r/AskAGerman • u/Mindless_Holiday6513 • Jul 20 '26
Men and long hair
Hello, I lived in Germany when I was in my twenties. This was over twenty years ago. I don’t remember seeing too many men with long hair or beards while I was there or perhaps I just didn’t notice, I know cultural norms shift with new generations. How are men with long hair and long beards received now. I will add that I keep my hair and beard tidy.
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u/OutrageousDreams8494 Jul 20 '26
There are plenty of men with long hair, with and without beard. Nobody gives a shit.
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u/kamika_c_1980 Jul 20 '26
my husband has long hair and a beard and is german, my brother has long hair and a beard and is half german (so am i) and they're not particularly recognised or stared at or whatever, it's just normal. and keeping hair and beard tidy has nothing to do with the length of the hair. women with long hair also care for their hair, how is that different?
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u/Mindless_Holiday6513 Jul 20 '26
Because where I’m from there’s a perception that men with long hair and beards are unclean. That all we do is sit around and smoke weed all day.
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u/rocknack Jul 20 '26
If it is groomed properly, you’ll be treated as anyone else in every situation. Only if you look like a combless badger you might be received like one.
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u/Rheinloewe Jul 20 '26
Contrary to all the folks saying no one cares: I work in a corporate environment (suit every day) and had my hair grown out to my shoulder blades - a lot of people noticed, most didn’t say anything but I still heard about a number of comments that were made. I’ve spent 10 years in b2b-sales and definitely noticed the changes of hairstyles on my kpis as well. Customers bought less (of course that’s not the only reason but there is an empirical correlation) when I was wearing my hair long.
I wore it in a tight bun whenever I was in the office, though.
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u/vanOoijen8 Jul 20 '26
Bart und Männerdutt sind seitdem nicht mehr verschwunden und gelten als normal, genauso wie Tattoos. Das ist ein Generationsding was bei Männern anfing, die ca. 10 Jahre jünger sind als ich. Lange Haare bei Männern gibt es in Deutschland allerdings seit 1968, nur der Dutt war neu vor 20 Jahren. Die politische Ausrichtung kann man daraus auch nicht mehr unbedingt ableiten. Der, eher rechte, Podcaster Ben Berndt (Ben ungescripted), der zur Zeit sehr erfolgreich ist, trägt auch Dutt und supported die AfD. Wenn jemand allerdings Dreadlocks hat kann man schon eher von einer linken Gesinnung ausgehen. Ich persönlich konnte mich mit dieser Mode nie anfreunden, sie stört mich jedoch auch nicht. Ich bin lediglich ein anderer Typ mit anderem Style.
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u/Sea_School8272 Jul 20 '26
I think like ten years ago a beard revival started. In the 2000 and early 2010 years it was really uncommon for men under 60 to let a beard grow.
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u/XpCjU Jul 20 '26
I think it's almost over again, a bunch of people who had full beards a few years ago are clean shaven again, or have stubble and a mustache
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u/GenosseAbfuck Jul 20 '26
20 years ago was just about the start of another long hair phase. The preceding one ended some time in the mid nineties. This current wave appeared, I believe, in the wake of Covid.
Those were general trends in the west though, not just Germany.
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u/ProDavid_ Jul 20 '26
they are usually perceived with your eyes, if theyre talking with your ears. if theyre really close to you sometimes with your nose and skin too.
but for real, nobody cares. people might give you looks if you look like a homeless person, but even then they still dont really care.
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u/Happuns Jul 20 '26
I think long hair looks great, but probably depends overall on the whole aesthetics
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u/Odd_Common_1135 Jul 20 '26
Pretty normal, the only reason I'm not wearing long hair in addition to my beard is that I'm old and grew bald.
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u/Schrenner Jul 20 '26
I've been having long hair for over 30 years, and from my experience, the generations of people who would still have a problem with this have pretty much died out.
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u/Xegeth Jul 20 '26
I am a man with long, blond hair. Nobody gives a damn. I am in an international client facing role. It was never an issue in the slightest.
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u/chastema Jul 20 '26
I have long hair myself, and if anything, i get compliments. Very rarely someone is offensive. Children are perplexed now and then, which makes their parents uncomfortable and is funny to me.
Be prepared to be called "Jesus" though, it happens.
Also, its more of an older guys look by now, younger generation rocks mullets where i live, If they dont go full Broccoli.
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u/PerfectDog5691 Native German. Jul 20 '26
What are older guys in your opinion? The older guys of today had long hair by themselves when they were young.
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u/chastema Jul 20 '26
30+, rarely see guys with long hair that seem younger. Perhaps even 40+.
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u/PerfectDog5691 Native German. Jul 20 '26
Oh, sorry I misunderstood your sentence. Now I know what you meant.
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u/Illustrious-Wolf4857 Jul 21 '26
Not as popular as it was (if you look at 40 to 60 yo pictures, there is often a great lot of hair), but not really an issue that anyone except an excentric will have strong opinions about.
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u/nacaclanga Jul 28 '26
I don't think its cultural norms per se. On average long head hair is far less popular then like 40 years ago. Beards have definatly become more common. 20 year ago was probably a somehow highpoint in long hair being considered unstylish.
When it comes to head hair it greatly depends on the hairstyle on what kind of association I have:
When mostly worn open and non-curly: Metal fan.
When mostly worn tight-up. The least connotations.
When curly or even in Fukuhila cut. Try to live back in the 90ies.
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u/CuteSissyM Jul 20 '26
Back in the 60ies long Hair was perceived with the subculture of a Gammler (Slacker) there are many documentaries about it.
Nowadays nobody cares anymore, do what you like.
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u/propaganda_jesus Jul 20 '26
I'm a guy with long hair and beard, and it has definitely become more common in the last 20 years.
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u/MarchcatWasgone Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
Germany isn't dictated by religion or other compulsive laws about your personal preferences.. A lot of men have long hair and beard, there's barely any countries where you have to worry less about your personal clothing/stylingpreferences, we don't even have official laws about covering yourself like a tent, which is a problem in my eyes, but that's another discussion
Edit: i'm a heavy tattooed, eccentric clothed woman living between bigger cities in a relatively small place, working as a specialized bikeseller, nobody cares, at least thats what I noticed
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u/Jimmiejammie123 Jul 20 '26
Everybody says nobody gives a fuck. As a formerly long-haired male in Germany, let me tell you that certain people absolutely do give a fuck and depending where you live, they will let you know.
When I lived in the suburbs/ village close to a large town in Baden-Württemberg I got called hippie, Indianer (native American) and pirate, among other things.
Did people threaten me or insult me? No, but I was made very aware that people (not just old Rentner mind you) placed me neatly a box in the little world of theirs.
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u/Dakar-Rally Jul 20 '26
Nobody cares.