I'm a man with long hair. Am I likely to encounter harassment or other problems in Moscow?
First of all, I am really sorry if what I am asking seems prejudiced or offends someone. I really have no intension to cause any harm. I will be for a summer school in Moscow for about 3 weeks, from May 7 to May 29.
Now, from what I have been told (of course not all, not even the majority of) Russians can be aggressive or worse to homosexuals.
I am wondering if having long hair will "trigger" any kind of reaction. Besides the long hair I have a smallish beard and I am not in any other way feminine looking. Whether I am gay or not is besides the point.
Best Answer
As a Russian long-haired man myself, I can assure that you will be more often confused with an orthodox priest/monk than anything else.
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Answer 2
I've had relatively long hair throughout my youth while living in Russia, and overall I'd say it's not a big issue. Sometimes people would joke, occasionally in a mean way, like "hey, what are you a girl?" or something like that... But it didn't happen often, maybe a few times over several years.
And in terms of homophobia - no, long hair in general isn't associated with being gay, at least not in Russia. In recent years I'd say it became a bit more fashionable, as it's reminiscent of old Slavic traditional hairstyle (especially if combined with a beard). Unless you wear pink top & skinny jeans, no one would think of long hair as "gay". Not normally, I mean, there are some crazy people everywhere...
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