So they fought against the pernicious influence of the West.
In the famous musical comedy The Adventures of Petrov and Vasechkin, Masha spends most of her screen time (35%) with two pigtails on bows, 25% with two tails with red ribbons, another 21% with loose hair. However, such a hairstyle was banned in Soviet schools. It was possible to go “to the dissolution” with shoulder-length hair. If the hair is longer, they were recommended to tidy up.
Boys were also not advised to appear in classes “patlaty”. Lush hair was considered a manifestation of Western fashion that came to the Union from rock musicians (The Beatles, Deep Purple, ZZ Top), and therefore were not welcomed in schools.
Particularly stubborn were sent to the hairdresser, and in some cases they could be expelled from school. It is noteworthy that in a number of modern institutions this practice has been preserved. Even 10 years ago, in lyceums and gymnasiums, they made sure that everyone wore a uniform (no matter how ugly and uncomfortable it seemed to students), but also their hair. Girls were required to take long hair in a ponytail, use hairpins. During the lesson, inspectors could come into the classroom and send dress code violators home to clean their hair.
