Why does hair on a man’s forehead somehow make him suddenly seem sensitive, or artistic, or deep?
It’s all due to those….those Romantics, isn’t it?
Shelley… Keats… Byron…. They have a lot to answer for, don’t they? 
They left us with the unwavering feeling that a man with hair falling over his forehead, or even into his eyes a bit, has a profound and passionate soul.
Or was it the Romantics?
What is it about men with hair falling in their eyes?
Certainly, both Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy and Matthew Macfadyen’s Mr. Darcy have their moments of romantic hair glory — the former’s curls, and the latter’s wisps, falling over the brow, showing emotion, and beauty, and….. love?
Is this what makes a woman’s heart turn over? Hair falling forward?
If so, is it really all due to the Romantics?
I suspect that it was indeed the great hippie-like passions and philosophy and art of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and the hair the era loved, which have imprinted us forever.
And just in case you think I’m merely making fun of this idea, let me assure you that I’m not. 
I am a total sucker for floppy hair.
Case in point: Peter Petrelli.
On the new TV show “Heroes”, Peter Petrelli (played by Milo Ventimiglia) is the sensitive younger brother of a conniving politician.
Peter, though, is a nurse, and a good son, and falls in love with women who prefer heroin-addicted artists, and feels oh-so-much pain, and love, and longing…
And when he gets a chance to lay down his life to save someone, he takes it.
Sigh.
And you knew it all the minute you saw the hair.
Cara
(who actually whined excessively about the long hair of the guy on the cover of MY LADY GAMESTER, because Stoke is no romantic, and that guy on the cover just looks like a smug, self-satisfied twit)
ROFLOL! There IS something about the hair! Home sick (stupid cold) I watched PORTRAIT OF A LADY for the first time (James is so depressing that I usually avoid him) and there was Viggo Mortensen as a floppy-haired Victorian swain. *SIGH*
Add a wizard lock of white in black hair and let that lock fall on a forehead, and I get positively melty. That’s how my husband looked when I first met him, with long hair to waist. Pity he’s gone completely salt and pepper now and cut it. Oh well.
Yup, there’s something about disheveled hair. As long he doesn’t look like the guy worked at it, in which case it can look narcissistic. A fine line, but your examples walk it gorgeously. 🙂
So that’s why I fell in love with season 4 & 5 Mulder in the X-Files. The hair. Sigh. 🙂
I think it’s a lot like those moments were the hero moves an untamed strand of hair from the face of the heroine – ’cause we want to touch it or him!! 🙂
Well, I know I like those parts anyway. . . LOL
Lois
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I know my hand always wants to brush that strand of hair out of Peter Petrelli’s eye. *sigh* I can’t wait for HEROES to start up again!
I know I’m shallow, but one of the reasons I love Sean Bean is that I love his hair. Not so shallow, perhaps, is that his face is so changeable — heartstoppingly handsome one moment and then ordinary the next. It has to do with the light and his jawline or his expression or something, but no matter what it is, I do think he’s enormously attractive.
Cara said, “that guy on the cover just looks like a smug, self-satisfied twit”
So, romantics are smug, self-satisfied, and twits? 🙂
Mais non! Dreamy floppy curls worn to the shoulders were my only thing as a teenager. Then I added straight long hair tied in a pony tail (queue-style). Since G.Butler, I’ve added the close-cropped look to my list. (Then again, Manuelita’s avatar looks yummy, too.)
I’m with you and Manuelita, Keira. Gerard Butler with or without hair. But GB has that same quality that you find in Sean Bean, Susan. He can look very ordinary (as in Dear Frankie, or startingly handsome as in Phantom of the Opera.
I can honestly say I have no strong preferences WRT men’s hair. Short, long, straight, curly, balding–it’s all good if it suits his personality and bone structure.
I know what you mean, Other Susan, about Sean Bean being totally ordinary one moment and breathtakingly gorgeous the next. Also, a lot of his attractiveness is in his presence, how he moves, and his voice. Same goes for Nathan Fillion, another of my actor crushes.
I always like the interesting-looking ones better than the pretty boys, but the one I have the most trouble explaining is Christopher Eccleston on the previous season of DOCTOR WHO. You look at a still photo of him, and he’s downright funny looking. But he’s got such a sexy, confident physical presence, an expressive face, and a wonderful voice that in motion he’s hotter than hot. To me, at least.
So, romantics are smug, self-satisfied, and twits? 🙂
No, just that guy on my cover! 🙂
Cara
I admit I do like good hair! Maybe that’s why I have such a “celebrity crush” on Orlando Bloom. 🙂
Susan, I was first struck by Christopher Eccleston’s presence in the movie “Elizabeth”–you’re right, he seems like he should be “funny looking” but is instead very sexy!
I love floppy, artful or artless hair, too.
When we started dating, my husband could tuck his hair into his belt. Not anymore, but I definitely fell in love with all those long, gorgeous tresses.
Hair is, of course, of paramount importance.
As you can see by my portrait.
Go ahead, ladies and gentlemen, and sigh at my beautiful hair.
Bertie the Beau