Kilts & Beards

[M. A. C. Newsome]

With the exception of one month when I went clean-shaven (couldn't stand it for any longer), I've had my beard since I was 15 years old. When I was in college, I used to keep it rather full, several inches long. I also had very long hair then. Looking back on the pictures now, I look like Sasquatch! (Now I know my kids will laugh at these pictures in a few years, the way I used to laugh at old pictures of my dad from the 60s.)

I keep it neat and trimmed now, because my wife appreciates it. Neither she, nor my kids, have ever seen me without the beard. I might grow it out longer again at some point, but for now I have grown to also appreciate the discipline of keeping your beard neat and trim. There is an art to it!

But, basically I believe that it is ever man's right to grow a beard! How unnatural to have to scrape a razor across your face every morning to get rid of the growth! A beard is what separates the men form the boys, as it were. Men should feel comfortable displaying that. (I'm not saying every man should grow a beard, just that everyone who wants to should feel free).

I understood that the trend towards clean shavenness was spurred on by the Roman military's proscription against facial hari, and requirement to keep the hair on the head close cropped, so that the enemy wouldn't have anything to grab hold of in battle.... But I suppose vanity could also play a role -- wanting to look younger for those young ladies! (That's actually why I started keeping it short -- I couldn't get a date from a girl my age in college, because everyone thought I was about 10 years older than I was! I trimmed it up a bit, and shortly thereafter met my future wife! Who'da thunkit?)

M

[Blu (Ontario)]

Growing a beard is the only (socially acceptable) option open to men to alter their appearance. (Short of plastic surgery, that is.) It's also seen as a symbol of maturity (as Glen pointed out). Best of all, it's free.

[Sciuropterus]

I hate shaving, but have no interest in having a beard as my father has one, that's reason enough for me not to ever want one. Any time I have excess facial hair, it is a result of neglect, not cultivation. I was a sign & display artist for ten years and always had to be clean-shaven because I wore a paint respirator mask on a daily basis.

[Robin]

I look smart without a beard.

[Archangel]

I look smart without a beard.

I look way too smart with one, I'm usually mistaken for a philosoph prof? The reality is most days I don't want anything that sharp that close to my throat that early in the morning, ha.

My wife had an argument with a woman like Prester John met up with about my beard. The woman said it was against the Bible, dw said Jesus had one, woman said no, dw said how could it claim the guards pulled it out if He didn't have one, the woman retorted, "Not my Jesus!" Go figure.

Mine's not a religious beard, it's just Scottish procrastination and practicality, simpler to cut every two weeks when I do my ears than waste time every day arguing with God about my face. Hmmn, back to that, oh well.

[Bob C]

I've had a mustache for almost my entire adult life. I grow a beard when I feel like it and shave it off when I feel like it.

Right now, I feel like having a gray goatee, so I do. Well, maybe I wouldn't have chosen gray. It is what it is.

[jfellrath]

I just have a goatee, but I used to have a full beard. I just like the look of a goatee. I originally grew my beard when I was promoted to a management position at my old company and I realized that I wasn't being taken seriously because I have a baby face (plus I was just a few years out of college - I was 26-27, I think). The beard helped a lot, it made me look older and mature.

I actually shaved it off at one point, but it gave me food poisoning and I had to miss an MLS playoff game. I was so disturbed by the fact that I had a burgeoning double chin that was revealed by the lack of scruff that I immediately went on a diet - soups and salads for lunch. Something in one of my salads made me sicker than a dog, and the playoff game was that night.

So I am living proof that shaving off your beard can be hazardous to your health. Leave 'em on.