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- Oct 9, 2012
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I've heard short hair came in WWI since it made it easier to control insect borne diseases, which preciously killed more soldiers than the enemy (and whoever ran out of soldiers first, lost). Obviously, it reflected badly on you if you did not have short hair (draft dodger or too sickly to get into the army).
According to a commenter in this forum thread:
In the modern era I believe short hair for men became fashionable from around the mid 19th century, starting out as a practical style for military personnel in the field and spreading to the wider population from there.
So perhaps half a century earlier than the Great War, but still related to military service.
Crazy how long some trends endure. Western countries haven't viewed military service as the hallmark of manliness in 80 years, but short hair remains the norm for men!