Because of the presence of hydroxyle group, the oxygen is more electronegative and pulls electrons towards it making it polar
polar, but be careful, because "glycerin" is nonpolar
Ethanol and glycerol are both polar molecules.
The polar end of the molecule is soluble in water (hydrophilic) and water solutions (including http://wiki.answers.com/topic/cytoplasm); the other, fatty-acid end is soluble in...
the glycerol head of a lipid is polar, and as a result, it is hydrophilic.