Once they were symbols of power and sophistication. From Hulk Hogan to Adolf Hitler, Albert Einstein to Edward Elgar, the moustache was everywhere. But today, with facial hair in the fashion doldrums, the moustache is taking on a new role in public life – as a vehicle for protest.
For proof, look no further than Brazil, where voters have created the "greve de bigode" or "moustache strike" to register their fury at the country's latest political scandal. The campaign calls on disgruntled Brazilians to grow moustaches and post their photographs on a blog (tiremobigode.blogspot.com).
The moustaches are a reference to José Sarney, the president of Brazil's senate, who is currently afflicted by allegations of nepotism and embezzlement, and is famous for the bushy clump of hair that adorns his upper lip. Protesters say that they will only start shaving again when the senate gets rid of its president.
"It's a way of moving people who think that politics is dull and who wouldn't normally get involved," says Ricardo Silveira, 30, the São Paulo-based art director who created the campaign. The rules stipulate that protesting men must grow genuine moustaches, while women and children can create fake ones. Yesterday, almost 100 people had joined the protest, with visitors being asked to vote for the best moustache on show.
The use of the moustache as a campaigning tool is spreading across the globe. Last November, thousands of men across the world cultivated moustaches as part of a drive to to raise awareness of prostate cancer. In 2007, workers at a microbrewery in the southern US state of Georgia also held a "moustache protest" after the state government delayed giving them a brewing licence.
But the effectiveness of moustache protests is unclear. Analysts say Sarney, a powerful supporter of Brazil's coalition government, who was the country's president for five years, is likely to survive. The strike may yet backfire on the protesters themselves. The girlfriend of Viton Araújo, another driving force behind the protest, is apparently furious at her partner's moustache and has threatened to cut it off while he sleeps. Silveira, meanwhile, has become the target of hecklers near his São Paulo office, who have taken to shouting, "Hey, Borat!"
