SYDNEY: In late January every year, barbers across Australia hear similar requests from their young male customers. When boys start arriving at Martin McEnearney’s shop to have their locks removed, the Sydney barber knows the school holidays are coming to an end.
“They’d grow their mullets over Christmas but know they have to abide by the rules when they go back because the school doesn’t permit them,” he said.
What is it about haircuts that makes them such a controversial topic – especially in the classroom?
In Australia the renewed popularity of the mullet – short at the front and sides while often shoulder length at the back – has once again sparked outrage between principals and pupils.
Many schools insist that the mullet does not adhere to their rules which require high grooming standards and respect for authority.
When the boys at St Patrick’s College in Ballarat, Victoria, were told to get their mullets cut or stay at home until they were, the kids were not happy.
Even some of the parents objected to the school’s policy, which states: “Our general expectation in regard to hairstyle is that it be neat, clean and not extreme in style or colour so as to draw attention to the individual student.”
A CUT TOO FAR
The parents argued that the policy repressed individualism and reinforced old-fashioned views on uniformity.
Whether it is the mohawk, the rat’s tail, the top knot or the spiky punk look, it is often the more conservative private schools that take issue with the more wayward mop.
“Mullets are common at the moment – they’re a trend – but hairstyles come and go,” said McEnearney, the Sydney barber.
According to one psychologist, the mullet debate may say more about how kids are taught to conform to society’s expectations in later life than their appearance in the classroom.
Sahra O’Doherty believes little has changed over the years.
“There is always going to be the need to conform in particular areas of society,” she explained.
“The school is one example, corporate workplaces might be another where people are expected to dress in a certain way. It isn’t a new concept. It’s been around since people started to divide off into different types.”
So are schools merely preparing their young charges for the demands of working life? Or are they simply demonstrating an outmoded form of discrimination against those they regard as socially inferior?
A QUESTION OF CLASS?
O’Doherty, who is a director on the board of the Australian Association of Psychologists, believes it might have something to do with the perception that mullets are associated with so-called “bogans”, a derisory Australian term for those who are perceived as uncultured or uncouth.
“These are labels that are quite disparaging of people and might be a marker of a certain class who might be of lower socio-economic status and that’s not necessarily what some of these schools might want to be associated with,” she suggested.
Julian Oldmeadow, a senior lecturer in psychology at Swinburne University of Technology in Victoria, takes a similar view.
“I assume the schools or other objectors are still carrying negative associations with the mullet and want to distance themselves from those,” he said.
He also contends that banning the mullet could be likened to prohibiting the wearing of the burka, which also sparks controversy whenever it is raised in Australia.
“One could argue that this is discrimination along the same lines as banning burkas or any other form of self-expression,” he pointed out.
“The interesting question is whether, and if so, why banning mullets is considered legitimate? This is the interesting space where people for and against such an action throw up arguments for why it’s justified or not, aiming to make it a moral issue and win on moral grounds.”
“There will be arguments about the rights of schools to control their image and require a degree of conformity from students. (And) there will be counter arguments about individual freedoms and perhaps even human rights,” he added.
BADGE OF HONOUR
Away from the big cities and the posh schools, such considerations fall on deaf ears.
In rural Australia the return of the mullet is celebrated not so much as a hairstyle but a badge of honour.
This weekend it will take pride of place at Mulletfest, in the New South Wales country town of Kurri Kurri.
The competition was founded by fellow mullet devotee Laura Johnson and attracts mullet lovers and wearers from miles around.
It has grown so popular that this year there are similar festivals for the iconic hairstyle held across Australia to raise money for charity.
“Mullets are definitely back in fashion,” she said, rejecting suggestions that the hairstyle is lower-class.
“You can’t judge a book by its cover and you can’t judge a person by their mullet.”
She added: “People who are mullet lovers are doing it for all the right reasons – they’re good people and that’s what we want to show.”
Laura said she can understand the thinking behind more traditional short back and sides haircuts.
But she is confounded by the stigma surrounding the mullet.
“When you’re trying to figure out who you are and you want to express yourself with a mullet, if you don’t like it after six months or the fashion changes, it’s not permanent – you’ve had a good time.”
Back in the classroom the mullet will continue to divide opinion.
For some it will continue to be “bogan.”
For those who are forced to submit to the scissors, it could be the unkindest cut of all.
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