Are beards masculine?

A beard is grown and a beard is shaved off. Beards come into fashion and beards fall out of fashion. In the Late 1800s in The United States is was popular for men to have beards. And then it fell out of fashion as men began to shave their faces. The atomic fifties is represented by a smiling man with a shaved face with his submissive housewife which gave way to the sixties sexual revolution as western men imitated the Eastern Gurus with beards and free love. A beard can be establishment and it can be anti establishment. But the point of this article will be to discern whether or not a beard is indeed masculine or a shaved face is masculine.

Victorian man when beards were in fashion in late 1800s

Let us travel in time together.

Beards, beards, everywhere. In ancient times going back to biblical nations such as the Israelites, men wore beards. And even the Israelite’s enemies of Babylon and Assyria were known to wear beards on their men. The beard was the natural state of man and it made sense that men wore beards. A man with a smooth face was like the natural state of a woman or a young boy. And growing facial hair is itself part of the hormonal difference between man and woman. Give a woman testosterone and estrogen blockers and she herself will begin to look like the Carnival freaks “Bearded ladies” at the turn of the Twentieth century. These bearded ladies would sit in a tent next to dwarfs and giants. A spectacle among our natural state of being. Unique to men and bizarre on women. The opposite of the sexes. And opposites attract. Does that mean that beards are masculine? End of discussion?

Let us fast forward from the ancient Jews to the Greeks. A noble civilization that viewed beards as honorable. The Greeks were a powerful and highly influential culture that we are still being inspired by to this day. It was fashionable for a Greek man to sport a beard. But who was the most famous Greek of all? Is it not Alexander the great who himself is depicted as smooth faced? And is not his accomplishments masculine in expansion and glory? Was he deficient in male hormone or an individual among the Greek men? Is being an individual among mass conformity masculine? Yes. But just because the mighty and active Alexander was smooth faced while the Greek philosophers were bearded does not mean smooth faced is masculine. We must keep digging in understanding. The ancient Greeks wore beards by in large, but what also was popular in Greek times? Homosexuality and having sex with boys. “Boy love” was popular in ancient Greece. These bearded men would sexualize young boys. Does that mean beards are for Pedos? No. But just because bearded homo Greeks preyed upon young boys does not mean beards are for Pedophiles.

Let us zoom forward in history.

Ancient Rome was a hyper masculine culture where discpline and military expansion was prized. The ancient Romans copied many aspects of Greek culture but abandoned the boy love and beards. They viewed beards as sloven and barbaric. To shave the face was seen as civilized and an act of discipline. Civilization is masculine and discipline is masculine. To shave the face was seen as a masculine act of discipline. They would cut the hair short and would shave their faces. Many men would agree that short hair is viewed as masculine as long hair is viewed feminine in glory. In 1 Corinthians 11:15 Paul wrote “But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.” Men keeping their hair short has been a cultural staple of masculine fashion in many cultures through many times. But what about Samson in the Bible? Was he not known for his long and prized locks? When a man has long hair, his ego attaches to his hair like the beauty of a woman. When a man looks before a mirror, does he think “Look at my glorious long and flowing hair”? Think about the moral of story of Samson. The secret to Samson’s strength was his long hair. Did his hair hold magic? No. His identity and ego were attached to his appearance. And this insecurity was exploited by Delilah. A man who obsesses over his appearance is controlled by vanity. And a woman will exploit any insecurity that her man reveals to her just like Delilah to Samson. When she cut off his hair, he lost his power. And had to regain his sense of power after being blinded. When his hair began to grow again, he was able to tap back into his mojo. But ultimately he had to transcend his vanity and summon God’s strength. This allowed him to push the columns apart and kill the Philistines who were showcasing him as an exploit for their amusement.

Samson summoning the power needed to kill the philistines

No let us go back to beards.

To grow a beard is a hormonal and natural state of being a male. And to cut off a beard is an act of defiance of that natural state. Is the state itself masculine or is the defiance of the state masculine? Women have been symbolized as nature and man is symbolic of the order that overcomes nature. That is why beards were sported by free love Hippies back in the sexual revolution of the late sixties. “Back to nature. Free love. Do drugs. Don’t take things to seriously” This was the attitude displayed from these hippie slackers. While a beard may be a natural state, the act of shaving a beard can be viewed as the symbolic act of overcoming nature. A man who has a well groomed beard is displaying his virality and discipline. And a man who shaves his beard like an ancient Roman too is being masculine in the act of disciplining his nature.

Bearded Hippie sexual revolution. “Back to nature”

But in the end, there has been studies that have shown that a man with “Five a clock” shadow is seen as more sexually attractive than either a bearded man and a smooth faced shaved man. A perfect balance between bearded over expression and bare smoothness of a boy. The middle may might be considered the most masculine of all.

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