(U-WIRE) BATON ROUGE, La. — Some hold onto their parachute pants; for others, no movie will ever reach the creative apex that is “The Goonies,” and everyone knows someone who still rocks out to Huey Lewis and the News. Letting go of the past is hard.
But there is no greater obstacle than turning away from the feathered bi-level shag called the mullet. To abandon a hairstyle cascading with so much functionality, versatility and attitude seems impractical, and yet, preserving the mullet faces much criticism. Why does this haircut inspire such loyalty and at the same time incite such fear?
The mullet’s history is debatable. The origin of the style can be attributed as far back as ancient Greece. Kuoros, Greek statues of young, nude males dating from 700 to 500 B.C., often were depicted with short curly hair on top of the head and the hair in the back draping almost to the shoulders, said Nicole Rochet, a local art teacher.
These statues, which can be seen on mulletsgallore.com, were idolized versions of gods and athletes.
Long before Billy Ray Cyrus reigned supreme over the mullet dominion, the cut was associated with masculinity. In the Iliad, Homer writes, “The sprinting Abantes followed hard at his heels, their forelocks cropped, hair grown long at the back. Troupes nerved to lunge with their tough ashen spears.”
“People who wear mullets obviously have self-confidence,” said Tara LeBlanc, a biology junior at Louisiana State University. “And I admire that. I handmade a shirt that said ‘I Love Mullets’ and wore it to the Texas Club, hoping I would get to know one of these curious people.”
Despite the mullet’s noble history, it carries the stigma of being the hairdo of choice for undereducated redneck slackers. But many fight that stereotype.
“The bi-level haircut is no longer confined to the trailer parks of America,” said Richard Harsch, an English junior. “It is now rampant in society as a symbol to be respected and feared. Let’s face it, chicks love a man with mulletude.”
Some of entertainment’s sexiest celebrities at one time donned mullets. Wrestler Hulk Hogan, “Saved by the Bell’s” A.C. Slater, Metallica’s James Hetfield, contemporary-adult-rock god Rod Stewart and Mrs. Brady from “The Brady Bunch” all have sported mullets.
Those who have been ridiculed for keeping it short in the front for Mom and long in the back for the ladies may be leading the way toward a revival.
“All the forecast magazines for hair say that the ‘modified mullet’ is coming back,” said Trini Hickman, stylist and owner of Salon Boheme on Corporate Boulevard. “Especially in Paris and London.”
But even fashion-forward people like Hickman are uncomfortable with the idea that the mullet is making a return.
“I don’t ever remember liking it, not even when it was popular,” Hickman said. “But that could be that it was so horrendous I just blocked it out.”
Many others agree with Hickman.
“I don’t think they should bring it back,” said Brandi Young-Kin, psychology junior. “It is a hideous, hideous haircut. I think rednecks just don’t get out enough and don’t know any better.”
Concern for an upcoming mullet trend frightens some, because it affects children as well.
“The baby mullet is the saddest thing in the world,” said bartender Meranda Williams. “Parents just never cut the kid’s hair, and it naturally grows longer in the back. It’s terrible.”
Sentiment for the mullet is polarized in most cases. People who sport the mullet possess and emit a sense of robustness no other haircut provides. Whereas the mullet’s opponents feel it is just another tasteless mistake of the ’80s.
