Long Hair, Christian Women

2009, 02, 16 in Amish, Anabaptist, Anglican, Anglican spirituality, Christian life, Christian
marriage, Christian modesty, Head cover, Head covering, Mennonite, Modest women, modesty,
Plain dress, Plain life, Prayer cap, Quaker | Tags: Amish, Anabaptist, Anglican, bonnet, charity
veil, Christian marriage, Christian modesty, Christian women hair, Conservative Quaker, hair
care, Head covering, kingdom of God, long hair, marriage, Mennonite, Modest dress, modesty,
Plain, Plain dress, Plain life, Plain people, Prayer cap, Quaker, veil
Perhaps I should be reluctant to jump into this topic! There are so many interpretations of 1
Corinthians 11 that its a little scary that we cant seem to agree. Did Paul mean all women, all
the time? Is a womans long hair her covering? Why wear a separate covering, and what kind?
To my thinking, the Anabaptists have a firm understanding of the significance of both long hair
on women and the head covering. (See their materials at www.anabaptists.org.) Im not quite on
the same page in their headship interpretation, but I dont disagree either! I think the significance
of covering goes deeper than the Reformers thought it does.
What is long hair? For the purposes of 1 Corinthians 11, it means uncut hair, not just hair longer
than a short length. Uncut hair grows to a certain length, and then starts to shed and be
replaced. This hair cycle is about seven years, sometimes longer. Hair generally grows at the rate
of 1/2 per month. These rates can vary, depending mostly on genetics, just as the number of hair
follicles and how long they will produce hair is mostly genetically pre-determined. Various other
factors come into play, as well, such as nutrition and environment. (When I was about twenty-
six, I had a bout of stress-induced alopecia significant hair loss. Quitting one of three jobs and
changing houses finally reduced the stress and the thin patches filled in.)
It was the expectation in the early church that women would look like women, that sexual
differences would be honoured. Paul gave the women in the church good reasons for keeping
their long hair, while prohibiting them from turning it into an object of vanity. So for
generations Christian women followed this precept, and kept their hair long and uncut. Some
achieved great lengths of hair, which had to be braided and wound up under caps and veils.
(Braided and broided are not the same word. Broided means fancy work in the hair.) This
is still the case in some sects, but those who have practiced this for time immemorial dont make
much of it. Its the world that looks at naturally long hair as something freakish.
How long is too long? My own hair doesnt get much past waist length before it starts to break. I
have fine, fragile hair, so it will never grow to knee-length anyway, and if it should, there still
wouldnt be much mass. This is the case for many women, so the question of cutting doesnt
come up. We would never consider anything as decorative and frivolous as a bang (or fringe,
as our British cousins put it.) I just brush it from a center part, pull it back with one hand, twist it
into a bun, and pin it in place with bobby pins. Times when I have my hair down, I gather it back
into a low ponytail.
Some women simply cannot grow their hair long. Women of African descent often have fragile
hair that doesnt get a great deal of length, and they should not be shamed into thinking that they
need to get extensions or they are somehow inadequate . For those with hair that has a lot of curl,
or very fragile hair, it may make sense to keep it at a manageable length and use pins or clips to
keep it back. It might be good to braid it close to the head in cornrows, a very old practice
which is very practical for those whose hair doesnt fall straight. A practiced braider can put up
cornrows very quickly, and they dont need more than a little maintenance day by day. This is
not license for women with European ancestry to indulge in the long, beaded braids, though!
For women with very thick, heavy hair, reducing the length may be necessary to avoid the excess
weight. I think it is allowable when very long, heavy hair is causing neck strain and head aches,
if the hair can be kept at near waist length, or at least a feminine length below the shoulders, long
enough to gather back under a cap or veil. It is ridiculous to endanger ones health by legalism.
But that is not license to cut the hair off for fashion reasons! Most women who cut the hair short
do so, they say, because it is more practical. They dont want to fuss with long hair. How fussy
is it to put long, one-length hair in a bun and drop a cap on it? The entire process takes me less
than five minutes. I dont even need a mirror. Women with short hair have to wash it, comb it
into shape, possibly curl it with a hot iron or blow-dryer, spray it with some sticky stuff, and
check regularly in a mirror to see if any of it is out of place. Those who choose the butchered
hair look without any of the fussiness often appear, as my mother would say, as if someone had
dragged them backward through a hedge.
The Apostle was, in simple terms, telling women (all Christian women, not just the Corinthians)
that they were to set aside vanity and keep long, unfussy hair, with no ornamentation (which
would include dying) and properly covered so that it is not a temptation to vanity for the women
or to lustful admiration for the men.
Hair care is big business. Those of us who have opted out of it are threatening the economy! We
dont go to hairdressers or salons or spas. We dont buy hair dyes or those silly kits to add
highlights or streaks or chunks of different colour to our heads. We dont need
conditioners and gels and picks and blowdryers. We have a packet of hair pins and a few
ponytail holders, a half-dozen clippies to keep caps and veils in place and that is it, besides a
good quality brush and a de-tangling comb. We buy baby shampoo, not some fancy bottle with a
salon owners name on it. We dont buy hair-style magazines or watch television to see what
Hollywood babe is doing to her head.
There are theological reasons for covering besides the practicality and the killing of vanity. The
Lord gives women an honour in allowing them to be covered before the altar. Even bishops must
uncover completely when they stand before the sacrament at the altar. Women, receiving or
serving, should be covered. This, first, indicates that they are under the headship of Christ. While
the headcover also indicates that they are under the headship of a husband, this is not the case for
single women, who must still cover before God. The second-class position women often suffered
under ancient custom outside the church is thus removed. For while woman is under the
headship of man, as the first woman came from man, her position of equality before the Lord is
restored in that the Son of Man came from woman. We honour His mother in emulating her
humility in veiling before her son, our Lord.
It is obvious to me from scripture and the early church fathers that in the apostolic church
women preached and prayed publicly, although Paul admonished some to stop interrupting the
service, and hold their questions for later! The Holy Spirit speaks through women as well as
men, and ministry is not limited to men, or the first Christians would not have appointed widows
to minster, an important commission from Christ Himself. A witness is a witness, whether it is
from a gold-draped, venerable bishop or a little girl of ten in pinafore and bonnet. God does not
distinguish between His children in bestowing His gifts of the Spirit. A right heart and a steady
faith are more than merit in the eyes of the Lord.
I believe all Christian women are called to the public witness of unshorn, unadorned hair and the
blessing of the headship covering. It tells the world that we are Christians, and not afraid to be
identified as such. We may have to compromise occasionally, when that witness is not accepted,
but we are to pray for the blessing all the more. It is right to wear a full cap, with just a little hair
showing, or the sisters veil, sometimes known as a charity veil, and wear them with modest,
womanly dress. These are readily obtainable, by purchasing from some God-fearing sister who
sews or by making them ourselves. It is not difficult. On occasions when it is necessary to wear
workclothes that exclude a skirt, then a covering suitable to modest pants should be worn, such
as a scarf or soft hat. The unveiled hair is just for our families, and particularly for our husbands,
who should love this feminine expression of our modesty.
Sisters, be bold in wearing the prayer cap and the veil! As much as possible, wear this symbol of
our witness. It is now a revolutionary thing to do, to say in our way, The Kingdom of God is at
hand! Repent and believe the good news!

http://magdalenaperks.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/long-hair-christian-women/