Women & Beards, Elephant in the room.

[MrSpeedy]

There's a lot of assumptions and painting of men and women with a wide brush in the original post.

Fashion is cyclical. As mentioned previously, some elements of the 80s are coming back. That was a decade that popularized the "stubble" look; think of Don Johnson in "Miami Vice". This will hang on for a few years and then fade away.

Are beards more popular today than in previous years? Maybe, depending on how you define "previous". Beards were popular in the 70s, too. Are there reasons beards are popular now? Lots - including fashion, societal norms, Covid/work from home, and more. Will those change? History says they will.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

I grew a beard in my late 30s, and I got a lot more attention from the ladies (and the men, too-- some of them). I think that says more about my face than it does about beards in general, though.

 

[thombrogan]

For MY lovely War Department, I must add "respect" to that list.

Don’t worry, Dave. I believe respect is included in the three I mentioned. My ironclad guarantee to you is that I can be wrong.

Also, if treating women like functioning humans is ”woke,” then G-d help us all. And Twice on Sundays.

t. If you want to start a fight, read 1 Timothy chapter 3?

I know folks like that. Helps keep the eye-rolling muscles toned.

 

[Dnallehekaj]

I drastically prefer the way my face looks with a close beard. I shave it off sometimes to see if I still feel that way, and I do.

In high school, a close friend's girlfriend hated my beard. She would regularly joke about sneaking up on me and shaving it off. It made me feel pretty ugly, but I kept it for myself. I'm not sure that I'm totally over that feeling, but I am sure I'd rather be ugly to someone rude than to give in and hate the way I look. I'm also not the kind of guy that tries to look good for my friend's girlfriend. Not interested.

A side effect of that is that when women DO like my beard and let me know, I get to feel warm and fuzzy on both the outside and inside.

I don't keep a beard for the ladies, but I am grateful that my lady prefers it!

 

[sgarnett]

For a few BRIEF periods, whatever I was already doing has been accidentally in fashion. That was never intentional though … I couldn’t care less.

As a (much) younger man, I guess I was influenced a few times by what women said they liked. I don’t think that ever really helped in any way.

My wife has never asked me to shave. I try to stay smooth most of the time because I know it feels better to her.

We need to be who we are. That said, who we are should never stop growing.

 

[gpjoe]

...

If we want to talk about the elephant in the room, I'd say it's not the young men growing full beards; it's the middle aged fellows with tiny, close-cropped goatees (sometimes called a "circle beard" or another term that I won't repeat here). That one always feels like they want facial hair but are afraid to commit to it.

To me, the white guy with the "circle beard" and ball cap has become a cliche. To each their own, but count me out.

 

[lancre]

My OL says my beard tickles. Nevertheless, I'm keeping it.
My face needs all the camouflage it can get!

 

[gsurko]

It takes a real man to face cold steel in the morning.

 

[luvmysuper]

Can you guys call it something other than "circle beard"?
This is the picture I get in my head when I read that.

 

[luvmysuper]

To me, the white guy with the "circle beard" and ball cap has become a cliche. To each their own, but count me out.

You could do the Wolverine Beard, which is like a photographic negative of a circle beard.

 

[sgarnett]

@luvmysuper when my newly-licensed barber stepson cut my hair recently, he revealed a band across the top of my head that looks kind of like the top center picture.

There was already a lot of grey, but several months ago, there was a sudden shift to a lot more grey. The hair he cut off looked like two-band badger in reverse.

However, that one skinny band across the top is still brown.

As he was cutting, he developed a very curious expression, and stepped back to look me over from all sides.

No mistake though - that’s just the way it’s growing right now. I am NOT growing the jawline beard to match though!

 

[FarmerTan]

Or the I'm not too lazy to shave, but I am too lazy to shave regularly.

I resemble that remark!

As to circle beards: I had a patient once with rather poor vision. One night, with the lights a little dim, she was deriding a colleague of mine, the only other guy nurse in the place. She wasn't thrilled with the way he did injections I think?

Anyway, after I shot her up, lol!, she mentioned that she didn't like his his circle beard, but referred to it as a ....... Well, fill in the blank! Further south than his mouth, I suppose you could say. Like I said, her eyes weren't that good.

The funny thing was that I was wearing one! Of course, his was more noticeable, because mine was grey. But I went along with how ugly it made him look! I always appreciate when half blind women that find my face incredibly handsome doggone!

 

[DesertIguana]

Scruffy Beard are very in today.

Remember several time in life I wore full beard. Did not do much trimming.

It was easy to shampoo, like my hair dsily.

Have not done beard thing in years. Makes me look older.

 

[thombrogan]

It takes a real man to face cold steel in the morning.

I have to break out the abrasives for my Vaquero. Just using the Swiss Army Tinker for now.

 

[lancre]

Can you guys call it something other than "circle beard"?
This is the picture I get in my head when I read that.

View attachment 1669856

LOL! Those look like a tonsure that slipped forward!

 

[lancre]

I always appreciate when half blind women that find my face incredibly handsome doggone!

Dang! Now my tongue is bleeding from biting it. And here I thought you were my friend. Don't give me straight lines like that, doggone it!

 

[Frito Ray]

Can you guys call it something other than "circle beard"?
This is the picture I get in my head when I read that.

View attachment 1669856

Yikes, those guys look like they must have lost a bet.

I’d call that cut the prison toilet seat.

 

[Jan Sobieski]

 

[Tomo]

When I was young I wore a beard to look older. These days I shave to look younger…

 

[gsurko]

Our wise and loving God made billions and billions of faces, the ones he didn’t like, He covered with hair.