Unibrow: Encyclopedia - Unibrow

Unibrow

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".

Unibrow - Famous people with a unibrow

• Jim Adkins, lead singer of Jimmy Eat World
• Giuseppe Bergomi, Italian soccer player
• Bill Berry, former drummer of R.E.M.
• Leonid Brezhnev, one-time leader of the Soviet Union
• Chris de Burgh, Argentinian-born singer
• Liam Gallagher, singer of Oasis (band)
• Josh Hartnett, actor
• Bobby Holik, ice hockey star
• Frida Kahlo, artist
• Tommy Lee Jones, actor
• Momčilo Krajišnik, Bosnian warlord
• Justin Langer, Australian cricketer
• Salizhan Sharipov, Russian Cosmonaut
• Richard Trethewey, plumber on TV's This Old House

Unibrow - Fictional characters with a unibrow

• Unibrau, Frau Farbissina's lover in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
• Bert on Sesame Street
• Ed, of the Cartoon Network's Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy (called a monobrow)
• Baby Gerald, Maggie's arch-nemesis on The Simpsons
• Count Olaf from the A series of unfortunate events book series.
• Helga Pataki, Arnold's nemesis/love interest on the cartoon series Hey Arnold!
• Morgana Rothschild from the novel Brave New World
• Squilliam Fancyson, Squidward's rival, Squid mentions it in the episode "Band Geeks"
• Unibrow, pseudonym for an early writer in the Church of the SubGenius.

Category: Human appearance

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Unibrow", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki