Mullet (haircut)

File:Kyle Plante mullet 5th grade.jpg

A mullet with spiked hair.

The mullet is a hairstyle that is short at the front and sides, and long in the back. The mullet began to appear in popular media in the 1960s and 1970s but did not become generally well-known until the early 1980s. It continued to be popular until the mid-1990s.

Etymology

The term "mullet" was used frequently by George Kennedy's character Dragline in the 1967 American film Cool Hand Luke. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term mullet was "apparently coined, and certainly popularized, by U.S. hip-hop group the Beastie Boys", who used "mullet" and "mullet head" as epithets in their 1994 song "Mullet Head"., although the term was used as early as 1982 in episode 3 of season 1 of the situation comedy Cheers. In that episode, the character Sam Malone calls a rude New York Yankees fan a "mullet head." The Beastie Boys' fanzine Grand Royal Magazine was the first to use the term in print.

In Canada and the northern United States, the hairstyle is sometimes known as "hockey hair" or "hockey player haircut", as it was common among ice hockey players in the 1980s.

History

The mullet in the Classical Period

The Roman emperor Nero may have at one time adopted a hairstyle that resembled a mullet, judging from the writings of the ancient biographer Suetonius:

He was utterly shameless in the care of his person and in his dress, always having his hair arranged in tiers of curls, and during the trip to Greece also letting it grow long and hang down behind.

Later, the 6th century Byzantine historian Procopius' Secret History describes the actions of some of the Blue faction:

First the rebels revolutionized the style of wearing their hair. For they had it cut differently from the rest of the Romans...clipping the hair short on the front of the head down to the temples, and letting it hang down in great length and disorder in the back, as the Massageti do. This weird combination they called the Hun haircut.

1980s

As the 1980s progressed, big and bouffant mullets increased in popularity, and like other popular hairstyles at the time, often included spiking or blond highlights. Bands such as Kajagoogoo, Duran Duran and others, sported them and were labelled "hair bands". Many individual artists also embraced the cut. Limahl, Billy Ray Cyrus and David Bowie are a few, made famous by their outrageous hair. Nik Kershaw, Bono, Sting, Rick Springfield, and Peter Gabriel also wore mullets as the decade progressed. Australian Rules footballers were instrumental in establishing the popularity of the mullet in Australia. Notable players included Warrick Capper and Dermott Brereton. The mullet is well known and widely remembered in Germany, where it is known as the "Vokuhila", which is an acronym for "vorne kurz, hinten lang" or "short in front and long in back". The stereotypical German image of the mullet is epitomized by 1980s soccer teams and their fans, as well as by the ubiquity of the hairstyle in images dating from the fall of the Berlin Wall. The zenith of the mullet's popularity in 1980s continental Europe has been described as an "age of singing tattooed Swedish Flokati Rugs". Richard Dean Anderson wore a mullet in the title role of the popular TV series MacGyver." Several female celebrities during this time period also sported mullets. British singer Kim Wilde wore a punk mullet for several years and helped popularize it among women. Oscar winner Meryl Streep had a mullet for a few years, most prominently in the film Silkwood (1983). Actress Joan Van Ark sported one during the ninth season of Knots Landing (1987) and Markie Post of Night Court fame wore a mullet from 1983 to 1988.

1990s

Superman was drawn as having a mullet from issue 505 (1993) to 544 (1997) of Adventures of Superman comic and this look was released in action figure form by Mattel in 2009. In the mid to late 1990s the "tail" of the mullet was occasionally "permed" with loose or tight curls adding even more internal composition contrast to the hairstyle. Punk rock band The Vandals sang of country music singers and Jerry Springer Show guests sporting mullets, and listed regional names for the style in the 1998 song "I've Got an Ape Drape". Country Music singer Billy Ray Cyrus was also known for his mullet. The German punk rock band Die Ärzte dedicated in their album "Le Frisur", in which every song is about hairs, the song Vokuhila Superstar to the mullet (in German Vokuhila). Sanjay Dutt also kept mullet in 90s.

2000s

The mullet and its associated lifestyle have been central themes in movies such as Joe Dirt "business in the front, party in the back" (2001), and the television show The Mullets (2003–2004).

The characters Solid Snake and Naked Snake of the Metal Gear series of video games wear mullets.

The mullet can still be seen among certain social groups in various countries. In Spain, it was associated with the Basque independence movement, which claims working-class origin. In Denmark, it is associated with Swedes, presumably because it is popular in Sweden. In Canada the mullet is associated with hockey fans and players and is sometimes called 'hockey hair.' In USA the mullet is particularly associated with blue collar men, fans of country and ice hockey players. It is the official hairstyle for men in the American state of Kentucky. In the United Kingdom the mullet is most commonly associated with thugs, Pat Sharp or with professional footballers.

In Australia, the original mullet haircut is associated with Bogans. A shaved head or shaved sides and a mullet, is a haircut found only in Australia, and is common among many Greek Australian, Italian Australian and Lebanese-Australian youths, known as Wogs.

Jared Allen of the Minnesota Vikings has a recognizable mullet. In Sweden it is referred to as "hockeyfrilla" (hockey-cut) - perhaps because many Swedish hockey players played in Canada and adopted the hairstyle.

In Finland mullet is sometimes called "lätkätukka" (hockey hair) or "tšekkitukka" (Czech hair), the latter a likely reference to Czech-born NHL hockey star Jaromír Jágr, who during his glory years wore a curly mullet long enough to obscure his jersey number. Jágr became so well-known with the style that when he decided to cut it off in 1999, his new haircut actually made headlines.

It briefly made a comeback in the UK around 2004-2005 as a post-ironic fad known as a "faux-mullet".

ESPN hockey analyst Barry Melrose is often referred to as "Mullet" in ESPN-branded media.

Singer Billy Ray Cyrus was also known for his distinctive mullet and frequently jokes about it on the American television show, Hannah Montana. One episode had his character "impersonating" his real-life counterpart by donning a fake mullet.

Understated variants of the mullet are a popular hairstyle for young men and boys in Russia and many parts of Asia such as China, and Thailand.

2010s

In July 2010, the Islamic government of Iran issued grooming guidelines to men supplementing the existing modesty stipulations to women. Among the new regulations is a ban of the mullet hairstyle. The ban on mullets is one of the measures that Iran has deployed to "confront the cultural assault by the West." The country aims to promote a set of new Islamic hairstyles that were unveiled at the Hijab and Chastity Festival of 2010.