The modern man and full beards

[FireAza]

Am I the only one who's noticed there seems to be a lot of guys my age (Twenties) who seem to be wearing a full beard? Not like a goatee or stubble or something, but a full-blown beard, like you would see a lumberjack with.

I've found to be a bit odd, since as a society, we don't seem to like full beards. Men are expected to be clean-shaven (compare a hobo to a business man for example) and woman seem to hate facial hair of any kind on a man. I find it odd that a guy would willingly choose to grow a full beard with these kinda social pressures.

My perspective might be slightly warped, since I work in a PC store, and PC guys have often been bearded. But I swear, the number of guys my age who are sporting full beards seems to have jumped in the last few years.

Is this a fashion thing maybe? Like how fashions go from fashionable to unfashionable then back to fashionable after a few years, have full beards come back into style? What do you guys think?

CAPCHA "more chocolate"
That's a great suggestion, CAPCHA, but not really relevant to the topic at hand.

 

[JoJo]

I currently have a full beard (though regularly trimmed), I started growing one a couple of months back because I wanted to. I don't think it's particularly fashionable right now, I just enjoy having a beard and apparently it makes my fairly narrow face look wider so that's a plus too.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I think it's got a lot to do with people suddenly being able to grow a beard giving it a go, and the whole thing about rebelling in a not very rebellious way.

 

[Esotera]

A moustache is far less socially acceptable these days...I'd say a beard is unusual but not exactly unfashionable. I'd like to grow a beard but don't want to deal with the awkward transition phase (which is what is fashionable).

 

[MysticSlayer]

Maybe it has something to do with the popularity of shows like Duck Dynasty.

Also, at least among a lot of men, there seems to be a major fascination with beards and they think that they look better with one. It does come down to the person, though, as some men look better with full beards while others look much better clean shaven or with comparatively less facial hair.

 

[Thaluikhain]

What are the odds that the people complaining are actually black? Or is it another idiot being offended for someone else's sake?

...

Complaining about PC gone mad always was rather OtT, but this is a new low.

 

[krazykidd]

It depends, most people can't rock a beard properly . This makes them look more goofy than manly. Others don't know how to maintain a beard to make it look good . I used to have a goatee and it looked sexy as hell.

 

[JoJo]

What are the odds that the people complaining are actually black? Or is it another idiot being offended for someone else's sake?

Wrong thread I presume? I can't see what this has to do with beards :-/

 

[springheeljack]

Well as someone who currently sports a full beard I would say that I just decided one day to give it a go and see what it would look like
I liked the final result and decided to keep it. About the social acceptability so far I have had nothing but complements about it
and the few women that I have been with(such as my current girlfriend) all seemed to like my beard

 

[Azure-Supernova]

I've got a pretty decent, well maintained beard. It started out as a "Can't be arsed to shave" thing and quickly turned into "I've got a bear, I do not dislike this". This has helps as my current girlfriend enjoys the face fluff and is requesting I grow it longer so she can put Viking braids in it... But yeah, I'm noticing a lot of beards.

 

[Mr Fixit]

It's all a conspiracy man... The big razor companies are trying to keep the bearded ones from rising up by making us think we need to shave all the damn time, man, using all those subliminal messages in the commercials & shit... man.

Anyway I too have noticed the come back of beards everywhere & as far as women not liking beards, I know one or two that damn near have a fetish for beards. It actually hurts when I try to grow a full beard, not just itchy & annoying. It's very painful so I only have a goatee, sensitive skin sucks.

 

[Soundwave]

I spent most of my twenties clean shaven because my job would only allow mustaches, and for some reason my mustache is a different color from the rest of my hair. After I quit that job, I tried out a beard, liked it, and kept it. Got rid of it once and it made my wife mad, so it's here to stay.

It should also be mentioned that shaving every day is really bad for your skin.

 

[shrekfan246]

and woman seem to hate facial hair of any kind on a man.

Three of my previous girlfriends have preferred me to have my beard grown out.

OT: The name of this thread made me think references to George Carlin would be made.



Otherwise, I keep mine trimmed a bit nowadays simply because when it's full-on hobo-mode it starts getting itchy and tangles in things, but I just prefer to have a bit of a beard because I think it suits my face better, like having relatively long hair, and I want to enjoy these simple things for as long as I can until genealogy starts screwing me over.

 

[Eleuthera]

I've sported different types of beards for nearly 20 years, going from goatees, to clean shaven, to soul patches, to full beards and everything in between (except just a moustache, that's just silly).

It seems to be a lot more common, depending on the crowd you hang with, these days though. I used to be described as that guy with the pony-tail and the beard. Now all my friends (at least the ones who are physically capable) wear at least dense stubble.

Overall I've been told I look better with a beard more times then I've been told I don't.

 

[Genocidicles]

What are the odds that the people complaining are actually black? Or is it another idiot being offended for someone else's sake?

Wrong thread I presume? I can't see what this has to do with beards :-/

Uh yes. I had different threads open on multiple tabs, and lost track of which was which.

 

[Weaver]

This is all part of "hipster fashion". Stupid mustaches styles that you have to wax are really popular now too (such as the one Josh Mattingly has).

That, or it's just the lazy "neckbeard" types you hear so much about who simply don't care enough to shave.

I don't have a beard, but these two groups are giving beards a bad name.

 

[Yuuki]

I fucking HATE facial hair (having to shave every ~2-3 days and overall just feels horribly uncomfortable) and in the future hope to get it permanently removed...if that's possible without sideeffects...

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

It's all because of these guys. They have finally helped the masses to see the bearded light.

I love beards, but I've always found it difficult to grow one that looks good. I've noticed a number of my friends seem to have gained a fondness for beards and most girls I know like at least a bit of facial hair, with some preferring guys who have a full-blown, magnificent Alan Moore beard.

Unfortunately, the one I'm interested in is not amongst them. That's why it will never work out between us.