Well, no one really can or should defend 'the reverse mullet', but if people are going to criticize it, at the very least we should know its history.
It's actually an old (mid 70s to 80s) haircut known as the "Chelsea" that was worn by traditional (non-racist; think Two Tone Ska) skinheads--before the skinhead look was co-opted by white power scum. Not that it makes it any less ridiculous, but, at one time, in certain underground music scenes, it was kinda of cool.
On a serious note, the whole reverse mullet Chelsea thing arose because of a ridiculous article blaming women for rape instead of blaming, oh, rapists.
More like this
There have been a whole bunch of stories written about the idiot skinheads who were busted for a ludicrous plot to kill a whole bunch of black people, including Barack Obama: the AP version, the
The TV movie Flight 93, which re-enacted the hijacking of
UPDATE: GO HERE for more info and an interesting analysis. Including a discussion of "why 88?" and "why 14?"
So I was showing Zooillogix to a few folks at my friend's party in San Francisco and this guy broke out this sweet dumbo octopus tattoo. I'll show you mine, if you show me yours can be a risky move for a straight guy in SF, but it worked out this time around.
For what it's worth, there are women who can pull off the Chelsea. Though it must be accompanied by a tight t-shirt, baggy jeans, and Doc Martens or it just looks strange.
Brian X,
I agree.
I agree, too. I dig the Chelsea.
I actually had a Chelsea in my younger, hanging out with some ska/punk/straight edge crowds (non skinhead types) Listening to the Specials, the Toasters, Mighty Mighty Bosstones...ahhh youth.
Thanks for clearing that up though. I had heard that term used but hadn't seen the pictures. No idea what they meant by a "reverse mullet".