United States | Diabolical follicles

The mullet has had a resurgence in right-wing America

The hairdo has always been donned by Americans rejecting the mainstream

Close-up of a young boy with a blonde mullet haircut.
Image: Stephanie Pittman/courtesy of Ron Bowling
|ATLANTA

WHEN THE wind catches three-year old Eli “Ginger Mane” Powell’s mullet just right, his mother said you can hear the national anthem playing and bald eagles cawing in the distance. For Easton “The Ida-Flow” Klink, the hairdo is a symbol of “247 years of American fan favourites” like barbecue and big trucks. Catch Brantley “BK” Kirwin shaking his locks at concerts and he’ll tell you about his love for the military and “MERICA”.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Mullet magic”

From the August 19th 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from United States

 Pam Bondi is sworn in as she prepares to testify during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to examine her expected nomination to be Attorney General, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC.

Pam Bondi seems like a relatively safe pair of hands

But is America’s next attorney-general an independent operator?

US President Joe Biden delivers his farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA.

Checks and Balance newsletter: Joe Biden’s farewell shot at the oligarchy

The outgoing president warns of a new “tech-industrial complex”


Xiaohongshu And TikTok Logos

A protest against America’s TikTok ban is mired in contradiction

Another Chinese app is not the alternative some young Americans think it is


Joe Biden wound up serving Donald Trump

In some ways, his administration will look less like an interregnum than like MAGA-lite

How bad will the smoke be for Angelenos’ health?

Expect more sickness and disrupted schooling

Should you have to prove your age before watching porn?

America’s Supreme Court weighs a Texan law aimed at protecting kids