Posted on Jan 11, 2014
Should the U.S. Army have one grooming standard (i.e. hair) for male and females?
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Should we allow well groomed beards like most Professional Armies in the world.
Posted in these groups: 
Grooming Standards
Women in the Military
Grooming Standards Women in the Military
Posted 12 y ago
Responses: 59
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I think the biggest benefit would be to get military people to stop fixating on appearance and focus more on performance. (also see PT standards.)
I think this will happen immediately after the military eliminates anti-Trans discrimination.
I think it will be helpful to drop a lot of gender biases. But I could be convinced otherwise. There are physiological differences and real gender norms that a lot of people opt into and prefer to opt into. And gender norms can be oppressive in some situations but they are also a shortcut that can make it easier to interact with others.
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2LT (Join to see)
SSG Broadbent. Yes, this horse has been beat to death. We can agree to disagree. I have an issue with day spas as well. And I think since women are the minority we can have a tendency to get grouped up with the same ideas and morals. Just saying :)
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SGT Mortimer Thurman
I agree with the previous comment, this horse has indeed been beaten to death. I have been a firm believer that, since men and women have certain biological differences, it is unrealistic to apply a "one size fits all" grooming standard to both sets of soldiers. However, that's also my basis of reasoning as to why I don't believe women should be allowed to serve in a combat role.
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SSG Lisa Rendina
I guess I must have gone to the wrong post for my Basic Training! I certainly didn't get a "day at the spa"! I think the only females that were even allowed to go to the barber shop (not the salon) for a hair cut were the ones who did have short hair and were approaching the collar. Even then, they received a hack job and certainly not a style.
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I have mixed feelings about this topic. I like having well-groomed facial hair and have been complimented on my appearance while growing out my facial hair. The problem comes in when it is viewed as unprofessional and it would also be hard to regulate. Some people look nice with a full beard, while others look nice with a more "fadish" look (i.e. the "outline look" where the beard is only along the jawline and the mustache connects to the beard, clean shaved from the bottom lip to the chin). Where do you draw the line in a professional environment?
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Heck yeah, low skin fade, #2 up top. This would cure many ailments in the Army. No more wopsided hats/berets. I can dig this.
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Well, I for one think the hair standards are outdated, they were obviously introduced for a reason, that reason was set in motion during WWI mostly for hygienic reasons, a good seal on chemical masks, and the theory that general upkeep of uniform and appearance aids in discipline and camaraderie.
That being said, I do feel it is slightly outdated, before I left the military I noticed a large jump in "shaving profiles" and general appearance of uniforms and other areas was diminishing rapidly anyhow.
I think it time that there was a small amount of leeway granted to service members but not so much as to promote individuality, remember, you have to retain the notion that no one person is a stand out, you're a team. Now, while I don't believe appearance alone instills this attitude (mainly the leadership does) I do believe service members should feel comfortable with their appearance (e.g. some people knowingly look better with longer hair and vice versa, both in facial and general hair).
This is a topic that should be at the discretion of the unit, I for one remember a time while in Iraq when we were out in sector for extended periods of time only to come back to the FOB deemed unkempt and thus were turned away from the defac until we were clean shaved. Now where I understand the hygienic reasons behind this, at the time it was rather infuriating, especially when you have to go right back out shortly there after. So I feel wartime/overseas standards should be more relaxed than garrison standards at least.
That being said, I do feel it is slightly outdated, before I left the military I noticed a large jump in "shaving profiles" and general appearance of uniforms and other areas was diminishing rapidly anyhow.
I think it time that there was a small amount of leeway granted to service members but not so much as to promote individuality, remember, you have to retain the notion that no one person is a stand out, you're a team. Now, while I don't believe appearance alone instills this attitude (mainly the leadership does) I do believe service members should feel comfortable with their appearance (e.g. some people knowingly look better with longer hair and vice versa, both in facial and general hair).
This is a topic that should be at the discretion of the unit, I for one remember a time while in Iraq when we were out in sector for extended periods of time only to come back to the FOB deemed unkempt and thus were turned away from the defac until we were clean shaved. Now where I understand the hygienic reasons behind this, at the time it was rather infuriating, especially when you have to go right back out shortly there after. So I feel wartime/overseas standards should be more relaxed than garrison standards at least.
United States Army regulations, manuals, and Pamphlets available to read on the Internet.
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If we are theoretically moving towards that, we had better determine a gender-neutral term to address officers because hair grooming standards are about all that differentiate some Servicemembers by gender, and how are we to determine if s/he is a Ma'am or Sir?
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SSG (Join to see)
The gender-neutral term to address an officer would be "Gentleperson". This would be the appropriate term if you were to walk by a mixed-gender group of officers and rendered a hand salute w/ greeting.
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CPT (Join to see)
Let's do like Star Trek:TNG or BSG and just refer to all officers as "Sir" regardless of gender.
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When I first joined the Army we were told the grooming standards for men were designed to keep us all alive if we were chemmed. I was a history major in college and still do a lot of research as a hobbie. It doesnt take long to figure out that American Generals wore beards and long hair. Its our thing. I absolutely think we should be allowed to have very robust facial hair.
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I think this matter will always be of discussion because regardless
of the standard, there will always be someone breaking it intentionally or unintentionally. This has to do more with discipline and customs. Let us all enforce and practice what we
already have.
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Its real simple, you allow females to have longer hair but no longer than the top of the collar in uniform. If every female were required to cut everything past the collar I think everything would be fine. No wearing it up in any bun, a braid or anything like that. You either cut your hair so its above the collar or kick rocks. I think its fair and would go a long way to equalizing things.
I am all for allowing women to keep a feminine appearance but we need to have a standard that is some what equal. Honestly the Army wants every male soldier to look the same and uniformed then why can't they make female soldiers do the same?
I am all for allowing women to keep a feminine appearance but we need to have a standard that is some what equal. Honestly the Army wants every male soldier to look the same and uniformed then why can't they make female soldiers do the same?
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SGT Drew Hilliard
I agree. I see female soldiers with "buns" so big it is impossible to wear headgear properly. Forget wearing a helmet. But if you say anything about it EO gets involved.
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MAJ (Join to see)
Well, not all male soldiers look alike, some have mustache, and
some don’t. Some have ear hair, and some
don’t. Some have long eyebrow hair, and
some don’t. Some have hair protruding
from the back of their shirts, and some don’t…
some don’t. Some have ear hair, and some
don’t. Some have long eyebrow hair, and
some don’t. Some have hair protruding
from the back of their shirts, and some don’t…
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SSG Lisa Rendina
I have had several different lengths of hair during my service. Everything from past the shoulders (which I pulled back into a bun), a bob that fell to just past the jaw line, and the pixie cut you see in my profile picture. The two easiest styles to maintain were the long hair and the pixie. Long hair was kept tied up in a bun, never interfered with wearing headgear or pro-mask, was easy to fix if something did cause it to become messy. The pixie is similar in no issues with wearing headgear or pro-mask, but is much more difficult to quickly fix if something did cause it to become messy. The most difficult was the in-between bob. During the duty day it seemed fine, easy to wear headgear and so on. During PT though it was a nightmare. It would fall into my face while doing push ups, swing into my face while running, and was harder to fix once messed up.
I agree with CPT G too. We are not all carbon-copies of a prototype. We all look different, and that's OK. I think the biggest issue we have is creating new rules when we are not enforcing the ones we already have.
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I think if the soldier keeps it trimmed then yes as far as hair female standards are okay, but if a male kept it combed and looking good then it should be okay
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