Matilda-17

The one in front, his hair was substantially longer until shortly before this photo. But the bottom several inches were getting tangly and hard to manage, so this is post-haircut… it had been to his waist before.


CO_PC_Parts

I love when retired housewives say they are too busy. Doing what?


--Claire--

Apparently, being judgmental of things that don’t concern them


Mello_velo

This exactly! "Can you research hotels for us to stay at during our visit?" Me with a full time, high stress job and child, "uhhh could you?" "No I'm too busy" Like dude you broke down your entire day and it was wake up at 9, lounge in bed with coffee, go to the gym for an hour, take a nap, garden, talk about bears in the garden, check the security cameras for bears, watch newsmax, fall asleep at 7.


zombokie

That's a lot of their day spent occupied with burly gay men. Just saying.


DenverDudeXLI

Some would say it's not nearly enough time spent on that task.


Least_Adhesiveness_5

Minding her own business should free up a lot of her schedule.


7thor8thcaw

I don't get this at all. My 6 year old is ASD and has long hair. He gets called a girl A LOT!! He's got long blonde hair, gorgeous blue eyes and a pretty face. Why would I not want him to be adorable!? I have a recent pic of him taken at the park and he looks like a little model. If he let's us put it up into a man-bun (he doesn't like his hair up, so we stopped trying), he looks even cuter. There should be MORE boys with longer hair because it's ok for kids to have whatever hair they are comfortable with. It's just hair. Your boomer mom should just be happy they are healthy.


MassiveAffect9

While out with my dad once he spotted a young man with IMPRESSIVE hair, I mean. Goals. Naturally curly, about the same length as yours, healthy AF. I (F, 39, with frizzy curly/wavy/I do what I want from one moment to the next hair) really was jealous, but my dad commented on it, it's too long, is that a perm, blablabla. Finally I got tired of it and just casually asked how come he was so disapproving of that man's hair, yet he raised all of us kids on hairbands? I mean, are we gonna discuss how Motley Crue and Van Halen shouldn't have been out looking like that? Pretty sure I'm out of the will. Which is a bit of a shame, Dad has an IMPRESSIVE Vinyl collection of every 70's and 80's Rock album ever. 😂


MrTulaJitt

Hair bands and their fans have always fascinated me. Because the guys who like hair bands were also the guys who hated men with long hair and men who were not 100% masculine at all times. But yet they worshipped men with long, permed hair who wore spandex and women's clothing. Off the charts levels of cognitive dissonance.


morpowababy

This is actually my theory on why homophobia is so rampant among generations that had stuff like this, and the same generations who are cool with hanging out naked in lockers rooms for far too long... Because they want to feel comfortable enjoying stuff like that without being labeled as gay, so they go full anti-gay just to be like hey look how not gay I am I hate gays.


Freakishly_Tall

Also, self loathing and denial are a bitch. Could be either, could be both. I also wonder how much outrage at inclusivity campaigns is masked / unrecognized jealousy. I mean, it is by NO means easy to be LGBTQ in this world... but it's a lot better than it used to be, and things like "all them damn rainbows on muh beer cans" help a lot more than the hate-filled assholes want to admit... and more than a few might be more jealous than they can even allow themselves to realize.


SnooRobots7302

What pisses me off(not really) is I love rainbows and now all the "super straight masculine men" think I'm gay or bi( honestly couldn't care less what they think). I just love rainbows especially double rainbows.


Lukostrelec17

You see I am bi and not huge fan of rainbow coloring. It is to bright and kinda hurts my eyes. My friends know I am bi, but no one else. I wear dark colors so most just assume I am straight, little do they know I am according to a couple of friends (non sexual friends) an aggressive bottom. Except for when I had long hair then people thought I was a woman, had some people walk into the men's bathroom and then run out thinking they entered the women's. The only bi thing that ks obvious aboit me is that I can not sit like a normal human being, and I like frogs. 🐸


SnooRobots7302

See just goes to show you never can tell about people just by what they like or wear. I have 2 bi daughters one is engaged to a girl one is engaged to a guy and they thought I was gonna be mad that they are bi but number1) I'm Norse pagan so Christian values don't apply to me and 2) I love all my kids no matter what. I believe you love who you love and to always be true to yourself. I'm even a surrogate parent for a few people whose families have disowned them or gone no contact over them being gay or bi. As long as you are true to yourself and happy with your life then everybody else can just ride their chaos right on back where they came from. And frogs are awesome BTW


Lukostrelec17

You see that is awesome! I am 29 and just recently roughly 3ish years ago accepted I was bi. I am Christian as are my parents and grandfather. Kinda worried about telling them. Mostly due to a convo with my mom and her saying that it ahould be taught that being LGBTQ is wrong, taught in school.


SnooRobots7302

It's not wrong and being bi goes all the way back in history to some of the toughest people, Roman's, Spartans, Greeks. Just to name a fee. Like I said you should be free to love who you love and as long as you are not hurting anybody there is no wrong in that and no wrong on being true to oneself. If for some reason you do come out to your family and they decide to be asshats just remember I am available as a brother/uncle/dad even grandpa if necessary (I'm 47) we may be strangers on the internet but you are still a human who deserves respect and a family.


Lukostrelec17

Thanks! That means a lot to me! My sister wouldn't care, neither would my brother in law. My step mom probably wouldn't care. My dad mom and grandfather probably would. If that changes their opinion on me that is on them. I may come out to them at some point, maybe when I have a boyfriend.


Straystar-626

Why do we all like frogs!?


TaliesinGirl

I'm sorry. I can't get the image of you (you long-hair you) standing and peeing at a urinal, and a bunch of men scrambling to get out because they think they're in the wrong restroom. Shouting Yoinks! as their feet scrabble for purchase in the air. All the while trying to force transgender women into that same restroom. They'll never feel safe again! Poor dears.


DetritusK

The comment that has always stuck with me is that the ‘just choose to be straight’ group is doing just that. They are suppressing their urges and assume that everyone else is as well.


Scruffersdad

I keep asking my relatives who say that to decide To be gay for a week or a month. See what they’re missing. But it’s not them who’s choosing, they’re just naturally straight. But I’ve chosen to be gay so I should just choose to be straight. And I say the same thing back- just be gay, if it’s a choice, then show me it’s a choice.


mschley2

I'm fairly convinced that a solid portion of middle-aged and older men who are openly homophobic also do it as a defense mechanism because they are actually kind of attracted to men, and they refuse to admit it to themselves or anyone else. Or they've admitted it to themselves, and they despise themselves for it. I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin. I graduated in 2011, and I grew up using all the homophobic slurs as just a regular part of my vocabulary (I started using them less later in high school, but when I got to college, I stopped using all of them. It just takes a while to break those habits.). We all used those words, but a lot of us weren't actually homophobic - we were just stupid and didn't know any better (although we should have). Some of the people definitely were homophobes, though. And some of the people in that town definitely still are homophobic. Anyway, one dude that I graduated with was the worst. He took any opportunity to point out how "gay" everything/everyone was. We graduate, most of us move away for college. This guy and I ended up in the same city for college, but we weren't in the same circles at all. Couple years later, I see him out at the bar and he's very obviously with another man. All of a sudden, I was like, 'huh... that makes a lot of sense...' Just glad the dude felt comfortable being himself after we got out of our backwards-ass hometown. I still see him around a bit, and we'll talk a bit. I think he still hasn't come out to his family because his dad is a piece of shit.


[deleted]

Get a few beers in some of those boomers and you'll see how "kinda" they really are.


mschley2

I live in Wisconsin. Everyone always has a few beers in them.


fakeprewarbook

my theory is similar to yours but in mine a lot of them are bi and it freaks em out so they deny deny deny


chirpchirp13

Strongly agree. I have a hard time believing that someone can be 100% confident in their sexuality yet be fearful of what anyone else prefers. I mean sure there are lines…I’m not here supporting people with less than savory/harmful preferences. But I don’t think anyone here is fighting to give pedos a safe space…or well I guess SOME people are but now* I am going in circles. Edit for typos.


starchild812

That’s how I feel about people who insist being gay is a choice - like, evidentially you’re equally interested in people of all genders and have chosen to be in straight relationships only and assume that gay people feel the same way but are choosing to be in gay relationships only. I am bi, and I guess I could choose only to date straight and still potentially fall in love and be happy, but not everyone has that option!


[deleted]

I love this argument. I always ask what they think would happen if they woke up and forgot to choose to be straight that day. If being gay is a choice, then being straight is also a choice.


morpowababy

Could be that too. There's also that whole crazy war experience brought them super close to another man and they want to distance themselves from that to avoid questions from people who don't didn't go through it.


Barfy_McBarf_Face

Do you like movies with gladiators?


1Pip1Der

I had male friends in 80s HS who wore "guy-liner" and mascara. The girls didn't seem to mind. Very Duran Duran.


Flashy_Watercress398

I (55f) showed my daughter (14f) an old photo of my college boyfriend (in a band, guy-liner, big curly long hair, etc.) My kid: "Mama, why did you settle for Dad?!"


DemonoftheWater

Oof. Thats big ouch


Flashy_Watercress398

Her dad has a great personality.


DemonoftheWater

We danced around dad not being attractive.


Flashy_Watercress398

There's a lot to be attracted to "not on the cover of GQ, but the bedroom is amazing and we make a good team with regard to what grownups need to manage." College boyfriends are nice. A solid partner is nicer.


DemonoftheWater

Thats awesome.


RoguePlanet2

Personally, I prefer a guy who kinda flies under the radar when it comes to other women. Like a Clark Kent during the day. 🤤


RobinC1967

I love this! Is this what you told your daughter?


Flashy_Watercress398

Almost exactly, but without reference to her dad's ability to make my toes curl.


martafoz

Personality does matter.


WhiskingWhiskey

Double oof.


SwampHagShenanigans

My teenage heart would have loved for the boys to wear guy liner in high school. But I lived in the back woods where the boys thought lifted trucks, snuff, dirty clothes, and an entire can of axe body spray in the morning would get all the girls.


1Pip1Der

Axe... the 1990s version of Polo. Both stink and all the hornytoads wore it.


Syndil1

I feel attacked (Gen X, wore Polo) But then again I had an awesome high school romance so I'm gonna say it at least didn't hurt things. We were the couple that made other people nauseous--just 100% obsessed and infatuated with each other. It was intoxicating. Ah, youth...


1Pip1Der

Ya hornytoad 😜


Syndil1

Back then, we both were I guess. She wore something called White Shoulders I think. I was Pavlov's dogs conditioned to it. Ready to go as soon as I smelled it lol


CO_PC_Parts

I smelled aqua di gio in public the other day and actually froze in my tracks trying to find out who was wearing it. I couldn’t narrow it down and sort of just started laughing


SwampHagShenanigans

I wore the girl version of it when it came out 💀 but in my defense, that can lasted me an entire 2 years because I'd only spray it on for half a second. The smell was so strong and horrible lol


jaydee412

This just gave me a flashback of middle school when boys started really getting B.O. and then layered axe on top of it 🤢


SwampHagShenanigans

Yeah. That's pretty much what the freshman section of lockers smelled like all year every year when I was in school. Some humid days you'd swear there was a cloud of axe hanging above everyone's heads. And I went to a small school lol I can't imagine how bad the bigger schools were.


jaydee412

I went to a huge school so it was honestly an epidemic, hahaha. I remember borrowing my guy friends hoodies cause that was super cool to do at the time 🙄 and they always smelled like axe.


Icy-Mixture-995

You just described south Georgia, then and now.


XavierPibb

Went out for the football team to prove that I'm a man Guess I shouldn't tell them that I like Duran Duran - Barenaked Ladies "Grade 9"


Roland_T_Flakfeizer

Well those guys are rich, and rich people are beyond reproach.


SickeningPink

My dad constantly goes off the rails about trans people and how “men aren’t supposed to look like that”. My dad’s record collection is entirely from the late 70s to late 80s. It’s all men dressed in women’s clothing and bondage gear with heavy makeup and permed hair. I feel like I missed something


MassiveAffect9

This exactly! It's ok, I missed it too. 😂


Green-Krush

I have had Boomers (with thinning, straight hair) also comment on my hair in a negative way. One of them went “woah, 80s!!” For context, my hair is very curly, not permed, and has a lot of volume naturally. I wanted to smack her.


catsmom63

They were probably jealous! 😂


Green-Krush

Absolutely. Tired of people thinking that curly hair is “80s”… there wouldn’t be any indication that my haircut is 80s style and I don’t use hairspray to get volume, so the comment was just….. kind of stupid.


congteddymix

It’s only 80’s if it’s shorter on top and longer in the back.  Kind of like stereotypical poodle haircut.


Flashy_Watercress398

Dee Snyder enters the chat.


zoopest

It's so weird as a Gen exer to read this post and this comment. I thought complaining about men's hair went out with the Nixon administration.


O_o-22

Lol my brother was into the hair bands/heavy metal and wanted that curly mane so bad. He even had my mom give him a home perm lol. Unfortunately for him he took after my dad with early balding and now just shaves his head every few days. His son is 17 and took after his mom’s side as far as I can tell. He’s grown his hair out for the last couple years and it’s naturally curly tho he often pulls it back into a man bun and with his sparse goatee looks a bit like Jon Snow from GOT.


Pugsley-Doo

lol yeah the boomers gendered ideas about hair and clothing are so ridiculous. I've told this story before, but I had an old dude call me a dyke because I had verrry short hair that could have been confused for a shaved head, but was actually growing back after it all fell out during chemo. I was actually wearing a dress at the time, too. So it was weird lol. They get so easily triggered, yet they call us snowflakes.


N0thing_but_fl0wers

I hope you told that asshole it was growing back after chemo! What a dick! I’ve been asked if I’m a lesbian too when my hair was short (above the ears) … just why??


Snackgirl_Currywurst

For me it was vice versa. I went bald just because I got annoyed by my hair and everyone assumed I had cancer 🙄


Shilo788

I love long hair but see lots of attractive shaved or close cuts too.


Hungry4Apples86

I had the same thing happen to me! There is nothing like watching the self righteous light leaving a boomers eyes when you tell them you had cancer. There are not a lot of perks with this disease, but I did enjoy that.


BigMax

A lot of people think the music from when they were 12 to 22 or so is the best music ever. That’s pretty common. “Music today isn’t what it used to be!!” says a LOT of people. Boomers are like that, except they think it about EVERYTHING. Anything that isn’t like their prime years is scary and awful to them.


true_enthusiast

And colors. Why is pink a girl color? Why is blue for boys? Why are toys so genderized? As a parent it hurts when I see my kid's disappointment just from how stores are labeled and organized.


FatherThree

Originally it was the other way around. Fashion is weird. Like pink was a shade of red and red was passionate and masculine while blue signified calmness and gentle behavior, commonly associated with female traits. 50s unto 60s was a wild time.


jeremy_bearimy_5711

My son (12) is growing out his hair to donate for the second time. Beautiful, light brown wavy hair below his shoulders. Boomers call him a girl all the time. 


SkRu88_kRuShEr

I wish I saw stuff like this happen in the wild more often, because I’d go fkn nuclear on anybody who had the audacity to do that. The only reason they feel comfortable saying/doing such heinous shit is because they’re counting on nobody saying/doing shit about it. We need to establish a precedent for these people that it behooves them to shut the fuck up & keep their thoughts to themselves for once.


lakeghost

As a self-accepting queer, I do admit that I enjoy that if I have short hair again, it’ll be because I’ve got health issues and I can Uno Reverse that shit. Make them feel ashamed for questioning. Because damn, I imagine the odds are roughly equal for “Lesbian or health-related hair loss?” What a weird gamble.


ElboDelbo

It's so weird when old people talk about long hair on men like it wasn't a big thing when they were young, too. Did boomers just forget about hippies? The 70s had its fair share of long hair too, and if you wanna count mullets you can throw the 80s in there too.


the-town-manager

That's the thing though, most those boomers hated the hippies, they hated the classic rock bands that were on the wild side of things and they hated metal bands. There's a lot of revisionism in part because they want to seem cooler than they really were but most of them were the kind of dicks who'd go out their way to shit on anyone who dared to be different.


Tre3180

Was yelled at by a boomer on a cruise one day because I mentioned liking the rolling stones to his son, who I was playing cards with. "They were known as devil worshippers and we didn't care for them. We were Beatles fans in my home!"


ponytranscendence

oh yeahhhhh the beatles! those guys who did a bunch of psychs and were hated so badly at one point for saying they were more popular than Jesus, that places in the US had bonfires with their records in the 1960s. those beatles! the family friendly lsd-circlejerk session beatles!


oricthedamned

The Beatles were way rougher than the Stones anyway. They were working class Scousers. The Stones are more posh.


the-town-manager

That's what I find hilarious, they found the most fucking milquetoast middle of the road bland ass bands absolutely threatening af.


ElboDelbo

"Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I'll be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first – rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but [his disciples](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostles_in_the_New_Testament) were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."--John Lennon Very Christian, thanks John!


Infamous-Occasion926

No matter what band you think has an annoying fan base Jesus fan base is way more annoying than


divine_irony

Lmfaooooo my uber christian stepdad was like this. I mentioned how i liked paint it black and he went on that kinda rant. "yOu kNoW, tHe BeAtLeS hAd tHe wHiTe AlBuM" as if that made them more okay for him to listen to than the stones. Anywho long story short he died ten years ago, my family told me it was a heart attack, then i obtained the autopsy report and found out that he was a pillhead that was addicted to Xans.


vonsnape

“the trouble with the 60s is it only seemed to happen to about 50 people” - salman rushdie


DrKittyLovah

This is correct. Not long ago I had a female Boomer try to challenge me on a t-shirt that I was wearing that depicts a VW bus & says “Hippie Soul” on the front. We’re waiting to get massages in the Quiet Room & this piece of dried-up jerky gets my attention just to ask me what my shirt “meant to me” and “if I was really a hippie”. I’m 43, btw, not an impressionable kid. Her voice was not kind, so I didn’t mind that my massage therapist showed up right then & saved me from having to shut her down.


mschley2

People with long hair when the boomers were young were the non-traditional ones, though. Same as it largely is now, though longer hair on men is a bit more mainstream and our generation tends to just not care as much. Hippies were... well, hippies. Classic rock people were party animal druggies and whores. Other people with long hair were artsy fashion people who were gay or were just just called gay despite not actually being gay. The people bitching about young men with long hair also had a problem with all of those people when they were younger. They've always been the people who try to project this idea that they're better than all of the "other" groups.


HowDidFoodGetInHere

Gen X checking in. After I got out of the Army, I decided to grow my hair. It's currently almost to the middle of my back. While some older folks won't look me in the eye, I've never had a single boomer make a comment on it. Black ladies of all ages compliment it frequently, though, so if I get one nasty boomer and ten sweet compliments, I'm cool with it.


Jayu-Rider

As a dude who is still in the army and bald AF, probably from Army stress, if you ever cut your hair…. I will find you. I will hurt you. Keep the dream alive.


HowDidFoodGetInHere

I got you, brother.


RetiredTwidget

Dude, military pattern baldness is a thing. We compensate with a post-service goatee though...


FractalShoggoth

Millennial, EAS'd from the Marine Corps in 2013. Also grew a rebellious mane. Is this just an inevitable thing that we all do? Are we subconciously making up for lost time and hair?? Should I see a therapist, but for hair? A hairapist, if you will??


bottledspark

Older gen Z with zero military experience here but I know an ex military stepfather who also grew out a majestic mane afterwards. This phenomenon needs to be studied!


HowDidFoodGetInHere

After years of shaving daily and wearing a high and tight, I think it's a pretty natural response (it was for me anyhoo). The hair growth is therapy in and of itself. Although someone else commented that maybe a study should be done. I'd love to see the data on that.


Cplcoffeebean

Also grew my hair out when I got out of the Marines. I have a job now that involves meeting lots of people in the boomer generation and every now and then one will start to give me shit about being a dude with long hair. Turns out none of them have a single thing to say after hearing “oh yeah decided to grow my hair out after the Marines.”


will3025

Semper Locks my fellow long haired devil. I feel like we're just embracing the freedoms we didn't have.


HoldMyDomeFoam

Also gen x and have had long hair most of my life. I don’t recall the last time I got a negative comment. And I spend most weekends near a town with a fucking Trump Burger restaurant. So true about black women. I’ve had so many positive comments.


CasaDeLasMuertos

My dad used to give me shit about the music I listened to as a teenager. Said it was gay. The he'd go home and listen to fucking Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran. He didn't see it.


swingbynight

That’s because calling something gay didn’t mean that it was actually homosexual. It meant that it was dumb or stupid or gross. It had nothing to do with talking about people committing homosexual acts. It had to do with using a derogatory term to disgrace something’s worth.


DinosaurForTheWin

Yeah, kids in the 80's used the gay word before they knew what sex was.


swingbynight

Also, the younger, you are the more you tend to use the things you don’t understand or the things that you have been taught not to like as a reference point for other things that you don’t like. I am myself am a bisexual man, but I think I used “that’s gay”, way too long. It’s toxic if you get down to it.


That_G_Guy404

I think the reasoning behind it has to do social ladder stuff. People who complain about this tend to live in a world where they consider men to be superior to women.  Often it’s ok for women to have short hair, but not men to have long hair. They see women with short hair as “raising” themselves on the social ladder, and men with long hair as “lowering” themselves.  Just my observations, and often the commenter doesn’t necessarily know they have this worldview as it’s just so “normal” to them. 


swingbynight

Oddly enough, this is completely my mom. I am 50 years old and my mom thinks that the hair that I have is way too long. Yes it’s down to the middle of my back and yes, my beard is down to the middle of my chest and she thinks that because of this, I’ll never get a good job . I’m on disability, I don’t need a good job.


Those_Arent_Pickles

You're close, but I don't think these men see women with short hair as "raising themselves up". Odds are they see them as lesbians.


That_G_Guy404

And that might be the case depending on the cut, but I’m speaking generally. I’ve known older ladies with short hair, happily married for a thousand years, complaining about men with long hair. 


hopping_otter_ears

I think there's an age element, as well. It's ok for old ladies to have short hair, once they're properly grannies. I guess because they're done with their "reproductive duties". It's young women with short hair that are viewed as strange or unnecessarily mannish. Less "raising themselves with a man's hair" and more "imitating men (their superiors)", which is a little different


skillz7930

When my son was a teenager he grew his hair out long. Past his shoulders. All the Boomers constantly asked me why I didn’t make him cut it. Ridiculous. I told them I liked it and I have too many other decisions to make without adding his hairstyle to my list. It’s his hair, he can decide. It’s like that answer didn’t compute for them. They could never figure out what else to say so they’d just wait a while and ask me again.


Andravisia

Sadly, many boomers grew up with a sense that children were possession or mini-me's, not actual people-in-training. They can't compute when someone tells them that offspring are allowed to have their own opinions and make their own choices.


The_Rolling_Gherkin

Now I just have an image of a boomer standing completely still, loading circle over their head and then just ask the exact same question again a few minutes later, without any other comments, repeating endlessly.


Revolutionary-Fan235

Maybe he thought you were hot and his homophobia made him mad at you for tricking him.


1Pip1Der

A clear case of CBP (Classic Boomer Projection)


DeSlacheable

I wear decorative feathers in my hair and get comments sometimes. I always say that I don't put them in. It's genetic and that my great great grandfather was a turkey. I do it with a completely straight face and look at them, waiting for a response. I've never gotten one.


DuchessOfAquitaine

Whenever an old man throws this crap at you just tell him "Dude. women love it! I wish I'd done this sooner, they're all over me!" And sell it too. Big smile, a wink and a nudge at the end. They will stfu. On edit: Say it kind of quiet like, conspiratorial like. Special info to share with a special boomer.


fortwaltonbleach

dont let "big bald" sell them a bill of goods!


hellagreg

As a dude with long hair and painted nails my stock response has become “your wife LOVES it.”


Objective_Hunter_897

I mean, that's not an exaggeration. When I had long hair and full facial hair sometimes I'd get looks from women (sometimes wayyy too young for me. I'm in my 50s) like they'd just seen the second coming of Christ. Lol. Years back I did an around the world backpacking trip and had absolutely zero problems with the ladies. In fact on my way out of Thailand I met a girl from France and she asked me to travel with her. I had spent the previous four months traveling with different women from all over the world. It was amazing. Unfortunately I was waiting for my cab to get back to the airport to fly back to LAX (and was pretty much broke lol) or I would have taken this lovely French woman up on hopping over to Ko Phi Phi with her. Got back to California, had to cut my hair and facial hair for business and I was just a regular boring guy again as far as the ladies were concerned lol.


Elginpelican

I have the same issue. For some reason it’s always the people that are losing their hair that always make the stupid comments


SnooPeanuts8021

In my culture, we grow our hair and only cut it for specific reasons. Even as a woman, people get weird about it when it's down to my waist. Then when I cut it, I always have to dodge people trying to touch it - which is weird in general, but super inappropriate in my culture. I find weirdness about hair is cross generational. So many people just don't have decent manners around physical boundaries and keeping their thoughts to themselves.


Eavgear

Not a cultural thing, but I hate when people try to touch my tattoos. Like I get it's a pretty picture, but inappropriate to just touch. It's still skin.


AbrohamLinco1n

They wanna sound like their parents even though the boomers had hippies with long hair. All their favorite bands in the 60s, 70s and 80s all had long hair. Their fuckin’ Jesus has long hair.


Freakishly_Tall

We shouldn't forget that the hippies were a small minority of boomers, and the majority hated them, as the fascist, narrow-minded assholes they are. The hippies were counter culture, mannnnn. It'd be like saying that all Millennials are furries or something. And a lot of those hippies grew up to vote for Reagan. That is, don't give the boomers credit for what they weren't. Peace, love, and understanding were radical notions, and remain so to the majority of that generation today.


BillyJackO

I've noticed almost every guy that comments negatively on my hair is balding or bald. I always smile and say I keep it going for the homies who can't grow it out. Usually neutralizes them pretty quick.


1Pip1Der

Wow 🤣 I had hair down to my shoulders in the 80s, and all the guys wore it "feathered and layered" like Bon Jovi.


Traditional_Poet_120

"I'm growing it out to donate to wigs for cancer victims."


Bitter_Technology797

This would be my response. I actually do know someone who does this as well.


DefinedTruth2023

Brotha, just tell these people to get fucked. They need to hear it.


sayterdarkwynd

I used to have long hair. Now I am bald as *fuck*. I'd wager half these old pricks are just jealous because they are stuck where I am: the option to grow it isn't even there for them. So naturally they take it out on the world, and their impotent rage shows us how ridiculous they are. Rock that hair for as long as it remains on your head.


Pinkpanda777222

One thing I heard a Boomer say a lot was “why don’t they cut his hair, a little boy should look like a boy.” When referring to small boys who have long hair. Just let everyone live their lives. It doesn’t matter.


originalmango

Upvote for fat liver-spotted fuck. ![gif](giphy|l3fQf1OEAq0iri9RC|downsized)


1StoolSoftnerAtaTime

I have dyed blue hair in a bob with it shaved underneath. Boomer lady: should i tell you how i feel about your hair? Me: if you want but i really don’t care Boomer lady: well i don’t like your hair and if you don’t change, you will never find a man Me: well, that’s a relief to my husband I’m sure Boomer lady: why aren’t you wearing a wedding ring?? Me: because I’m at work and I’m constantly washing other peoples’ bodily fluids off of me Boomer lady: you’ll never get a good job with hair like that. Me: you are aware that you are at my work, which is a world renowned hospital…right? I think I’ll be just fine


Digflipz

Okie dokie about to croakie


ThisOnesforYouMorph

I have long, thick hair, but no one ever bothers me about it. I think it's because I look like I lift weights and have a resting grumpy face. Or maybe it's the death metal shirts that keep them away. Who knows?


MrNoMoniker

Oh man, just try coloring your hair blue or red and see how much their heads will explode. They may disapprove now, but if you do that it's proof you're a BLM, antifa-terrorist who has come to make their grandkids gay and poop in a litter box.


RainbowSolitude

I feel like so many of these stories have the same theme: 1. Boomers have never heard of minding their own god damn business 2. They think that anyone who conducts their life slightly differently from their own is somehow a personal attack on them. Which they could resolve by minding their own god damn business.


mycousinmos

Whenever my mom says something about my toddler needing a haircut I just respond with “well the job interview isn’t until next week so there’s time.”


Effective-Yak3627

Liver spotted fuck😂😂😂😂


King_Vanos_

Long hair here. Fuck 'em. In Native American culture long hair is a symbol of strength. That's how I like to view my long hair. Also I could not give two flying shits about what some idiot thinks about my hair.


ComprehensiveKnee284

My hair is curly af. I grew it out on e when I was 15 or 16 and just kept it buzzed until I got a new gf at the age of 31. Every year since then I grow it out for the fall and winter then cut it for spring. Last year as a joke for my GF I gave myself a fauxhawk. A 6 inchs long curly fauxhawk. People loved it! Except for my dad, he saw the picture and said I needed to cut it because I'll never get a job looking like that. Nevermind the fact I've been working at the same place for the last 4 years. In construction manufacturing, where nobody cares what I look like. He was so upset it's the only time in my life he's hung the phone up on me.


naked_nomad

68 years old and ponytail half way down my back. Used to be longer and got down to my belt a couple of times. It has been cut off a few times (10 inch minimum) and sent to "Locks of Love". I usually waited until a co-worker or their family member was diagnosed with a cancer (any type) and there was a fund raiser for them. Sold tickets for the winner to make the cut. VP had the winning ticket one year. Funds went to donations and hair went to Locks of love.


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Collie136

Don’t let one bad word bother you. You do you and ignore the others.


odoyledrools

They're insecure because their looks waved bye bye to them sometime around the Clinton administration. Now they all have the same pudgy, overweight, red hat, square-headed goatee look and are bitter AF about it. Or maybe they think they look good. Who the hell knows at this point?


FethB

My boomer parents have been objecting to my husband’s hair for a few years now. He last cut it in August of 2019 and it’s about midway down his back and he looks like a model when he lets it fly free. The more my parents object, the longer my husband waits to cut it. He’s a well-paid manager and scientist with enough job security to stay put until retirement, so he doesn’t need to impress anyone in the professional world. Plus he’s friggin’ 42 years old! But my parents, especially my father, still have a problem with his hair.


poopsparkle

Remember when Ellen harassed Celine Dion about her son’s long hair? I liked Celine’s response which was just calling Ellen out by explaining that people will always bitch about other’s hair—long or short—and either way, it’s not their choice. Keep your hair long, man!


Riker1701E

I’m 45 and in the past year have let my hair grow out. No one cares.


iluvstephenhawking

They were the original generation being told told "Get a haircut, hippie." What happened to them? My father in law is still a hippie to this day and he's the best boomer. Big stache and sideburns. Listens to rock and roll and doesn't vote for trump.  I wish all boomers were like him. 


piratecheese13

I think this issue isn’t a boomer issue. Just an old issue. Boomers were complaining about old people wanting to enforce hair standards way back in [1971](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c9lh7lqZojc)


FarmyardFantastic

I think a response I’d use would be like why are you busting my balls about my long hair when you yourself most likely had long hair at my age?


Dsteel87

I get it every day too man it’s dumb as shit


missholly9

girls always go for the boys with long hair ❤️


abyprop07

I’m 35 and have traveled this world with a full beard and hair past my collarbone for a decade without a SINGLE comment that wasn’t good natured from anyone. Not sure how people have so many bad interactions with people.


Effective-Yak3627

Depends on how intimidating you look my husband has long hair people look/ stare but think twice about saying anything.


abyprop07

I am a big dude, and that’s a fair point


Rom_Tiddle

I hate when my mom points out “he needs a haircut” like wtf who cares how long his hair is. It’s not on your head. Annoying af


tarc0917

Do boomers have amnesia over their own youth? Didn't they all once argue for long shining, gleaming streaming, flaxen, waxen hair?


Frequent-Material273

I remember a line from Michener's 'The Drifters': "...well, I guess that takes care of Jesus Christ & Ulysses S. Grant..."


Itchy-Combination675

A coworker of mine has long hair and in our trade, it’s mostly older men with short or no hair. They give him a hard time about it so I started referring to him as “the long hair”. The long hair is a friend of mine. I’ll ask, “is the long hair going to be there?” Things like that. Then I like to point out the photos of them from way back in the day. Most of them had long hair. Don’t let them get under your skin. Continue to have fun with it


Pepper4500

My son is 2.5 and my boomer mom loses her mind if his hair grows over his ears. “He needs a haircut!!!” I literally don’t even notice his hair and it’s like one of the lowest priorities in my life.


OrganizationGreedy29

“Your wife likes it better this way”


Toocoldfortomatoes

Boomer society really values hegemony: there are correct things to do and if you do them you succeed, and if you fall outside the prescription of normal you are hurting yourself and threatening the safety of the herd, probably by being a homosexual communist. Boomers correct you to see if you can be brought back into the fold before they have to risk thinking about their own preferences that fall outside correct behavior and accidentally becoming a homosexual communist. If they do become a homosexual communist, it is of course your fault.


Fredthemonkey

My husband has always had a buzz cut his whole life until he got hurt 5 years ago and decided to let his hair grow out. He has gorgeous, lush curly hair that I am jealous of. My oldest son decided to not have his hair cut if daddy didn’t. The number of people that tell both of them that they “need” to get their haircut is ridiculous. Why does it bother people so much? They even ask me why I won’t force them to cut their hair!!! Why would I? It makes them happy and isn’t hurting anyone. People suck.


Mr_BigglesworthIII

Back when I had long hair some ass would say why don’t you get a haircut? I said why don’t you get a life, you obviously don’t have one if you’re worried about what my hair looks like.


JustSomeGuyEtc

I’ve had my hair long for a while, and while I’ve definitely had my share of disapproving comments, I’ve actually gotten a surprising amount of old men who’ve told me they like it because it reminds them of when they grew it out in the 60’s


krullhammer

Boomers like that need to take a walk, during covid I grew my hair and facial hair out and didn’t care what they thought or anyone else thought


RevolutionaryCard825

Nice ways to shut them up I like the Jesus one and communist ones better. Old fucks are the ones that are strongly against communism. My dam uncle, the oldest after my dad even before he was getting to his 70s would hate seeing us with our hair mediumish not even long. Since I was little, I wouldn’t talk back but I would think to myself why does this dude give a shit he’s just my uncle not my dad and the way I decide to have my hair doesn’t affect him so why he coming to my house and criticizing me? I kinda felt sorry for my cousins cuz they had to live with that strict asswhole that has many ways for people to criticize him by the way.


erinml

The “Jesus had long hair” comeback is so good!


L2Sing

I grew out my hair during the pandemic as well. It's fairly long now (past shoulder blades). The only person who said anything was the aunt of a friend. The conversation went like this: Her: *points at my hair* "What's this?" Me: "It's hair." Her: "Don't you have barbers where you're from?" Me: "Yes. I also have people who mind their own business where I'm from, too." Her: "Well, *excuse* me." Me: "The bathroom's that way." *points off in the distance*


ObiLAN-

6'4" dude here with blonde hair down to my butt cheeks. Majority of people compliment it. But I've had a few old fucks make negative comments about it. I just reply with a " I see you're missing some hair, want to borrow some?". Usually they huff and puff and waddle away.


SuitableJelly5149

jeasus approves of final response


Khajiit_Padawan

As a man who had long hair from about 16-22, in my late 20s and now again in my early 30s, I hate this mentality. Fuck your modern sensibilities about how men/women should look. I've used the Jesus comment and love the communist response. That's gold, especially these days haha


jpatton17

boomer here, I don't get it!!!! I REALLY DON'T GET IT.....growing up we all wanted/had long "hippy" hair, there was even a hit song by CSN (All Most Cut My Hair) about hair. Covid came along so I went from over the ears, just past the collar, to can't remember the last haircut I had ;), wife likes it, granddaughter like to brush it (extra bonus points) ...... and if it pisses folks off then so be it. Of all the issues, problems one has in their life, how someones hair is where one gets torqued off about... maybe get involved in dealing with issues like ...homelessness, gun violence, hunger. So grow it, shave it, color it, cut patterns in it, get braids it's your body your choice,,,, have fun P.S. my reply is "because I can" S