Facial hair—a delicate intersection of style; a cultural signifier, a self-sustaining accessory. Facial hair for men has long been a symbol of manhood and masculinity, yet also of refinement and status. For women, it is yet another mode through which they are told what may naturally occur on or within their bodies is not for them. Facial hair on women is mocked or exoticized, while men boast as much as possible—whoever most easily grows a beard is the unspoken “alpha male”. Those were the days of old. The little mustache is in, and it is in part due to the cyclical nature of the American political and countercultural scene. As tides shift from a strictly binary world to a nuanced and elastic reality, the mustache has renewed in pop culture—and it no longer boasts machismo.

You’ve surely noticed a tiny stache as you walk through campus, Trader Joe’s, or any bookstore in Portland or LA. This stache is not a new iteration of facial grooming but rather an homage to the mustaches of old such as the pencil, the shaggy goatee, and the chevron—three distinct styles from the 1930s, 1960s, and 1980s respectively.

The ‘30s saw people inching along through the age of anxiety, but that term had yet to be coined, and everyone was simply confused, sound familiar? The ‘30s are home to the pencil stache. Famously worn by surrealist Salvador Dalí, it is dainty and unafraid to appear too exacting. The ‘60s counterculture introduced images of shaggy rock stars and beatniks, mistrust of the government, and communal philosophies from the “radical left” clashing with the establishment. The ‘80s belong to Freddie Mercury and his thick-chevron style ‘stache, as well as an epidemic fumbled by the US government and increasing challenges to traditional gender roles.

Is there some sort of unconscious connection that facial hair transcends time via an invisible thread? Is facial hair a reaction to culture or is facial hair grooming culture itself? Are we all just waiting to see what the ‘stache decides, as pawns in its wire-y game? Perhaps.

The re-emergence of the subtle mustache may be a result of genders blurring and the expression of the masculine, feminine, and non-binary qualities of each individual. Drag queens and frat bros alike don the tiny ‘stache. One wearer of the stache jokes, “I could only ever grow this much hair, so I’m glad it’s in style. I can finally see what having a mustache is like...people respect you more!”

There is hope in the solidarity of these new mustaches. They do not rely on size to assert dominance or impress, they can mean anything from “I skateboard” to “This is the first time I’ve been able to grow facial hair, and even if it is simple, it is something!” Frivolous? Of course, but in this moment, of much pain and unrest, it comforts one to know that there lies an unexplored camaraderie in the world of facial hair.

The Little Mustache And Its Moment