
Masculinity Demands Integrity
The Subtle Art of Being a Good Dude, Part 1
This is the first installment in a series covering several tenets of masculinity and manhood. Our first topic is personal integrity.Lizards Lack Integrity

What the Frickin Heck is Personal Integrity?
The core vision of The Longhairs is to inspire confidence, develop masculinity and foster community among guys growing their hair. Now let’s take a closer look at how having integrity fits the bill. Two definitions of integrity are most relevant here.
Per the Merriam-Webster dictionary:
- firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values
- the quality or state of being complete or undivided

Ok Mr. Goody Two-Shoes, Why Should I Care?
Comprehensive manhood starts with integrity. Your most confident and masculine self is a man that navigates life with a strong moral compass.
Simply put, personal integrity means doing the right thing (a core value of The Longhairs), even when there is no reward, or when nobody will ever know. All that matters is that you’ll know. Integrity is a gift that a man gives to himself.
As any human would, you’ll surely falter. Nobody asked anybody to be perfect. Sometimes integrity can mean admitting you’re wrong, or just saying sorry.

You In Dawg?
So why the integrity talk? Because our purpose is developing masculinity, and masculinity demands integrity. We find our internal true north each and every time we decide to act with—or without—integrity. In other words, choosing personal integrity is letting it ride.
We’re on a quest to master The Subtle Art of Being a Good Dude. By we, we’re including YOU, as part of this community. Watch for the next installment in the series.
Comments
Great read! I’ve always prided myself on being a pretty good dude, though, like everyone, I have occasionally faltered. It happens. Been a long hair all my life, despite my dad making me get a haircut when I was young and the navy shaving it off, I was a long hair at heart. Glad I found you guys. P.S. the hair ties are awesome! Thanks.
Speaking of masculinity, I hate the term toxic masculinity because it’s an oxymoron. If someone is toxic they can’t be masculine. Right on point with this blog post! And I hope no one took it as “be the most manly manliest man you can be.” I know any time we talk about masculinity people can take it that way and it gets jumbled into this toxic masculinity thing. It’s about a good man because our experience is as a man and this community is for men. Not saying women can’t have integrity but we’re not talking about women except for how we treat them of course. I dig this type of conversation!
toxic masculinity is a term invented by ultra feminists (those who hate men for they aren’t women) to justify their misandry…
for them, ask for date…even just look at her (offense by gaze)
What is toxic, is the excess only.
It’s great to see so many comments and positive discussion here.
Talleyrand ( the french minister who was corrupted by Jefferson to sell cheaper Louisiana) said: ” quand on dresse devant moi les principes, ma réponse est ” combien?” ( When the principles are set before me, my answer is “How much?)
i prefer believe we all are honest men….even if the reward is negative
Worthy goals!
I’m not gonna lie, I never thought that I would find so much phenomenal content on being a good dude and doing the right thing from a bunch of long haired guys. But I have never found a greater group of people to align my own values with because they are one in the same. My long hair journey is new, but I’m glad I found this company to remind me to stay on the right path.
You guys rock! 🤘🏻
We’re glad to have you Tyler 🙂
Very cool and I have to say I agree and I have can honestly say I have killer Integrity 😀
THANKS FOR HELPING ME THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. TOO OFTEN WE FORGET THE LITTLE THINGS…THE BASICS ARE ALWAYS THE PLACE TO START …. PERSONAL INTEGRITY IS OUR BACKBONE TO THE FUTURE. LOVE IT, LIVE IT AND BELIEVE IT.
Thanks, looking forward to changing
I lack in the integrity area of my life. It’s a hit or miss with me. This really hit home, thanks hair guys!!!!!
Do the right thing and tell nobody about it.
Give without expecting anything in return.
Volunteer at a food bank, give blood, pickup a hitchhiker, change a flat for someone, mow a shut ins yard. You cannot out give karma.
Integrity to me means being reliable. Someone that can be counted on. I say I’ll be there, I’ll do it, I’ll complete the task. Then it will get done. I had friends like this and sometimes I’ve even been that man. Love this article, I’m still trying to piece together what it is to be a man. Thanks for the help.
Hey Mike! Being dependable is definitely a privilege. We do what we say and we lead by example.
You guys rock.
Being a lifelong “Longhair”. This is so true! It is a Lifestyle. Not a fad. We’ve had long hair whether it was “in” or not. This is WHO and WHAT WE ARE!! We come from centuries of long haired men who had integrity.
I applaud the noble objective of promoting/encouraging/modeling integrative behavior, I begin to defect when integrity is attributed to “true” masculinity as opposed to recognizing that integrity is a desirable human characteristic that men/women/other should be encouraged to model for the sake of the society that we/us/them hope to preserve. Genderalities don’t really work well when partnered with a free flow orientation. A conversation can stall out quick when we begin to genderalize behaviors. Again, I applaud the effort, but may need to dig a little deeper.
Hey David, I understand your point and I agree that integrity or any other personal quality is not tethered to a specific gender. The intent here is for us to speak from our experience to other people living our experience. We do not mean to say integrity is solely a masculine or male quality.
Love what you say. Not perfect, but will do the best I can to do the right thing.
All a man can do is his best. You’re on the right track Dale.
Thanks El Sicario – I needed this reminder. Going through some stuff with my lady and I’ve done my best but I’m also aware that a lot of times my best hasn’t been all that good, and I need to learn from that. Love you guys. Thanks for existing.
Sometimes it’s hard to be vulnerable and accept that we can falter. Even on those days where your best wasn’t enough, it doesn’t mean that you’re not enough. Everyday is a new opportunity to show up and do things right. You’ve got this Alex.
“Your most confident and masculine self is a man that navigates life with a strong moral compass.“ So good! Thanks for the reminder!
“doing the right thing, even when there is no reward”, love this! In the world we live in today of instant gratification, likes, comments and the entitlement mentality it is so important to put in the work for works sake because that is what is required.
Situational ethics and the nature of men