Unibrow

From Free net encyclopedia

(Redirected from Monobrow)

Image:Frida Kahlo stamp.jpg A unibrow, or monobrow, is the presence of abundant hair between the eyebrows, so that the eyebrows seem to join up above the nose to form one long eyebrow. In Western culture, the unibrow is often derided as being a throwback to a "primitive" state or as exhibiting a lack of self-grooming. Hence, especially among women, the region between the brows is often plucked or treated with electrolysis or other forms of depilation. Unibrow separation is often the only form of eyebrow grooming (a stereotypically feminine behavior) among men. However, in some countries this facial hair does not have the same stigma.

The Mexican artist Frida Kahlo often depicted herself with a prominent unibrow and a thin moustache, which was seen as unconventional and purposely unflattering by Western audiences.

There have been no serious scientific studies of the unibrow in culture or whether certain ethnic groups are more prone to developing a unibrow or not (or less likely to pluck them or not), though it is likely caused by an excess of testosterone, one of the major factors in the growth of body hair. The word is now in the Oxford English Dictionary but not the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Medical dictionaries such as Dorland's Medical Dictionary contain the word "synophrys", defined as "the condition in which the eyebrows grow together".

Unibrows have been the subject of various superstitions. Eugenicists identified unibrows as a symbol of criminality, and earlier they were also associated with werewolves.

Contents

Famous people with a unibrow

Image:Sharipov.jpg Many of these individuals are usually seen with their unibrows plucked.

Fictional characters with a unibrow

Image:Tv sesame street Beautiful Day.jpg

See also

External links