This sentence only makes sense if the following assumptions are "true":
1. Women's outward appearance can be considered advertising to men
2. Women wish to advertise something about themselves via their outward appearance, to men
3. Women's outward appearance should be pleasing to men so that their advertising is successful to men
4. Women who wear their hair "long, swinging below the shoulders" do this so that their outward appearance will be pleasing to men.
It is not clear what the "advertising" is supposed to convey. Some possibilities:
- Long hair might represent time spent on personal grooming. A woman with long hair would then be "advertising" that she will spend the (long) time necessary to keep her hair attractive to men (until she has children, at which point she no longer needs to appear sexually attractive to men)
- Long hair might represent youthfulness, or at least the absence of adult responsibilities which would allow the time for this type of personal grooming, as well as the importance of the self, which must disappear as a woman gets older
- Long hair might represent sexual adventurousness of the type that appeals to men
In what sense could long hair be considered false advertising? Perhaps it falls into the category "bait and switch":
The goal of the bait-and-switch is to convince some buyers to purchase the substitute good as a means of avoiding disappointment over not getting the bait, or as a way to recover sunk costs expended to try to obtain the bait. It suggests that the seller will not show the original product or product advertised but instead will demonstrate a more expensive product or a similar product with a higher margin. (definition from Wikipedia)
The last sentence is the most relevant. Long hair, then, is a display of a "more expensive product" to men, with the conscious intention of substituting a less desirable good in its stead. Therefore, a woman past childbearing years with long hair may seem
- concerned with personal grooming, when in fact she is not, and will cease to care for her personal appearance once she is "safe" within a relationship
- youthful, when in fact she is old and consequently undesirable
- sexually adventurous, when in fact she is not
All of the above could be "true" simultaneously.
Yes, that IS sexist.
