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[MMarston]

Short on the sides, and long on top: the undercut; the Macklemore — it’s the slicked-back hairstyle any Brooklyn barbershop worth its salt specializes in. In cities and blue states, we tend to associate guys who sport them as fashion-conscious — urban hipsters who were closer to Ryan Gosling than Mel Gibson in ideology. They were popular with women who like their men culturally aware and with a progressive slant.

Not anymore. There were signs that the haircut was about to be problematic last year when The Washington Post ran a story about the way the Alt-Right had taken up that style — renamed the “fashy,” as in fascist — as their signature look. It picked up steam during the inauguration when white nationalists convened in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the new Trump presidency. But the coup de gras was the viral video of Alt-Right leader Richard Spencer getting punched in the head (twice!). Now, a haircut that was once associated with sensitive professionals has been appropriated by the conservative extremists, which has led many women who date white men to start swiping left, indiscriminately.

...

The undercut, as the haircut is widely known today, first cropped up in the Edwardian era and lasted throughout the ‘50s. It was the dominant men’s style during much of the 20th century, particularly among working class communities. But the most infamous example of the haircut was that it became the distinguishing style among Wehrmacht officers in Nazi Germany, and teenage men — the Hitler Youth — who participated in paramilitary youth clubs.

But that’s not why it became popular again in 2010. It’s most recent reincarnation was probably due to Don Draper’s neat hairstyle on Mad Men and Jimmy Darmody’s slicked-back coif in Boardwalk Empire, two TV shows with protagonists who desperately want to be “good men,” but are weighed down by machismo and existential angst. “People would ask for for that haircut,” says Josh Boyd, cofounder of Blind Barber, the Brooklyn-based barbershop chain many credit with popularizing the undercut style in the early 2010s. “[They’d say,] ‘I want the Michael Pitt. I want the Jimmy Darmody.’ That was the tipping point.” His business partner Jeff Laub points to those cultural touchstones, and not the fascist origins, as their inspiration: “In all honesty, we didn’t know the exact reference of the undercut.”

Primarily, the article is also detailing how this affecting social media/online dating culture for women as well.

For women who have spent time dating online, learning how to identify the possibility of unpleasant encounters before they happen is an important skill. There are a preponderance of stories that suggests that straight women spend a disproportionate amount of time deflecting and minimizing sexual harassment from straight men on dating apps, rather than establishing romantic connections. Additionally, The Pew Research Center found in a comprehensive study about online bullying that 1 in 4 young women aged 18 to 24 were the targets of online sexual harassment, and that young women are more likely to be stalked, sexually harassed, and suffer sustained harassment than their male peers or internet users in general.

Sometimes, it’s not worth delving deeper into a connection, when the consequences for misjudging can be annoying, embarrassing, or in some cases, dangerous. “As a Black woman on Tinder, I’m trying to mitigate any possible pitfall, considering we only have visual information to tell us what a person might be about. That haircut means something to me other than, ‘my barber tries too hard,’” says Davis.

Of course, not all men with an undercut are Alt-Right, and not all neo-Nazis have an undercut. In fact, white supremacists have historically appropriated some of their most enduring iconography from non-whites — like British skinheads with Jamaican rudeboys or German Nazis with the Indian swastika. But when women have limited tools for recognizing dangerous encounters, and the consequences of “just talk to them to find out!” can be unpleasant and demeaning; sometimes the only course of action is making a value judgment about a white guy with a trendy haircut, and not interacting in the first place.

But while it seems that while images of the fashy might be going viral online, it hasn’t translated into haircut appointments, at least not in the same establishments where progressive urbanites get theirs. Blind Barber canvassed its barbers in Los Angeles, Manhattan, and Brooklyn and confirmed that they haven’t received any customers who deliberately want a fashy by name. “No barber has heard the term before," insists Laub. "But if it was requested by name by a client, our barbers would ask them to get the fuck out of the chair. This is a stupid attempt at a hurtful rebrand of a popular haircut. "

http://www.refinery29.com/mens-hipster-undercut-haircut


Punch a nazi (again) if old.

 

[Robot Pants]

What aren't they ruining?

 

[bobbychalkers]

I've been noticing this a lot too. Alt-right types that I work with have been adopting this haircut en masse.

 

[5taquitos]

First they came for my haircut, and I did nothing.

 

[The Lamonster]

eh, don't give them that power.

Wear whatever haircut you want, guys.

 

[LiK]

it was always a stupid haircut. they can have it.

 

[Lambtron]

Not gonna lie, when I see this haircut on someone I assume they're a Nazi.

 

[legacyzero]

Oh HELL no. Y'all have done quite enough of breaking appearance standards

 

[Fuchsdh]

it was always a stupid haircut. they can have it.

Well, it was always trending towards Hitler youth, so they already had a claim to it. Not like Pepe where it was totally out of left field.

 

[Red Arremer]

Most people I've seen with that haircut are douchebags anyway, so I'm not surprised. :|

 

[acheron_xl]

Nazis are just taking back what belonged to them in the first place.

 

[Palmer_v1]

Sorry to the people who were using this style before, but I'm 100% in favor of racists adopting easily recognizable styles, so that I better know who to punch.

 

[the_batman]

eh, don't give them that power.

Wear whatever haircut you want, guys.

yeah, they do it because it bothers you.

 

[ant_]

Not gonna lie, when I see this haircut on someone I assume they're a Nazi.

Nothing wrong with this at all.

Spoiler

what the fuck?

 

[Phoenixazure]

Fucking A. That has been my go to hairstyle. I'm just gonna droop it to the side for now until I figure something else out

Also worth noting I'm a Hispanic male who generally has wavy hair if it gets too long

 

[Apathy]

Can they take back the Hitler stash so we can more easily identify them?

 

[PillarEN]

Adolf kinda killed the name.

Who is gonna call their kid Milo in the future?

 

[Baron von Loathsome]

it was always a stupid haircut. they can have it.

Yeah, I never found it to be a good look.

 

[valkillmore]

Lately whenever I see a thin white metrosexual with a cut like this, I think 'alt-right.'

 

[the_batman]

Not gonna lie, when I see this haircut on someone I assume they're a Nazi.

even if they're asian?

Lately whenever I see a thin white metrosexual with a cut like this, I think 'alt-right.'

since when are neo-nazis also metrosexuals?

also, why are we calling neo-nazis "alt right"?

 

[K.Sabot]

Thanks to /fa/ I've always associated this cut with Nazis because they literally call it the "Hitler youth" and its a big joke over there.

 

[FlutterPuffs]

even if they're asian?

There's asian skinheads.

Really.

 

[Lulubop]

Yeah, I never found it to be a good look.

def a good look on me

 

[smokeymicpot]

I got my hair cut a few times like that. Mostly because I was watching Peaky Blinders and I thought I could pull it off.

 

[Viewt]

To clarify, an undercut isn't the same thing as a high-and-tight, right? Because I don't get the sides down to a buzz - just short, and I don't slick back the longer hair on top. A high-and-tight really works for my headshape, and it'd suck if that became synonymous with nazis.

 

[Nickle]

Maybe neo-nazi's should start adapting cargo shorts as their look.

 

[johancruijff]

Back to a shaved head I guess

Wait

 

[CornBurrito]

I'll admit it often does look really nice.

 

[CHC]

Overplayed, trendy haircut that looks stupid.

They can have it.

 

[Red Liquorice]

I never knew that's what that hairstyle was called. It's time it was gone any way, it's been the defacto male hairstyle for years. Let these idiots have it, it's not like they've got anything else going for them.

 

[Oppo]

seriously? come on.

this is like saying Neo Nazis ruined the shaved head or drivers cap or black leather boots. it's dumb.

 

[ChrisD]

Dang at the clashing of ideas between the posts here. "Wear what you like, don't let them ruin your hair" followed immediately by, "I want to punch people wearing this."

Glad I don't have the cut. Not a fan of the look.

 

[collige]

Adolf kinda killed the name.

Who is gonna call their kid Milo in the future?

Peter Molyneux fanboys?

 

[Violet_0]

again?!

 

[benicillin]

It's the haircut equivalent of the MRA types and fedoras.

 

[ahoyhoy]

Lately whenever I see a thin white metrosexual with a cut like this, I think 'alt-right.'

Yeah it's weird the only thing separating them from your typical 20-something gay guy is whether they like to suck cock or not.

 

[Kayhan]

"Just cut it like I am going to a Trump rally"

"I got you, fam"

Actually it is a pretty nice looking haircut for blonde guys.

 

[Goro Majima]

Maybe I'm just old but when I saw this haircut was a thing my first question was whether or not people were aware that it's very reminiscent of an old fashioned Nazi era hairstyle.

 

[Sami+]

I kinda have my haircut like that, although not in the particular slicked back weirdo neo-nazi style. Short on the sides but then I sweep to the side.

Whatever, I like my hair. They can fuck off.

 

[Malyse]

I mean, are we really complaining about asshats doing things that make them more identifiable?

 

[GrizzNKev]

as long as they don't take the man bun from us I'm good

 

[ChemicalCutthroat]

I will keep my glorious mane as is.

They all look like soccer player haircuts anyway.

 

[5taquitos]

as long as they don't take the man bun from us I'm good

Someone should take it from you for your own good.

 

[WedgeX]

Time for Americans to move on to the Capt. Winters.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

Maybe neo-nazi's should start adapting cargo shorts as their look.

No! They can have our flip-flops, but they'll never take our cargo shorts!

 

[Wulfric]

Omg, I wear my hair like that slicked to the left. Except I'm chubby, hispanic, and 100% not a Nazi.

I think it looks good if you pair it with a thick, bushy beard. Too bad they're trying to take it over.

 

[Bladenic]

as long as they don't take the man bun from us I'm good

If only they took that instead ugh

 

[Count Dookkake]

Silver lining.

 

[the_batman]

as long as they don't take the man bun from us I'm good

bruh, man buns were always awful.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

They got tired of ruining skinheads for decades.