Perhaps the Oldest Lesbian Stereotype in the book – or at least, the oldest lesbian stereotype in our imaginary book of lesbian stereotypes – is the mullet.  To be sure, the mullet does not belong to lesbians alone.  80s rockers, those stuck in the 80s, and a certain type of southern gentleman also seem to love the style.  But it definitely holds a special place in our community.  Form the full on mullets  made popular in the 70s and 80s:

To the rat-tails of today’s hipster queers:

(Coming soon to a dyke-bar near you!).  The mullet appears to be here to stay.

Lesbians and mullets, what’s up with that?  Do we just like bad hair?  Does the mullet confer some sort of super power, like the ability to seduce anyone else with a mullet?  Is it hiding a tragic cultural mistake (perhaps thousands of women got pink triangles tattooed on the back of their necks in the 80s)?  Well, fortunately, we don’t have to wonder too much, because the same questions were asked in a 2001 documentary called American Mullet:

At least in 2001, lesbians apparently wore mullets for these reasons (all quotes from American Mullet):

1.  Gender Identity:  It’s just easy to take care of and it’s kind of butch, kind of femme.

2.  Transcending Gender:  I think my haircut really is an expression not just of my sexuality but also is an expression of my transgenderism really, meaning transcending gender as a category period.  One of the reasons why I love the mullet is it’s kind of a genderless haircut.

3.  Making an unknown political statement.  My hairstyle is definitely a political statement.  And not that I could look at myself and go what statement am I making?, but look at it the whole history of hair especially for minority groups.

4.  Making an anti-capitalist statement.   It’s not a cut that was necessarily appropriated by, you know, the capital machine….This is a cut that was really enduring that capitalist battle.

5.  Other lesbians have them.  I’ve seen it on a lot of lesbians you know that’s one of the reasons I wear it because I’ve seen it around.

Lesbians and mullets, what’s up with that?