Man Buns, Bro Jobs, And Rainbow Doritos: The Best And Worst Trends Of The Year

Man buns.

Bro jobs.

Rainbow Doritos.

2015 was a year of creative, bizarre and, at times, even cringeworthy trends, from hair to junk food. It’s hard to say whether we have reached a new high or stooped to a new low with some of these fads. Maybe a little bit of both?

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Scroll down for some of the best and worst trends of 2015. And here’s hoping for some improvement in 2016….

Man buns

The homeless-chic hairdo started in 2014 but it didn’t really take off until this year when every hipster and his brother-in-law started rocking one (or at least trying to). Things really got out of hand with the arrival of the man bun clip-ons, faux man buns made out of synthetic hair one fastens to their head with bobby pins to give the illusion of a real man bun. And with that, we think it’s safe to say this trend has officially run its course.

Man braid

While we’re on the topic of men’s hair styles, the man braid is sort of like the man bun’s slightly more refined step-brother. Because nothing says “I’m comfortable with my masculinity” like a French braid or a delicate wreath of braided locks. Either that, or the madness has gone too far.

Bro-jobs

The term “bro job” went viral this summer with the publication of Jane Ward’s book Not Gay: Sex Between Straight White Men, in which she examines the homosexual behaviors of straight men. Interestingly, Ward didn’t actually come up with the term “bro job,” though she’s often now credited for it. In an interview with Queerty, she said: “I wish I had coined that term, but I did not. I do describe in the book what could arguably be called ‘bro-jobs,’ but I never once use that word.”

Antigay GoFundMe campaigns

It all started when the owners of a “Christian-run” pizzeria in a small town in Indiana were asked a hypothetical question about whether they would cater a gay wedding. When they said “No,” a backlash ensued, followed by a GoFundMe campaign that raised nearly $850,000. Afterwards, gay-hating “Christians,” eager to cash in on their victim status, launched their own GoFundMe campaigns seeking financial support to promote their bigotry and support their Biblical “lifestyles.” This ultimately prompted GoFundMe to start cracking down on the hate campaigns.

Glitter beards

This sewers of cities across the country are probably still lined with copolymer plastics, aluminum foil, titanium dioxide and iron oxides after after men started mashing glitter into their facial hair, snapping selfies and then posting the pictures to Instagram because, hey, why the hell not?

Donald Trump

The frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president in 2016 has been dominating the polls of GOP primaries all year with his mix of bizarre Twitter putdowns and hate-filled, anti-immigrant, anti-woman, anti-Muslim diatribes. Here’s hoping this trend fizzles out in the new year. (Although we relish the idea of Hillary stomping all over the sexist, Xenophobic bigot, in a general election matchup.) Otherwise, we’re all screwed.

DickPics4Freedom

After Edward Snowden shocked the nation by dishing that NSA workers have been snooping through people’s nude selfies and X-rated photos for years, a Reddit thread was created called DickPics4Freedom. Hundreds upon hundreds of proud patriots from all across the country began submitting their dick pics in an effort to stick it to the NSA. Clearly, this is a trend we rather like and hope continues well into 2016 and beyond, no matter the cause.

Doritos Rainbows

Two of our most favorite things joined forces this year to become one: Doritos and rainbows. Frito-Lay teamed up with the It Gets Better Project to launch a limited-edition version of its Cool Ranch-flavored Doritos. The chips came in Pride colors: green, blue, purple, red, and orange and were branded Doritos Rainbows. Naturally, this prompted Christian extremists to call for a boycott of the snack, which they claimed was “disgusting” and “akin to Isis.” The boycott backfired, however, when the chips sold out in just a few days. Frankly, whenever you can irk the far right, you know you’re witnessing marketing genius. Millennials are so opposed to conservative schoolmarms that they will buy the product just to make the point. (We certainly did.)

Mermen

Mermen were all the rage this spring and summer. A precursor to the glitter beard movement, being a Merman involved dying one’s hair and beard an aquatic color. Think shades of marine blue, green, purple and turquoise. Because it’s better down where it’s wetter.

Queerty on Instagram

This year Queerty ramped up its Instagram page and accumulated nearly 30,000 fabulous followers in the process. That’s quite a party, if you ask us. Are you following us on Instagram yet? If not, why not?! Follow us @queerty.