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Pigtails
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A pigtail is a braid of tightly woven hair, which is typically relatively short and stands away from the head through asymmetric tension of the weave. The name refers to the short, thin and kinked tail of a pig.
Characteristically a single pigtail is worn on the back of the head, or, especially by women, a pair of pigtails are worn with one placed on the left and one on the right side of the head; this latter hairstyle is referred to as pigtails.
Longer but equally tightly braided hair, that falls rather than standing away from the head, may also be referred to as pigtail, in reference to the thinness of a pig's tail.
By contrast, hair that is fashioned into an unbraided, free falling tail is referred to as a bunch or a ponytail (with bunches commonly denoting the hairstyle where one bunch is placed on the left and one on right side of the head).
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Encyclopedia
A pigtail is a braid of tightly woven hair, which is typically relatively short and stands away from the head through asymmetric tension of the weave. The name refers to the short, thin and kinked tail of a pig.
Characteristically a single pigtail is worn on the back of the head, or, especially by women, a pair of pigtails are worn with one placed on the left and one on the right side of the head; this latter hairstyle is referred to as pigtails.
Longer but equally tightly braided hair, that falls rather than standing away from the head, may also be referred to as pigtail, in reference to the thinness of a pig's tail.
By contrast, hair that is fashioned into an unbraided, free falling tail is referred to as a bunch or a ponytail (with bunches commonly denoting the hairstyle where one bunch is placed on the left and one on right side of the head). Hair that is more losely braided is simply referred to as a braid.
Word origin and usage
The term pigtail appears in English in the American colonies in the 1600s to describe a twist of chewing tobacco. One of the steps in processing the tobacco was to twist a handful of leaves together to form a compact bunch that would then be cured (dried, either with or without smoking). The term "pigtail" was applied to the bunch based on its resemblance to a twisted pig's tail.
From the later 1600s through the 1800s, the term came to be applied to any braided (plaited, in British parlance) hairstyle. The British army also adopted a single pigtail or "queue" as its standard dress for long hair.
Robert Louis Stevenson mentions "pigtail" referring to hair and then to "pigtail tobacco" in the first and fourth chapters of Treasure Island, respectively.
The term pigtail in British English does not convey a childish connotation. To the contrary, even to this day British barristers wear a wig with pigtails.
In some regions of China, traditional culture related the wearing of pigtails to a girl's marital status. A young, unmarried, Chinese girl would often wear two buns, or bundles of hair on either side of the head to display her availability to prospective husbands. However, when this girl would marry, the two pigtails, or buns, would be replaced with just one, thus indicating her marriage. It is thought, that this may have lead to the western view of pigtails being typically associated with children and young girls; unmarried Chinese girls who had immigrated to the western world would still wear their hairstyles as they had in China. This cultural aspect gradually spread to westerners, although its meaning was largely lost. It is worth noting, however, that Chinese boys and men did not change their hairstyle regardless of marital status.
Styles
There are numerous styles of pigtails a person may wear their hair in. They may be braided, straightened, beaded, ribboned, fishtailed, and even French braided. Pigtails can be placed on different parts of a person's head. The higher the pigtails the more childish look it gives. The lower pigtails give off a more conservative look.
See also
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