Help, what’s this man bun about!

When I met celebrity hair stylist Daniel Johnson in London some time ago, there were only two things that annoyed him. First, when he was served an almond-latte which he found disgusting, and secondly, when we started talking about the man bun. For Johnson, the man bun is a greeting from hell, the antithesis of the elaborate hairstyles which he created for footballers Mario Balotelli or Jamie Vardy. The coiffure held up imaginary scissors and, snip snap, expressed clearly were the bun belonged to in his opinion: into the dustbin of history.

However, this practical hairstyle has been haunting culture for centuries, albeit not in Europe. The Japanese samurai wore the man bun as an emblem. It might well be exactly this warlike aspect that appeals to some men nowadays: Wouldn’t it be nice to be a bit more daring, a bit more virtuous? The man bun yells at us: Behold, I am so wild, so unconventional, and so archaic.

But in this case we tend to forget one thing: Not every man belongs to the cast of Game of Thrones. The popular fantasy series relied on long haired men since the beginning of season one. In the sixth season, protagonist Jon Snow wears almost nothing else but an elegant man bun. So, he who man-buns links this diffuse medieval world with modern times – sometimes with a shaved nape of the neck or shaved sides. It is a mixed signal in our high-tech world. “I wipe up my dates on Tinder but I cut my hair with a hedge trimmer.”

Men should face one threat. Not every woman appreciates a partner who styles his hair like she does, because the lady bun is in vogue too. No matter if he is the impersonation of the archaic man or not. In case of emergency she will do as Daniel Johnson: snip, snap.

Ulf Lippitz lives in Berlin. He writes for the Tagesspiegel and has his own selfish reasons for concerning himself with the question of what suits a man.

This column has first been published in the printed edition of 30 Grad magazine in spring 2016.