The "Fuck Ass Bob" is back. At the 2024 Golden Globes, the short haircut had a major moment, reigniting our appreciation for the fierce (and much-memed) 'do.
On the red carpet, celebrities sported many iterations of the short hairstyle, which can range from ultra-cropped (think '90s Victoria Beckham) to collarbone-length (a "lob," or long bob, for the uninitiated). Nearly every Best Actress nominee embraced the chop: Greta Lee and Cailee Spaeny rocked soft, wavy bobs; Ayo Edebiri and America Ferrera opted for sharper, blunter cuts; Carey Mulligan's middle-parted, chin-length hair looked pristine; Emma Stone's lob hit just above the shoulder.
So what's behind the reemergence of the bob? It could be newfound appreciation for all those Fuck Ass Bob memes, inspired by a 2017 Vine in which a high schooler very creatively reads her classmate to filth: "You talk so much! So much... with this fuck ass bob!"
The meme found new life last August, when Kim Kardashian sported a bob in a promotional video for a new SKIMS bra. A couple of months later, Bob Discourse started up again thanks to the 2024 Paris Olympics logo: the silhouette of a woman's face and her blunt, tousled bob.
As much as we appreciate the power of a good meme, there might be something deeper behind the trend. Back in 2008, Japanese researchers found that when economies slump, women cut their hair short. The study isn't exactly up-to-date, but the link between beauty and style trends and the state of the economy is a phenomenon that financiers and fashion experts alike have speculated on for years.
Take the "lipstick index," for example, the theory that sales of affordable luxuries — like lipstick and other cosmetics — rise in times of economic uncertainty. There's also the "hemline index," which posits that skirt lengths get shorter when the economy is strong and longer during recessions.
Whether we owe the resurgence of the bob to memes or money, we're here for it — as evidenced by famous bob-havers Edna Mode and Anna Wintour, there's something to be said about short chops and iconic, idiosyncratic women.
