The world's ugliest hairstyle... is back!

Undoubtedly, the mullet It is one of the most controversial men's hairstyles in history, classified as one of the ugliest of all time. Its bad reputation lies in the fact that it breaks the logic and classic proportions of hairstyles: short on the sides and forehead and long on the rest of the head, especially at the nape of the neck. But, despite its criticism, the mullet has made a strong comeback among young people, who, believing they are embracing the most rabid modernity, are reviving an ancient hairstyle. Homer in the Iliad He already talks about the practicality of the "cut fringe and long hair on the nape of the neck", to offer visibility thanks to the short fringe, while protecting the nape of the neck from possible helmet rubs and cushioning the impact of attacks in the area.

The most exciting moment of the mullet It was during the 1970s thanks to figures like David Bowie, who adopted it during his Ziggy Stardust glam era.

A rebellious hairstyle that challenged gender norms by merging masculine (short) and feminine (long) styles. For this very reason, women like Joan Jett (The Runaways), Cher, Patti Smith, and Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders), all close to the glam and punk scene, appropriated it as a symbol of rupture and aesthetic rebellion, within a countercultural, feminist, and queer.

In the 80s the hairstyle became a sign of virility, thanks to actors who played action anti-heroes like Richard Dean Anderson in MacGyver, Mel Gibson in Lethal weapon, Kurt Russell in Escape from New York or Chuck Norris in Walker, Texas Ranger. Also, how can we forget ironic and self-parodic characters like Joe Dirt or Mike Myers in Two lucky crazy people (Wayne's World), which fueled the mockery that inevitably accompanies the hairstyle. But it must be taken into account that the criticism of the mullet They do not simply stem from their asymmetry, but from the fact that they have traditionally served as an aesthetic mark for rough and rural groups, such as the American country scene with singers like Toby Keith or Billy Ray Cyrus. mullet It has also stigmatized marginalized and disobedient people from lower-class subcultures such as the quinqui, very present in characters from films such as The peak either Stray dogsIn the Gypsy ethnic group, the mullet of figures such as Camarón de la Isla or Los Chichos, in addition to rebellion and authenticity, has also connoted a lack of sophistication and educational and cultural deficiencies. As a result of this cultural burden, the mullet It has ended up being banned by law in countries such as Iran and North Korea, because it is considered to embody Western degeneration contrary to Islamic values in the first case and to the socialist spirit in the second.

But, if we have to reconstruct the history of mulletTennis player Andre Agassi deserves a chapter of his own. Between the late 1980s and early 1990s, Agassi burst onto the scene, challenging its pristine elitist aesthetic with his clothing of striking colors and urban references, including cut-off jeans. mullet Leonese, voluminous, dyed, and wild, he challenged the sport's conservative establishment. But premature alopecia threatened the strength of that hair symbol. A victim of the aesthetic pressure placed on him by the character he had created, he ended up resorting first to hair extensions and then to wigs to continue giving it life. The problem erupted during the final of the 1990 Roland Garros tournament, when Agassi clung to prayers (as he recounted in his memoirs), no longer to win the tournament but to keep his wig from falling off on the court. A suffering that ultimately affected his concentration, causing him to lose the match. In 1995, Andre Agassi decided to cast off this burden and shaved his hair very short, allowing him to calmly enjoy one of the most solid periods of his career, during which he won eight Grand Slams.