Women know that men generally find long hair attractive on a woman. Yet, many women cut their hair short. Why? Is it a conscious choice on your part to become less attractive? Do you think looking good is just too much work and not worth the payoff?

Oh, so you're speaking for all of us men now on what we find attractive?

I said "generally."

Long, thick hair is an indicator of several years of good health. A healthy woman is more likely to not only survive pregnancy, but also give birth to healthy children. Therefore, it's makes evolutionary sense for men to be attracted to women with long, thick hair because men that were in the past were more likely to have healthy offspring that lived long enough to have children of their own and pass on the "likes long hair" gene.

Myself personally...I cut my hair short for two reasons. First being, I have three kids and taking a lot of time in the morning to curl, flatiron, spray, poof, tease, etc. just isn't an option. The second reason being, I have a genetic condition that is making my hair fall out. My hair looks much better short as you can't as obviously see the places where it is incredibly thin.

As for being less attracticve...I would hope that shorter hair doesn't make me less attractive. I feel much more confident with shorter hair. I don't feel like everyone is looking at me and thinking, "Poor girl...her hair is all falling out." Guess in a couple years I'll probably be in a wig. Oh well. Guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

the health of hair has nothing to do with its length,, I think healthy hair is probaby what attracts many men, as well as a beautiful face or/and a healthy figure,,,

long hair takes more time to manage, and for women with busy lives, they opt to not keep it long

if thats a deal breaker for some men, those particular women probably wouldnt be interested in them anyway,,,

some women actaully look very nice with shorter hair and like to style it. Personally I think short hair is too high maintenance.

but most of us have outgrown the gene evolution that says we must look nice for men. We look nice for ourselves

so it's about time that men outgrow the likes long hair gene seems, once againm a little high school....jmho

also perhaps (probably) some of us are interested in men who care more about what we are like on the inside

Personally, I don't have a general preference when it comes to hair length. Short hair may not look as good on some as others, but I've seen a lot of women that look BETTER with it short. Everyone has their own style, and I'd much rather see women doing what they like and feel confident in, as opposed to doing what they feel is some general preference or expectation of the opposite sex. When it's what THEY want and how THEY want to express themselves, even a girl with buzz-cut can be more sexy than a woman with a full head of hair that she spends hours doing every day. Just my 2 cents.

Not everyone looks good with long hair, just as not everyone looks good with short hair. And my guess is these women cut their hair in a style that they enjoy. I know men who like short hair as well as long hair, so I wouldn't assume that just because a woman has a shorter hair style, she's trying to become less attractive.

So, if men don't like it, forget men. The problem with it is that we don't out grow our genetic programming for a very long time. Like thousands of years. The reality is that men are generally attracted to certain physical characteristics. Long hair, a hip to waist ratio of 1 to 0.7, firm breasts, clear eyes, blemish free skin.

Your philosophy on this matter equals ideology over reality. You seem to think you can attract a man no matter how ugly you make yourself. But, are the men you attract the kind you'd want to get involved with?

I know a woman. She's smart, funny, socially gregarious and has a good job. But, she also weighs almost 400 pounds. She can't get a man to sleep with her unless she pays him. Now, is this the fault of men?

I know some very good looking men that are dating and even married to what most men would find very unattractive in looks and weight. Beauty to them truly is in the eye of the beholder as they accept these women for their personalities and not the looks. Not every man is that shallow.

Yes, there are exceptions to the rule. But, that doesn't mean the rule is untrue as a whole. I'm not talking about the people you know. I'm talking GENERALLY.

An attractive looking woman is simply going to have more options when it comes to men than an unattractive one.

It's not shallow of men to prefer a healthy woman over an unhealthy one. All the things men find attractive in women's looks are indicators of good health.

Seeing as there are many women out there with shorter hair who have boyfriends and husbands, it seems to be fine with many men. Why should women have to cater to the desires you say men have when clearly there are men who are attracted to women with shorter hair as well?

Long, thick hair is NOT an indicator of good health. They have nothing to do with each other.

GENERALLY! I'm speaking in general terms. As I've already said, the fact that there are exceptions to the rule doesn't mean the rule is untrue.

If you took a photo of twin women, one with long hair and the other with short, more men are going to prefer the one with long hair.

Yes it is. There are many illnesses that cause hair loss. Although many of them have been almost eliminated in modern cultures. shortfire8521 mentioned that she has such a condition.

The same illnesses cause the same hair-loss in men, so you must be saying that the majority of us men are looking extremely unhealthy too by keeping our hair short. This point makes the least sense of any of the generalizations you are trying to defend.

I'm not talking about exceptions, though, as there are many, many women out there with shorter hair who are dating or married.

Her condition is hereditary. It's not an illness.

Good point.

Ok, I can not reply based on personal experience regarding why woman cut their hair simply because I am not one lol but I can approach the subject from a scientific / sociological analysis.
While what you stated, TexasScoundrel, it is true: long healthy hair it is a desirable feature in woman from an evolutionary point of view. Assuming that those features have a decisive impact on a man's choice when it comes to partners would be to underestimate greatly how human Psyche its build. Yes, it is undeniable that our brains are full of preconceptions created to identify better partners but at the end, in modern day society, they are nothing more that evolutionary left overs... much like the wisdom teeth. What i am trying to say is that while it is undeniable that a clear skin, good looking long hair, a good proportion in the hips, etc. have an subconscious impact on how a man chooses his partner, that impact is lower as we become more evolved as individuals and as society. Humans have evolve (socially) to a point that has never been reach by any other animal previously... and certainly physical features that evokes a sense of better chance of survive in a hostile environment are far less influential than lets say, the fact that she has a good personality, a good job and you two share the same hobbies... Unless of course you are a very primal instinct based male... but at that point i would have to ask woman, why do they choose to date a clearly less evolve specimen of man hahaha, which happens...i mean, Red Necks still get laid, right? and they are barely human hahahaha.
On the same sense, TexasSxcoundrel, you would have to ask why some man decide not to exercise? When its obvious that a body in good shape indicates to females, from an evolutionary point of view, that the male has better chance of provide through hunting, and better chance to fight aggressors while protecting the family / pack. Yet you still see a great number of skinny and chubby / fat guys that get laid... why? simply because that type of things have cease to be of vital importance in modern world.