Kriti Kulhari's New Hairstyle Turns Heads: Exploring Society's Obsession With Long Hair

Actor Kriti Kulhari surprised everyone by sharing her new look on her Instagram handle. The Four More Shots Please actor had her long hair chopped off and is now sporting a crew cut. Sharing photos of her new look, Kulhari revealed that she hasn’t changed her hair for any role but did it for herself.

Sharing a montage video of her new look through an Instagram reel, she said that society expects women to have long hair or at least shoulder-length hair, but she believes in making her own decisions and that she feels empowered by chopping off her hair.

Kriti Kulhari New Hairstyle

Sharing the reel, Kulhari wrote, "New ending, new beginnings." She revealed that she had decided to do this for a month and had finally done it. She said that she works in an industry where female actors have to follow a set of restrictions and limitations. Long hair, or at least shoulder-length hair, is an unsaid mandatory rule. "Here I am, almost 15 years later, in the industry, doing my thing. I have no time to not do what I want to do... and each time I have done something that is not the norm, I have felt empowered and nothing short of it."

While many people are adoring her new look and taking inspiration from her confidence, trolls are criticising Kulhari's choice. If sporting a crew cut is something that’ll make a woman feel empowered, why worry about society’s beauty standards? But not a lot of women dare to defy society’s standards for women.

I’ve had my own personal experiences on matrimonial websites where men have questioned why I shortened my waist-length hair to shoulder-length hair. The first time I was baffled and gave a little explanation, but thereon I just learned to say, "It’s my choice, and I like it."

Why is long hair only associated with women?

I’ve never understood why society is obsessed with women having long hair. I have a toddler who has short hair. I get questioned about why I don’t grow her hair because she’s a "girl." That made me realise that women are conditioned to have long hair right from toddlerhood. But where does this obsession stem from?

In a nutshell, it’s all about patriarchal societies setting unrealistic beauty standards for women. It’s scorching hot in summer, and it’s cool for men to get their hair cut short, but women have to embrace their long locks regardless of the weather. Because apparently women are expected to hold on to their femininity by adhering to society’s beauty standards.

Since ancient times, both men and women have preferred long hair because it is perceived to be more attractive and enhances a woman’s beauty. Long hair draws attention away from any other so-called "imperfections," making a woman more appealing. Men are drawn to women with longer hair than women with shorter hair. Women with longer hair are perceived to be more feminine; thus, men are attracted to that femininity. Long hair needs extensive maintenance and care, so it’s quite obvious that women with long hair do spend a good amount of time on their hair care routine, thus their hair looks lustrous, voluminous, and smells good. Basically, it’s captivating.

But at the end of the day, it’s a woman’s right to decide how to wear her hair. A woman with a crew cut or bald head can still be feminine, and another woman who has long tresses but wears Western clothes can also be feminine. Femininity has nothing to do with the length of a woman’s hair. Short hair or long, it’s not going to snatch away a woman’s femininity.

Ultimately, it comes down to women being able to decide for themselves, take agency over their lives, and have autonomy over their bodies. Women have the right to experiment with their hair—grow it below the hips, chop it short, and do whatever they feel comfortable with—because it’s their body and their choice.

Who is anyone to question or criticise a woman’s choice, and why should women give a damn even if they do?

Views expressed by the author are their own, not the platform's

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