Rattail (haircut)

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Man with a rattail.

A rattail is a haircut that is characterized by a long "tail" of hair growing from the back of the head. It saw a notable phase of popularity during the 1980s but can still be seen today, albeit in a rarer form. While the rattail has been worn by both genders, this haircut is observed most commonly in males. The individual with a rattail typically has his or her hair cut short all over their head except for a few strands in the back that are left to grow out.

The rattail usually curls naturally; however, it can be braided, treated as a dread, permed, straightened, or curled with an iron. In some instances, an individual might choose to grow several tails or grow a single tail very long.

It appears that Jedi Knight apprentices or "padawans" in the Star Wars films (particularly the prequel trilogy") are required or allowed to wear braided rats-tails during the period of their apprenticeship, but then are burnt/sliced off with a lightsaber when the Council admits them to the full rank of Jedi Knight.

This hairstyle seems to be rather commonly seen on manga characters. For example, Miroku, a monk from InuYasha, Dr. Tofu (a character in Ranma 1/2) and Masaharu Niou from Prince of Tennis all have small ponytails resembling rattails. Tenchi Masaki also is seen with a rattail. Auron from Final Fantasy X also sports a ratttail in a concept art by Tetsuya Nomura (It is not visible in game because of his high brim collar). However, this may be due to the hairstyles similarity with the queue hairstyle of the Manchu in China. Tamahome from Fushigi Yūgi appears to sport the rattail hairstyle until it is cut off later in the story, however in one of Yuu Watase's illustrations of him, his hair is actually long.

As the hairstyle has become less popular, it has been increasingly associated with redneck culture and is a common characteristic found in stereotypes of lower class North Americans.^{[citation needed]}

Shaved head with long braided rattail

Some punks and rivetheads have been known to support them also, although in a much more punky style, totally shaven head, except for a tuft of hair at the back, usually dyed in various luminous colours.

Former junior welterweight boxing champion Kostya Tszyu sported a rather famous rattail throughout his career.

The Guinness World Record for longest rattail measures 4 feet 9 inches held by Grant Ruramora.

Also, Mark Hoppus, Bassist from Blink 182 and more recently (+44) sported a rat tail from the time Blink 182 shot the video for Feeling This in 2003 until June 2006. Details about this can be found on his podcast entitled Hi, My Name Is Mark #18.