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Beard

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A man with a full beard
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A man with a full beard

A beard is the hair that grows on a man's chin, cheeks, neck, and the area above the upper lip (the opposite is a clean-shaven face). When differentiating between upper and lower facial hair, a beard specifically refers to the facial hair on the lower part of a man's chin (excluding the moustache, which refers to hair above the upper lip and around it). The study of beards is called pogonology.

In the course of history, men with facial hair have been ascribed various attributes such as wisdom, sexual potency, or high status, but also a lack of cleanliness and refinement, or an eccentric disposition.

Contents

History

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Pericles, like most Athenians in the 5th century BC, sported a beard
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Pericles, like most Athenians in the 5th century BC, sported a beard

The Ancient and Classical world

Ancient Egyptians associated facial hair with mourning. With the exception of a pencil-thin moustache or goatees, they generally found beards unattractive.

The nations in the east generally treated their beards with great care and veneration, and the punishment for licentiousness and adultery was to have the beard of the offending parties publicly cut off. They had such a sacred regard for the preservation of their beards that a man might pledge it for the payment of a debt.

The Persians are fond of long beards. In Olearius' Travels of a king of Persia who had commanded his steward's head to be cut off, and on its being brought to him, he remarked, "what a pity it was, that a man possessing such fine mustachios, should have been executed," but he added, "Ah! it was your own fault."

When Alexander the Great was going to fight against the Persians, one of his officers brought him word that all was ready for battle, and demanded if he required anything further. On which Alexander replied, "nothing but that the Macedonians cut off their beards, for there is not a better handle to take a man by than the beard." This shows Alexander intended close fighting. Shaving was not introduced among the Romans until late. Pliny tells us that P. Ticinius was the first who brought a barber to Rome, which was in the 454th year from the building of the city. Scipio Africanus was the first among the Romans who shaved his beard, and the Emperor Hadrian (says Dion) was the first of all the Caesars who nourished his beard.

It was a custom among the Romans to consecrate the first growth of their beard to some god; thus Nero at the Gynick games, which he exhibited in the Septa, cut off the first growth of his beard, which he placed in a golden box, adorned with pearls, and then consecrated it in the Capitol to Jupiter.

For the Romans a bearded man was a proverbial expression for a man of virtue and simplicity. Roman servants or slaves were not allowed to pull their hair, or shave their beards.

During grief and mourning a Roman would let his hair and beard grow (Livy), while the Greeks on the contrary used to cut off their hair and shave their beards on such occasions (Seneca)

This custom may have led to a tradition in England of widows concealing their hair for a stated period after the death of their husbands. We know of more than one instance of a widow closely cutting off her hair, but these sorrowful observances are becoming less and less frequent.

Among the Catti, a German tribe (perhaps the Chatten), a young man was not allowed to shave or cut his hair till he had slain an enemy (Tacitus). The Lombards or Longobards, derived their Fame from the great length of their beards. When Otho the Great used to speak anything serious, he swore by his beard, which covered his breast.

From the Renaissance to the present day

The band members of ZZ Top are famous for their long beards.
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The band members of ZZ Top are famous for their long beards.

In the 15th century, the beard was worn long. Clergymen in 16th century England were usually clean shaven to indicate their celibacy. When a priest became convinced of the doctrines of the Protestant Reformation he would often signal this by allowing his beard to grow, showing that he rejected the tradition of the church and perhaps also its stance on clerical celibacy. The longer the beard, the more striking the statement. Sixteenth century beards were therefore suffered to grow to an amazing length (see the portraits of Bishop Gardiner and Thomas Cranmer).

Strangely, this trend was especially marked during Queen Mary's reign, a time of reaction against protestant reform (Cardinal Pole's beard is a good example). At this time the beard was very often made use of as a tooth-pick case. Brantôme tells us that Admiral Coligny wore his tooth-pick in his beard. Queen Elizabeth I, succeeding Mary, is said to have disliked beards and therefore established a tax on them.

In urban circles of Western Europe and the Americas, beards were out of fashion after the early 17th century; to such an extent that, in 1698, Peter the Great of Russia levied a tax on beards in order to bring Russian society more in line with contemporary Western Europe.

Beards returned to fashion after the Napoleonic Era, and were out of fashion again by the first part of the 20th century. Beards, together with long hair, were reintroduced to mainstream society in Western Europe and the Americas by the hippie movement of the mid 1960s. By the end of the 20th century, the closely clipped Verdi beard, often with a matching integrated moustache, was relatively common, as was a stubble beard (especially on younger men). Full beards nonetheless remain a fringe phenomenon.

Modern attitudes in the United States

Maryland Governor Thomas Swann with a long beard. Such beards were common around the time of the Civil War.
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Maryland Governor Thomas Swann with a long beard. Such beards were common around the time of the Civil War.

Up to and following the American Civil War, many famous heroes and General officers had distinguished beards. Following World War I, beards fell out of vogue. There are several theories as to why the military began shaving beards.

  1. When World War I broke out in the 1910s, the use of chemical weapons necessitated that soldiers shave their beards so that gas masks could seal over their faces.
  2. The enlistment of military recruits for World War I in 1914 precipitated a major migration of men from rural to urban locales. This was the largest such migration that had ever occurred in the United States up to that time. The rural lives of some of these bearded men included the "Saturday Night bath" as a reality rather than as a humourism. The sudden concentration of recruits in crowded army induction centers brought with it disease, including head lice. Remedial action was taken by immediately shaving the faces and cutting the hair of all inductees upon their arrival.
When the war concluded in 1918 the "Dough Boys" returned to a hero's welcome. During this time period the Film Industry was coming into its own and "going to the movies" became a popular pastime. Due to the recent Armistice many of the films had themes related to World War I. These popular films featured actors who portrayed soldiers with their clean shaven faces and "crew cuts". Concurrently, "Madison Avenue's" psychological mass marketing was becoming prevalent. The Gillette Safety Razor Company was one of these marketers' early clients. These events conspired to popularize short hair and clean shaven faces as the only acceptable style for decades to come. It has been noted that there is a close and consistent association of long standing in American film between facial hair and role—if one lead male character has more facial hair than another, he is far more likely to be the antagonist, and the man with less (or no) facial hair the protagonist.

From the 1920s to the 1960s, beards were virtually nonexistent in mainstream America. The few men who wore beards during this period were either old, Central Europeans, in academia, or part of the counterculture, such as the "beatniks". Even today there is some degree of prejudice against beards and against men who wear beards, although it is much less serious than it once was; beards are normally much more accepted in the Western world than they once were.

Following the Vietnam War, beards exploded in popularity. In the 1970s, beards were worn by hippies and businessmen alike. Popular rock, soul and folk musicians like The Beatles, Barry White and the male members of Peter, Paul, and Mary wore full beards. The trend of seemingly ubiquitous beards in American culture subsided in the mid 1980s.

From the 1990's onward, the fashion in beards has generally trended toward either a goatee, Van Dyck, or a closely cropped full beard undercut on the throat. It is not unusual to see corporate executives in modern America with a full beard as the stigma against beards has generally fallen to the wayside over the previous 30 years.

Beards in religion

Beards also play an important role in some religions.

In Greek mythology and art Zeus and Poseidon are always portrayed with beards, but Apollo never is. A bearded Hermes was replaced with the more familiar beardless youth in the 5th century.

Religious male Sikhs do not remove a single hair from their body.

Judaism

The Bible states in Leviticus 19:27 that "Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard." Talmudic rabbis understood this to mean that a man may not shave his beard with a razor with a single blade, since the cutting action of the blade against the skin "mars" the beard. Because scissors have two blades, halakha (rabbinic law) permits their use to trim the beard, as the cutting action comes from contact of the two blades and not the blade against the skin. For this reason, most poskim (Jewish legal decisors) rule that Orthodox Jews may use electric razors to remain cleanshaven, as such shavers cut by trapping the hair between the blades and the metal grating, halakhically a scissor-like action. Some prominent contemporary poskim maintain that electric shavers constitute a razor-like action, and consequently prohibit their use.

Many Orthodox Jews prefer to grow beards despite the allowance for electric shavers, for a variety of social and cultural reasons. Since the electric razor is a relatively modern innovation, virtually all Orthodox Jews grew beards before its advent. As a result, many Hasidic and Haredi Orthodox Jews today grow beards as a social statement in keeping with the tradition of their ancestors, despite technical halakhic permissibility.

The Zohar, one of the primary sources of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), attributes holiness to the beard, and strongly discourages its removal. As a result, most Hasidic Jews choose to grow their beard, as they traditionally follow Kabbalistic practices more closely than Jews of Lithuanian background do. Many Hasidic Jews, especially those aligned with the Chabad-Lubavitch sect, take this practice further than most others and do not trim their beards at all, giving them a distinct and often identifiable appearance.

Christianity

In Eastern Christianity, beards are often worn by members of the priesthood, and at times have been required for all believers - see Old Believers. Amish and Hutterite men shave until they are married, then grow a beard and are never thereafter without one, although it is a particular form of a beard (see Visual markers of marital status).

Islam

Many Muslims grow their beard but depending on their sect, have differing opinions on how the Prophet Muhammad wore his. Sunni look to Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 72, Hadith # 780: The Prophet said, "Do the opposite of what the pagans do. Keep the beards and cut the moustaches short." Shi'a, on the other hand, do not believe this and grow out their moustaches as well.

It is considered mandatory by some Muslims to grow the beard to at least the length of a fist. Nevertheless, most Muslims do shave, since it is generally considered to be virtuous, but not required, to grow a beard.

Modern prohibition of beards

A man with a short, trimmed beard
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A man with a short, trimmed beard

Sport

Today, for practical reasons (with some exceptions), it is illegal for amateur boxers to have beards.

Under owner George Steinbrenner, the New York Yankees baseball team has a strict dress code that forbids long hair and facial hair below the lip. More recently, Joe Girardi, a former Yankee assistant coach and now manager of the Florida Marlins, adopted a similar clean-shaven policy for his ballclub.

The armed forces

Many armed forces still prohibit beards for reasons of hygiene, discipline, or tactical demands (such as the proper fitting and seal of a gas mask); they may also be permitted for cultural, religious, or traditional reasons.

Canada

The Canadian Forces permits moustaches, provided they are neatly trimmed and do not pass beyond the corners of the mouth; an exception to this is the handlebar moustache, which is permitted. Generally speaking, beards are not permitted to CF personnel with the following exceptions:

These exceptions notwithstanding, in no case is a beard permitted without a moustache, and only full beards may be worn (not goatees, van dykes, etc).

Personnel with beards may still be required to modify or shave off the beard, as environmental or tactical circumstances dictate (e.g. to facilitate the wearing of a gas mask).

Israel

According to the regulations of the Israel Defense Forces, it is prohibited to grow a moustache or beard, except under one of the following circumstances:

If a soldier has obtained permission to grow a beard, the beard must either be:

Spain

The Spanish Legion allows beards to be grown.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the Royal Navy allows "full sets" (beards and moustaches together) but not beards or moustaches alone. The other British armed services allow moustaches only. In the British Army, a moustache is permitted for those over the rank of Sergeant (non-commissioned officers) and Major (Commissioned Officers). Exceptions are beards grown for religious reasons (usually by Sikhs), though in the event of conflict in which the use of chemical or biological weapons is likely, they may be required to shave a strip around the seal of a respirator. Beards are also permitted for medical reasons, such as temporary skin irritations, or by infantry pioneer warrant officers, colour sergeants and sergeants, who traditionally wear beards. Any style of facial hair is allowed in British police forces as long as it is neatly trimmed. Beards are also permited by special forces when not on base, ie covert intelligence operations or behind enemy lines.

United States

The U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps justify banning beards on the basis of both hygiene and of the necessity for a good seal with gas masks. The U.S. Navy did allow beards for a time in the 1970s and 1980s, but subsequently banned them again. The vast majority of police forces across the United States still ban beards. However, moustaches are generally allowed in both the military and police forces (except for those undergoing basic training). U.S. Army Special Forces have been allowed to wear beards in Afghanistan in order to better fit in with the indigenous population.

Sayings about beards

"There are two kinds of people in this world that go around beardless—boys and women, and I am neither one."
—Greek saying
"الرجل بلا شنب كالقط بلا ذنب" "A man without beard is like a cat without tail."
—Arab Saying

Early Christian attitudes

Beard styles

Man with a Van Dyck beard: a moustache with a goatee.
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Man with a Van Dyck beard: a moustache with a goatee.

Beard hair is most commonly removed by shaving. If only the area above the upper lip is left unshaven, the resulting facial hairstyle is known as a moustache; if hair is left only on the chin, the style is a goatee. It is decidedly less common to see a beard or goatee without a corresponding moustache.

Further reading

right

References

  1. A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs, David W. Bercot, Editor, pg 66-67.

See also

External links

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