Media Drum WorldA man who has been growing his hair for seven years claims that men have accused him of wanting to ‘turn’ their girlfriend’s sexuality.
Cristiano Braga, 28, made the decision to grow his hair in 2012, despite being worried he would get bullied and receive criticism from others.
Since then, he has been called an ‘ugly woman’ by strangers and accused he will ‘turn’ mens’ girlfriends into lesbians, but he has continued anyway.
Media Drum WorldThe 28-year-old, from Minas Gerais, Brazil, says his hair has attracted a lot of positive and negative attention – some from women, who say it’s ‘unfair’ for a man to have such long hair, and some from men who have accused him of wanting to ‘turn’ women’s sexuality.
The actor and model explained:
I started to let my hair grow in 2012. I have no explanation for letting my hair grow; I looked in the mirror and decided to grow it, I’ve always liked long hair, and I wanted to grow my hair.
There was a time, as my hair grew, I was quite criticised; people called me a woman, broom hair, scarecrow, they would cut my hair, they said I was ugly, weird.
It makes me very sad when they ask me if I want to ‘turn’ women because I have long hair, it shows that society does not accept what is different from the patterns. Prejudice is something very present in our society and must be fought.
Media Drum WorldBraga has since learned to brush off criticism from cruel trolls and says he is proud of his hair, which he maintains with natural oils such as aloe vera, avocado, camomile, mint, rosemary and vegetables.
Despite his hair being longer than two-foot in length, the 28-year-old says it only takes him five minutes to wash it and has been compared to Ariel from The Little Mermaid.
He said:
Whenever someone approaches me on the street, I get a little embarrassed, because the person always draws the attention of others to me, and although it does not seem like it, I do not like to expose myself much.
I get really shocked when someone says that my hair is better than theirs because it demonstrates how low a person’s self-esteem is and needs to be worked on.
I am always called Jesus, John Lennon, Jared Leto, Axle Rose, Ariel, Merida, Little Mermaid, Rapunzel, among other personalities and characters.
Media Drum WorldThe model says that although he doesn’t know why he wanted to grow his hair in the first place, his grandmother believes it’s due to his indigenous ancestry.
Braga explained:
I always found long hair beautiful both in women and men, I do not know why, I thought it was incredible that we all have hair the way we want it.
My grandmother says that my desire to have long hair is due to my indigenous ancestry. My grandmother’s grandmother was indigenous and had her hair down to her feet. It may be something spiritual or cultural.
It seems that my hair protects me from the bad things in the world, I feel much stronger and more confident.
Media Drum WorldTo be honest I just need to know his secrets. How did he get it so shiny?! And how has he not got any split ends if he hasn’t cut it for seven years?!
Seriously, I need to know.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).