View source for Pigtail

{{short description|Hairstyle gathering hair at the sides of the head}}
{{about|the hair style|the food|Pork tail|the connectors|Fiber pigtail}}
{{redirect|pigtails|the album|Pigtails (album){{!}}Pigtails (''album'')}}
{{redirect|bunches|other uses|Bunch (disambiguation)}}
{{more citations needed|date=July 2009}}

[[file:braided pigtails.jpg|right|thumb|A woman with long pigtails and [[braid]]s.]]

In the context of hairstyles, the usage of the term '''pigtail''' (or '''twin tail''' or '''twintail''') shows considerable variation. The term may refer to a single [[braid (hairstyle)|braid]], but is more frequently used in the plural ("pigtails") to refer to twin braids on opposite sides of the head. Sometimes, the term "pigtails" applies regardless of whether the hair is braided,<ref name="Ambafrance">{{cite web | url=http://ambafrance-do.org/beauty/544.php | title=What Are Pigtails? | work=Ambafrance-do.org | access-date=August 14, 2016}}</ref> but there is not widespread agreement on this (in places where this usage is common, unbraided pairs are called doggie ears or [[#Bunches|bunches]] and a single bunch, regardless of position on the head, is called a [[ponytail]]).

== Word origin and usage ==

[[file:Bedouin woman 2 (1898 - 1914).jpg|thumb|[[Bedouin]] woman with pigtails, 1880s.]]

The term pigtail appears in English in the [[Thirteen Colonies|American colonies]] in the 17th century 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 17th century through the 19th century, the term came to be applied to any braided ("plaited", in British parlance) hairstyle. The British army also adopted a single pigtail or "[[queue (hairstyle)|queue]]" as its standard dress for long hair. British [[barrister]]s continue to wear a [[wig]] with pigtails as a way to hide the hairline in an attempt to provide basic anonymity. {{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}

[[Robert Louis Stevenson]] mentions "pigtail" referring to hair and then to "pigtail tobacco" in the first and fourth chapters of ''[[Treasure Island]]'', respectively.<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/120/120.txt Stevenson, R. L. (2006). Treasure Island. Retrieved October, 2008, from Project Gutenberg database.]</ref>

Most modern dictionaries still define "pigtail" as a single tight braid. However, many speakers use the term to describe two symmetrical bunches of hair on either side of the head, braided or not.<ref name="Ambafrance"/>

== Styles ==
There are numerous styles of pigtails in which a person may wear their hair. They may be braided, straightened, beaded, ribboned, in buns, fishtailed,{{clarify|date=July 2021}} and even [[French braid]]ed. Pigtails can be placed on different parts of a person's head: high, low, or to the side.

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 [[bun (hairstyle)|buns]], or bundles of hair on either side of the head to display her availability to prospective husbands. This style of pigtails is sometimes referred to as "ox horns." However, when this girl would marry, the two pigtails, or buns, would be replaced with just one, thus indicating her marriage.

The [[Manchu people|Manchu]] and later [[Qing dynasty]] men's coiffe called the "[[Queue (hairstyle)|queue]]" is sometimes described incorrectly as a pigtail.

=== Bunches ===
{{Redirect|Bunches||Bunch (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Pigtails.jpg|thumb|Sometimes the portrayed hairstyle is referred to as "pigtails" in general, while "bunches" is more specific as they are unplaited.]]
'''Bunches''' (also called '''pigtails''', '''bunchies''', '''twintails''' or '''angel wings''') are a [[hairstyle]] in which the hair is parted down the middle and gathered into two symmetrical bundles, like [[ponytail]]s, secured near the scalp. Sometimes this hairstyle is referred to as "pigtails", but in other cases the term "pigtails" applies only [[Braid (hairstyle)|if the hair is braided]].<ref name="Ambafrance"/>

=== In Japan ===

Unbraided pigtails are extremely popular in Japan, especially in [[anime and manga fandom]] and Japanese [[otaku]] culture.<ref name="kotaku">{{cite web |author=Ashcraft, Brian |url=http://kotaku.com/5968967/japans-love-affair-with-pigtails/ |title=Japan's Love Affair with Pigtails |date=17 December 2012 |website=Kotaku |access-date=April 4, 2016}}</ref> Traditionally a hairstyle worn by young girls, it has come to represent innocence, and is also known as the "twintail" or {{nihongo|futatsu-yui|二つ結い}}. Anime and manga characters sporting twintails have been prevalent since the 1960s, and the hairstyle has since entered mainstream culture, in part due to [[Vocaloid]] [[Hatsune Miku]] embracing the look.<ref name="kotaku"/> This includes the creation of a "Japan Twintail Association" to promote and celebrate the hairstyle, as well as running photo spreads of models sporting the dual tails.<ref name="kotaku"/> "Twin Tail Day" is officially recognized by the Japan Anniversary Association and falls on February 2, when girls post images of themselves with the hairstyle onto Twitter.<ref>{{cite web |author=Coello, Joan |url=http://en.rocketnews24.com/2014/02/10/twin-tail-day-makes-twitter-a-paradise-for-guys-in-japan%E3%80%90photos%E3%80%91/ |title=Twin Tail Day makes Twitter a paradise for guys in Japan |publisher=Rocket News 24 |access-date=April 4, 2016}}</ref>

* In [[Japan]], hair bunches are called '{{nihongo|twin tails'|ツインテール|tsuin teeru}}. A popular variation is the [[Odango (hairstyle)#Double bun|odango]] hairstyle, in which each ponytail is partially coiled around its base to form a small [[bun (hairstyle)|bun]] from which the remaining length hangs free.
* Schoolgirls in [[India]] and [[Vietnam]] customarily wear their hair in a pair of long braids, with the end of each braid looped up and fastened to its base with ribbons.

== See also ==

* [[Pigtail Ordinance]]
* [[French braid]]
* [[List of hairstyles]]

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

* {{commons category-inline}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline}}

{{human hair}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Braid hairstyles]]
[[Category:1990s fashion]]
[[Category:2000s fashion]]
[[Category:2010s fashion]]
[[Category:2020s fashion]]
[[Category:17th-century neologisms]]
[[Category:Culture of Japan]]
[[Category:Culture of East Asia]]