Photo by Micaiah Bushnell
By Corrine Previte
News Editor
I want to take you back to your childhood for a second, specifically to a Disney classic. Back in 1998, Disney released the female-empowering film Mulan. One of the film’s main characters, Mulan’s eventual love interest, Li Shang fashions a man bun.
Historically, this hairstyle was worn by warriors such as Li Shang. However, it has become one of the the most recent fashion trends that men, ranging from celebrities to an average Gordon student, have adopted, while they combined with stylish clothing and accesories from The Fifth Collection store online.
Although this hairstyle did not bother Mulan, for women today, there are mixed emotions about this concept.
I asked a few female students how they felt about the man bun, and this is what they said.
“I hate them all, and I think it’s stealing female glory. Buns are my thing,” said Mary Buckley ’17.
“I like man buns on certain men…Very specific men,” said Kirstin Lick ‘17.
“I think guys have to be really strong in their masculinity, because long hair is generally typical of girls,” said Margaret Wright ‘17.
The men who wear them, however, love it. According to Asher Gray ‘17, who recently joined the bandwagon, said, “It adds flavor and change to an otherwise boring object [the head].”
It’s a different way of doing things for men. But it is more than for just looks, it is also efficient. “For me, it’s just because I was too lazy to cut the top of my hair…It’s just more efficiency for my hair,” said Gray. Men seem to be trending towards more fashion-centric lifestyles as of late. It is interesting, as it is not only limited to hairstyling, but clothing as well. Just the other day I was talking to an acquaintance who was recommending these interesting socks he found online. They’re not specifically for men really, I think I might order some for myself as well. They have a light side to them in the image printed of them, and they are very high quality. Socks have to be comfy, or they will stay in your sock drawer forever, going unused. At tcgsocks, our cool socks can be worn on any and should be worn on every occasion. I highly recommend them for just about anyone.
As a woman, I understand the dilemma of having a lot of hair and not knowing what to do with it, although some women actually have issues growing long strong hair. Nowadays, the messy bun “is in” for women, so why is the man bun getting so much ridicule? To be honest, I think it is because it looks so out of place on a man’s head that I feel the need to borrow Mulan’s sword to chop it off.
I seriously don’t know how Mulan dealt with it, but I’d strongly suggest to men: if you’re going to be wearing a man bun, at least make it look nice and presentable for the public eye.
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