Story: Personal grooming

The mullet, 2007 (4th of 4)

The mullet, 2007

Long hair mutated during the 1980s, and one result was the mullet – short on top and at the sides, long down the back – sometimes with a mere 'rat’s tail' (one lock of long hair), sometimes a waterfall. Favoured by working-class men, it was a hairstyle that some found ugly – a feeling expressed by the referee in this cartoon, as he sends rugby player Jason Eaton off the field. The mullet was also very popular with some, and in the 2000s there were many websites devoted to it.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: DCDL-0003118
Cartoon by Tom Scott

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Bronwyn Dalley, 'Personal grooming - Men’s hair', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/cartoon/38747/the-mullet-2007 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Bronwyn Dalley, published 5 Sep 2013