Nihilism surged in the western zeitgeist during this time period. Anti-corporate messaging of the punk and grunge movements from the 90s were still going strong, and then anti-military sentiment became renewed as well due to war in the middle east and terrorist attacks in western countries happening at increased frequency. Any time we see public opinion start to turn against western military action, you'll see long hair and facial hair in men's fashion become popular because it is explicitly not allowed in the military. It's another form of subtle anit-military messaging in the media.