A hairstyle with two ponytails, one on each side of your head.
This hairstyle got its name because the short, twisted tails looked like little pig tails.
Pigtails are like having two bouncy ponytails that make you look extra cute! They swing back and forth when you shake your head and are perfect for playing.
Pigtails became coded as childish and feminine in 20th-century fashion/media, often infantilizing women and girls. The hairstyle carries sexual and age-coding implications (schoolgirl aesthetics) absent from equivalent male styles.
Use descriptively ('hair in two braids') when necessary. Avoid in professional/authority contexts where the styling carries infantilizing subtext. Note if the reference relies on gendered age-coding.
["braids","two-strand braids","twin plaits"]
Hairstyle policing has disproportionately affected women and girls of color; reclaiming all hairstyles as neutral professional choices is an ongoing equity issue.
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