Nakedness and Hair

Lady Godiva, by John Collier, 1897

What most distinguishes people from all other animals? It is our fear of nakedness, and the relatively unlimited hair crowning our heads. Like many animals, we have various body hair, but no other creature sports so much head hair relative to its other body hair... And the locus of this extraordinary growth, our head, seems particularly significant.

Image of Jesus from a 4th Century plate

We can infer that this has been noted historically- long hair has often been prominent among holy men, royalty, the nobility, and upper classes. On the other hand, slaves, prisoners, and defeated armies were often required to have shaven heads, and more general lower classes were often required to have shaved or short hair.

Earliest surviving portrait of Henry VIII as king of England

A dramatic change came with WW I, as trench warfare brought flea and lice infestations, prompting orders for short hair and establishing a military tradition that soon permeated masculine society.

The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man, Jan Brueghel

  the Elder and Peter Paul Rubens, circa 1615

And tomorrow?

Fifteen years into yet another millennium, barely a drip in time... 

Will modern man continue to hide his nakedness and cut off his crowning distinction?

Stephen Rowe in 1999 (left), and 2009 and beyond (right)