Almost two months before the coronavirus lockdown/quarantine grabbed our attention, a news columnist wrote a piece rating men’s beards as no longer in fashion as they would spread this virus.
Clearly this writer has bad feelings about facial hair on men. Evidence suggests beards do not transmit coronavirus, simply because the virus is acquired by droplets from an infected person connecting with eyes, mouth or nose, or from touching infected surfaces.
In fact, the common belief that beards are filthy and loaded with bacteria may be an urban legend (old wives’ tale). A 2016 study of 480 health care workers discovered fewer bacteria on bearded faces than on clean-shaven workers.
Beard growing is as old as dirt.
Why men grow them and how facial hair affect perceptions of them has been the subject of countless studies.
Males start growing facial hair at puberty, creating an image of beards as a sign of manhood, and, in the pre-me-too society, of dominance.
Perhaps the explosion of beards in recent years displays a sub-conscious desire to maintain male dominance, not, as I had thought, copying some famous movie or music celebrity.
Women preferring men with beards has been suggested as a theory for growing beards. Numerous study results are divided on this theory.
Female regard for body hair, according to studies, varies with ethnicity. Some results: women from the United Kingdom prefer men with thick body hair while women from the Cameroon, China, United States and New Zealand prefer little or no body hair on their men.
One theory backed up by photo studies of men with beards, claims beards are a sign of anger.
Personally, Yours Truly never thought much about beards. In the rural Alberta community where I grew up, beards were as rare as rattle snakes.
Rattle snakes have appeared in that territory in recent years as beards exploded. Is there a connection? Maybe I should apply for a Canada Council grant to investigate.
Bearded people back then were looked upon as scruffy, dirty and vile.
My attitude to beards changed dramatically in 1978 when Thomson Newspapers decided I should take a session on advertising in case I wanted to become a newspaper publisher.
Super salesman Tom Rush boiled down a semester’s worth of information into three days, teaching us the purpose of advertising, how to design a good catchy ad, how to help customers manage their ad budget, and how to integrate their ad budget with other media.
On the first morning, Rush looked at the young bearded salesman from Prince Albert
“What are you hiding?” demanded Rush.
“Nothing,” replied the startled fellow.
“Nobody grows a beard unless they are hiding something like a weak chin,” said Rush.
Until the explosion of beards during recent years, every time Yours Truly saw a beard I wondered what that person was hiding. With so many beards, I gave up wondering.
Observation has indicated several traits among those men with and without facial hair.
Ever notice how many men with balding hair start growing beards? Is it to show they still have testosterone?
Men with longer flowing beards, more often than not, tend to be small 'l' liberal and quite tolerant of change.
Men with moustaches, more often than not, tend to be small 'c' conservative in their attitudes and less tolerant of change.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
