The Asian-American Mohawk
Okay, for weeks already while zipping around town, Ac.Stet had noticed this trend among the teens, mostly Asian-American kids, spotting the mohawk hairdo.
Close-shaven at both sides of the scalp to leave a watershed tuft of hair running a divide of the skull, gradating into a full tail at the back. Unlike the stiff, spiked, oft-dyed and mostly sinister, touch-me-not mohawk of the Punks, the Asian-Americano mohawk is worn black, a-times flat, soft (perhaps an inherent behavior of the straight, more supple Mongoloid follicle gene), and consequently wind-obeying (unless consciously waxed to stay in shape and position).
Maybe this is a delayed influence from David Beckham, whose similar but more gentile “fin” version of a haircut cost him $800 for a housecall from his celebrity snipper and who is a superstar icon in soccer-mad East Asia? Or Nakata, even though BBC reported a footballing-hairtrend infiltration in 2002. Or was it the United Nasian Maddox Jolie-Pitt who is suffering the union-on-the-rocks of Brangelina? Is it another J-pop influence from Nippon?Or was it a trickling down of the madcap gimmicks of – argh- Sanjay Malakar in American Idol 6?
Has not the old media fashion press picked up on this yet? Hello, Guy Trebay, Eric Wilson and Horatio Silva from The New York Times? Hey, what about you Amy Larocca from the New York magazine? Or Lynn Yaeger or Michael Musto from The Village Voice? As it turns out, Mr. Wilson of NYT has done a really good piece on this in September 2005 –> http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/01/fashion/thursdaystyles/01mohawk.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5070&en=807268936b52b308&ex=1188964800
But Ac.Stet’d like a good explanation of why the Asian-American male community has been spotted of late having shown a greater proclivity towards such a crowning influence? Where do they get such cuts? Who perpetuates it?
What? What? What?
It is a nagging suspicion that maybe, just maybe, that Asian-Americans are socialized through years of immigrant mentality and upbringing into taking a conformist stance. Perhaps the Asian Americans are ready and open to the concept of the mohawk when it first was at the cusp of being a runaway rage. But because they are afraid of trying new things and standing out, afraid that their indigenous American counterparts will find them odd and ill-fitting of the American society, that they had instead delayed partaking in the mohawk trend, allowing Hollywood toddlers and Californian skaters and Latino streetsmarts guinea-pigged it out before daring to be part of the trend. So maybe this would explain why 2 years after the New York Times reported on it, then had the Asian American kids finally dared to do it.
By then, it’s no longer fashion. It’s merely a tired uniform.
funny that you blogged about this, I am an Asian-american with a mohawk. but I did it because I was sick of having the same crewcut hairstyle of which I had for years. Though I’m not like what you described, I wear it fanned or liberty spiked, its not too long yet.. maybe 2 or 3 inches, but its getting there, and one more thing im not really a punk or anything.. Just an Asian-American kid just opting for a change.
Hey there buddy, you don’t know what fear is, so shut it.
Is that kid Jolie’s adopted boy? He has a hack of a haircut. I envy Asians for their hair sometimes