Mullet (haircut)

A man sporting a severe example of the mullet hairstyle

A mullet is a hairstyle that is short in the front, top, and sides, but long in the back (also referred to by a number of other names, some regional, including hockey hair, helmet hair, etc.).It's also described as "business in the front, party in the back". The hairstyle was popular during the late 20th Century, from early 1970s to the early 1990s. Mullets have been worn by males and females of all ages. The mullet is distinct from the rattail, which consists of a long, narrow "tail" of hair growing from the back of the head.

History and cultural significance

According to Urban legend, the mullet dates back to the 19th century, when fishermen wore their hair long in the back to keep warm — hence the term mullet. The Notes section of the Viking edition of Lydia Davis's translation of Swann's Way by Proust states "Jean Baptiste Prosper Bressant was a well-known actor who introduced a new hairstyle, which consisted of wearing the hair in a crew cut in front and longer in the back. It is generally agreed that the etymology of the word "mullet" originates from the French "molette," which means "magnificent style" or "magnificent beauty." The word, however, hasn't been in use in the French language since approximately 1750 and is considered archaic.

The mullet became popular in the 1970s, due in part to the influence of glam rock artist David Bowie, who wore the haircut during his Ziggy Stardust and Diamond Dogs phases. Women also wore the style — Florence Henderson, a star of the sitcom The Brady Bunch, has a mullet in the opening sequence from the show's 1973–1974 season. The hairstyle achieved further popularity in the late 1970s and 1980s among entertainers with receding hairlines such as Anthony Geary of "Luke and Laura" fame from the soap opera General Hospital, and the pop performers Michael Bolton and Phil Collins.

In the 1980s, the mullet became big and bouffant, and bemulleted men often indulged in other 1980s hair crazes such as spiked hair and blonde highlights. An exemplary popular mullet-man was Richard Dean Anderson in the '80s TV series MacGyver. In the early 1990s, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus's "Achy Breaky" mullet fostered both imitation and ridicule.

The Beastie Boys 1994 song "Mullet Head" made fun of the hairstyle, and a year later band member Mike D discussed the mullet at length in issue 2 of the band's Grand Royal magazine:

There's nothing quite as bad as a bad haircut. And perhaps the worst of all is the cut we call the Mullet.

It goes on to lampoon the hairstyle over several pages, including many photographs of celebrities sporting mullets. Soon after the article was published, it became popular for fans of the band, and for youth culture in general, to mock the hairstyle.

The Oxford English Dictionary first included the word mullet in 2001 and cited that 1995 article as the first published use of the term; the entry also included the lyrics to Mullet Head. The OED says that the term was apparently coined, and certainly popularized, by U.S. hip hop group the Beastie Boys. [1] [2] Yet, others have also speculated that the origin of the term Mullet comes directly from the 1967 prison film Cool Hand Luke, starring Paul Newman and George Kennedy, in which Kennedy's character refers to Southern men with long hair as mullet heads. This term is also used in Mark Twain's 1884 novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn when Tom Sawyer says of his aunt and uncle: They're so confiding and mullet-headed they don't take notice of nothing at all. It seems unlikely that he's referring to the hairstyle; rather, it sounds like it is intended to connote stupidity, and is likely a reference to the fish of the same name. (This is perhaps also what is meant by Kennedy's character in Cool Hand Luke.)

The Grand Royal article apparently initiated a trend of anti-mullet sentiment. In the late 1990s, musician Wesley Willis followed this trend with his popular novelty song, Cut the Mullet.

On their 1998 album Hitler Bad, Vandals Good, southern California punk band the Vandals released one of their most popular songs, I've Got an Ape Drape. Ape Drape is a regional term for a mullet. At the end of the song, they go down a list of other names including Hockey Hair, Forbidden Hair, Achy-Breaky Hair, Norco Neck Warmer, Shom and eventually Mullet.

Ska-punk band Five Iron Frenzy released a song called The Phantom Mullet on their 2000 album All the Hype That Money Can Buy. The song is a homage to the mullet and the people that choose to wear it. The song opens with these lyrics:

Cruisin' downtown in your Camaro, REO Speedwagon's on your stereo. It's kind of catchy, kind of a virus: cuttin' your hair like Billy Ray Cyrus.

The crunk rock band Family Force 5 released an album Business Up Front/Party in the Back in 2006 that clearly described the culture that surrounds The Mullet. Particularly their song called Kountry Gentlemen.

In the 2000s, a number of web sites sprung up with photographs of people with mullets, often accompanied by mocking comments based on stereotypes of mullet-wearers. Jeff Tremaine had his hair mulletted à la Billy Ray Cyrus in a black barber shop during the first season of Jackass. The mullet and its associated lifestyle were central themes in movies such as FUBAR: The Movie and Joe Dirt (2001), and television shows such as The Mullets (2003-2004). Other notables with mullets include former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell and adult movie performer Justin Dragon.

Despite its reputation, the mullet remains a moderately popular hairstyle among certain social groups in various Western countries. It is especially popular and even considered to be modern (vintage retro) in Portugal and in Spain and can be widely identified in the streets of cities like Barcelona. Also in Spain, the mullet is associated with two different ethnic groups: young Gypsies and young separatists from the Basque Country. It is also fairly popular among the 18–34 age group in some East European countries, notably the Czech Republic. In the U.S. and Canada, the mullet is particularly associated with blue collar men, fans of country and heavy metal music, American football and ice hockey players. Many homosexual women of the butch variety also sport this hairstyle, so much so, many see this as a social identifier. In the United Kingdom the mullet is most commonly associated with thugs, or with Central and Eastern Europeans, particularly professional footballers. In Australia this haircut is associated with Bogans and Australian rules football players, particularly those from the 1980s. In recent years, the mullet has enjoyed resurgent popularity among the hip set, in particular the emo sub-culture, probably due to its association with 1980s retro kitsch. During some light-hearted research on his show Johnny Vaughan declared that Germans, Americans, Australians, these are the real mullet men.

Many people consider the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania region as the "mullet capital of America", both by those who live in the region and by those who live outside of it. This has been considered both a sense a pride and as a stereotype for the city, as Pittsburgh's love for the mullet is unknown. An example as to how much the city loves the haircut was in 1999, when then-Penguins superstar Jaromir Jagr had his mullet cut—and it was actually reported as its own story on the local news. Popular radio station WDVE, which coincidentally is a classic rock station from the height of the mullet's popularity, has also contributed to the mullet's popularity in the city as a form of self-deprecation.

Hip hop and poetry slam artist Sage Francis also debates the mullet as a cultural phenomenon in his 2000 EP Still Sick... Urine Trouble, as the haircut of his town in Providence, Rhode Island

The mullet is typically associated with the "Red States" of America, as illustrated by the satirical report "Blue State Blues as Coastal Parents Battle Invasion of Dollywood Values" (posted 12 November 2004) at http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2004/11/blue_state_blue.html:

It was one day last spring, says Ellen McCormack. My life partner Carol and I were in the garage, working on a giant Donald Rumsfeld papier mache head for the Bay Area March Against the War, when Rain walked by. I thought he looked kind of strange, so I stopped him and looked closely into his eyes. Then I realized the truth — he was wearing a mullet. I was shocked, but he swore to me that it was only ironic. After a few months, it was clear Rain had lied to us — that hideous Kentucky Waterfall was completely earnest, she adds, choking back sobs ...

In August 2006, the mullet was involved in a charged political debate when George Allen, Republican Senator from Virginia and Presidential hopeful, referred to an arguably mulleted worker from his opponent's campaign as "macaca," a type of monkey and potentially offensive slur. (See main article: Virginia United States Senate election) Allen claimed he had meant to say Mohawk ^{[citation needed]}, referring to the worker's mullet-like hairstyle, but had mispronounced the word.

Etymology

The term for the hairstyle is newer than the style. The Beastie Boys Grand Royal Magazine 1995 issue contained a piece on the mullet. The Oxford English Dictionary cites this as the first published use of the term, along with the lyrics from the Beasties' 1994 song Mullet Head. The OED says that the term was apparently coined, and certainly popularized, by U.S. hip-hop group the Beastie Boys.[3], [4]. The name could have come from the film Cool Hand Luke.

Variations

There are a number of stylistic variations on the mullet as well as a large number of whimsical, alternative terms describing the hairstyle:

Skullet

A skullet is a variation of the mullet. A skullet is defined by a shaved or bald head with long hair on the sides and in the back. Prominent wearers of skullets include Michael Bolton, Dennis Franz, Hulk Hogan, Ron Jeremy, Mick Fleetwood, David Crosby, Klaus Meine from Scorpions, Paul Heyman, Devin Townsend from Strapping Young Lad, Gallagher, Bill Bailey, Terry Nutkins, Ian Hill (the bassist of Judas Priest), Dallas Toler-Wade (guitarist/vocalist of Nile), Robert Lowe (vocalist of Solitude Aeturnus and Candlemass), Benjamin Franklin, Gary Ablett Sr. and Floyd Mayweather Sr..

Frullet

A reversed variation of the hairstyle is the "frullet" (derived from "front mullet"), whereby the back of the head is shaved, leaving a long fringe hanging over the face in front. (Other terms include "tellum" and "reverse mullet".) The haircut is also known as the "emo mullet" due to its supposed popularity among emo music scenesters. A frullet can also mean a very curly mullet, such as that worn by A.C. Slater on the television show Saved by the Bell. See Devilock, as popularized by early '80s American horror-punk band The Misfits.

During the eighties this hair style was popular among skateboarding teens who were often a part of this punk music scene. Among teen circles the Frullet was often referred to as "The Flop" and would cover the person's eyes.

Tropical mullet (a.k.a. The Dreaded Mullet)

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A typical tropical mullet

The tropical mullet, also referred to as a dreadmullet consists on a hybrid of the Dreadlocks and a mullet. This hairstyle is seen throughout the world, especially among youth.

Jheri curl mullet

The Jheri curl mullet applies to people with natural curly hair. Jheri curl solution is applied to make the curls bigger and to fix them in place. Pop musician Lionel Richie arguably had the most famous Jheri curl mullet.

Momullet (a.k.a. The Mullet-Hawk)

This is a different take on the mullet, where the sides of the head are shaven (or at least significantly short) with short hair on the front and long in the back much like a classic mullet. The mohawk mullet is also known as the "Mulhawk" to some. Also known as "The Dream Hawk."

Femullet

General term to describe a female sporting a mullet.

Chullet

General term used to describe a child mullet.

Footy Mullet

The Footy Mullet consists of a fauxhawk that is long in the back. It is very popular among the Australian sporting culture, particularly the Rugby League and Australian Rules Football communities, most commonly seen on men of Polynesian descent. Often highlighted by tribal tattoos and singlets.

The mullet in various languages and cultures

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The Russian term for a mullet is "Dima Bilan", named after the Russian pop singer.

The Argentinian term is Cubana, in reference to the alleged popularity of the haircut among Cubans. Also called "Colectivero" in reference to public bus drivers.
The Brazilian term is Chitãozinho e Xororó, in reference to the singers who started using this haircut in Brazil.
The English Canadian term is "hockey-hair" in reference to the haircut's popularity among ice hockey players.
The French Québécois Montréal term is "coupe Longueuil" (Longueuil haircut) in reference to the Montréal suburb of Longueuil.
The English Québécois term is "pad" because the hair falling flat on the back looks like a pad. The person wearing it is often called a "paddé".
One Australian nickname for a mulleteur is "Freddie Firedrill", supposedly because the subject's haircut was interrupted by a fire-alarm sounding after the barber had finished shaving the front, but before s/he had started on the back of the head.
The Chamoru or Guam term is chad haircut, a reference to its popularity among most "chads" or local Guamanians' version of a "trailer-park person."
The Chilean term is chocopanda, chocola or just "choco", in reference to the ubiquitous public transportation Chocolito Panda ice-cream sellers sporting such a haircut. It is also called a "Zamorano", after Iván Zamorano or "Pichanguera" or just "Changa"("pichanga" is an informal soccer match in Chilean slang), because of the great number of soccer players who use this haircut. This haircut is also popular among the lower classes and gangs. Lately, it is used by the pokemones subculture.
The Colombian term is Siete (seven) because the hair on top and back form the image of a number seven. Also known as Paisa due to its popularity in the northwestern region.("paisas" is a name for colombians from that region.)
The Croatian term is fudbalerka, literally "footballer (hair)", a reference to its popularity among soccer players in the 1980s.
The Czech terms include čolek (which means "newt"), deka (means quilt) or na debila (means asshole-style)
The Danish term is Bundesliga-hår, which refers to its alleged popularity among Bundesliga soccer players, or alternatively, svenskerhår (Swede-hair), referring to its former popularity in Sweden. For the same reason, it is also called hockeyhår (hockey hair), because of the large amount of Swedes who can be seen on the ice rink sporting a mullet. It is also called nakkegarn, meaning "yarn by the back of the neck".
The Dutch term is matje, which means "little carpet/mat". Some people refer to it as a Duitse mat (German mat) as well, implying that this is a haircut typical for Germans. It is also referred to in Rotterdam and some other areas as "nekspoiler" (neck spoiler, as in car spoiler). Typical for Flemish areas is "nektapijt" (neck carpet).
Another English term is "Missouri Compromise".
The Finnish term is takatukka, which means "rear hair". Sometimes lätkätukka or tsekkitukka is also used, which means "ice hockey haircut" in reference to the Swedish term. Tsekkitukka means "Czech hair", based on Czech hockey players' hairstyle (especially Jaromir Jagr). Mullets are a well known and still popular "hockeyhair" in Czech Republic.
The French term is "Coupe à la Waddle", referring to Chris Waddle, the English football player who adopted this haircut in the 1980s while he played for Olympique Marseille. It can also be referred as "nuque longue" because of the long hair covering the back of the neck ("nuque" in French).
The German term is "Vokuhila", meaning "vorne kurz, hinten lang" (short in the front, long in the back). The opposite to this is "Volahiku". It is topped by "Vokuhilaoliba", meaning "vorne kurz, hinten lang, Oberlippenbart" (short in the front, long in the back, moustache). Because of its supposed popularity among men from the Eastern parts of formerly divided Germany, the hair cut is in Western Germany also known as "Ossispoiler" ("aerodynamic device for Eastern Germans").
Austria has a number of terms, for example "Nackenmatte" ("nape rug") (also used in South Germany). DerStandard.at has a nice list here.
The Greek term is "Χαίτη" (Hety) or "Λασπωτήρας" (Laspotiras) which means "Mudflap".
The Hebrew term is vilon, which means "curtain". Another common term is "Eli Ohana" haircut, named after a famous football player who wore this haircut.
The Hungarian term is also Bundesliga or just simply footballist (soccer player) hair, "focistafrizura".
The Icelandic term is Hebbi, referring to a nickname of an Icelandic singer called Herbert Guðmundsson sporting the hairstyle, or sítt að aftan (long in the back).
The Italian term is "capelli alla tedesca" (hair at German style) or "taglio alla tedesca" (haircut at German style) referring to its former popularity in Germany, above all among Bundesliga soccer players. It is also known as "alla McGyver" (at McGyver style) as the main character of this the popular American TV series appears with mullet in some episodes, or as "sette" (seven) because the hair on top and back form the image of a number seven, but also "pitta". This haircut is also very popular among people who listen and dance house music, especially in Rome and Milan. House people in Italy usually show middle-length hair on the top (often spiked up), short hair at the sides (sometimes totally shaved) and very long hair at the back of the head (most of the time they smooth the back hair downwards).
The Japanese term is urufu hea which is the Japanese way of saying "wolf hair." It's actually a quite popular look among young men, though the hair in the front is generally longer than a typical mullet's.
The Macedonian term is "џигерица" [dzigerica], meaning the "liver haircut".
The Mexican term is "buki" haircut because the Mexican band Los Bukis are known to have used this hairstyle.
The Norwegian term is "hockeysveis", meaning "hockey hairstyle", referring to the hairstyle's popularity among ice hockey players.
The Puerto Rican term is "playero" which translates as "beach comber" or "beach style" because of its stereotypical use by surfers.
The Portuguese terms are: XF which comes from a motorcycle model from Zundapp, or Deixe Ficar which is short for deixe ficar atrás. That's what you say to your hairdresser when you want him not to cut the hair on the back of your head. One other is semi reboque, which means a big truck trailer.
The Polish term is "Czeski piłkarz" - meaning "Czech football player" as in the 1970s the haircut was greatly popular among Czech footballers.
The Romanian term is chicǎ, which means "long hair at the neck". This haircut is associated with redneck-like people and is socially associated with the lack of sophistication or culture.
The Russian term is Dima Bilan, named after The Russian Pop Singer.[5]
The Serbian term is "Tarzanka", referring to Tarzan the Ape Man.
Another Serbian term is "Krčedinka", in reference to the alleged popularity of the haircut in the village of Krčedin.
The Slovenian term is also Bundesliga or simply metlica, which translates to "a small broom".
The Bosnian term for a mullet is "fudbolerka", indicating the mullet's former popularity with soccer players.
The Swedish term is hockeyfrilla, which means "ice hockey haircut" in reference to its popularity among some hockey players. The music group De lyckliga kompisarna wrote a song with this name, that was played extensively on radio in the early 90s.
The Turkish term is aslan yelesi, Fikirtepe modeli or kaleci saçı, which means "lion's mane", "Fikirtepe" (a suburb of Istanbul where this style was popular among shuttle drivers) style" and "goalkeeper's hair" respectively.
The Sanskrit "sikha" ("crest" or "top-knot") that a Hindu Vaishnava devotee wears can be mistaken for a mullet if long and bushy enough. Western devotees sometimes pass off their sikhas as mullets when inquired by outsiders.
The South African term is "Benoni Special" referring to the prevalence of the hairstyle in that area of the country.

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