Don't Judge a Man by his Mullet
One of my best friends, Laura Johnson, founded Mulletfest. If you don't know what that is, where have you been hiding? It's a globally famous festival that happens every year in Kurri Kurri at the Chelmsford Hotel.
It began for the noblest reason. The town had lost a generational employer and was suffering from an economic downturn and a loss of spirit. The plan was to create a tourist injection and a chance for people to gather together, be each other's support system, and laugh. Mulletfest delivered in spades.
Mulletfest has been covered by every national news outlet, by Russia Today, The BBC, Ireland AM, and press outlets worldwide since its creation in 2018. Having been on-site for all four events so far, I can confirm, there has not been one anti-social incident. Groups of people come together to raise money for charity and form the most unlikely of friendships.
Having become the national spokesperson for the iconic 80's haircut and even sporting one herself, Laura gets a call at least once a month from media outlets across the country. It's always some version of the same story for comment.
Someone has banned the mullet in their pub, school, or other venue and Laura is being asked for comment.
The reasoning for the ban is always some version of ‘It looks untidy/it's unhygienic (head lice have often been mentioned as part of this argument); it's not the image we as a school want to portray; it says something about you as a person etc.’
Let's unpack that, shall we?
It looks untidy/unhygienic – Steeped in sexism (unless they ask all the girls at the school to have short back and sides to prevent headlice), this is not a real reason. Girls with long hair can be asked to tie their hair back while in uniform, then that request can easily be made of boys with long hair.
It's not the image we want to portray – This one makes me laugh, particularly when one of the schools imposing this rule had been in the news several years prior for the kids at their school doing $100K worth of damage to property during a year 12 muck up day prank. You would think, given that incident, that the school would be more focused on what's in their heads than what is on top of it!
On the flipside is Laura's son, who, in year 12, grew his hair into a mullet. He was growing his hair until a specific date and then shaving it as a fundraising opportunity for brain cancer research. He was told by the school that he needed to cut his hair or spend every lunchtime in detention. He said he was happy to spend every lunch break in detention, but he was not taking away a fundraising opportunity for a worthy cause. His passionate argument and dedication had the reverse effect of encouraging staff members to donate to the cause.
Which kid is the image you want to portray to the world of a good citizen, of a good human being?
School should be the one place that kids can express themselves, develop critical thinking, and make ethical choices. I'm constantly told that private schools have the right to have a dress code, and if you don't like it, don't go there. But the child is not an extension of their parent, they are their own being – they didn't make that choice.
I wish we would stop telling kids that being exactly like the rest of the crowd is the only way to succeed. The best people I know are not the people who go along to get along. They are the ones who stand out and stand up. They are the people who change history.
