Beard

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For the slang term, see Beard (female companion).

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.

[edit] History

The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject.
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Pericles, like most Athenians in the 5th century BC, sported a beard

[edit] 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 were fond of long beards. In Olearius' Travels, a King of Persia commands his steward's head to be cut off, and on its being brought to him, remarks, "what a pity it was, that a man possessing such fine mustachios, should have been executed," but he adds, "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 seems to have not been known to the Romans during their early history (under the Kings of Rome and the early Republic). Pliny tells us that P. Ticinius was the first who brought a barber to Rome, which was in the 454th year from the founding of the the city (that is, around 299 B.C.). Scipio Africanus was apparently the first among the Romans who shaved his beard. However, after that shaving seems to have caught on very quickly, and soon almost all Roman men were clean-shaven - being clean-shaven became a sign of being Roman as opposed to being Greek, as the Greeks often grew beards. Beards remained rare among the Romans throughout the Late Republic and the early Principate, until the second century A.D., when the Emperor Hadrian, according to Dion, was the first of all the Caesars to grow a beard. This was a period in Rome of widespread imitation of Greek culture, and the philhellene Emperor Hadrian and many other men grew beards in imitation of the Greek fashion. From that time on beards were once again common in Rome.

It was a custom among the Romans to consecrate the first growth of a young man's beard (i.e., the cuttings after the first time he shaved) 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. There have been instances of a widow closely cutting off her hair, but these sorrowful observances are becoming less and less frequent.

Among the Catti, a Germanic 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.

[edit] From the Renaissance to the present day

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). Some beards of this time were; The Spanish Spade Beard, The English Square Cut Beard, The forked Beard and the Stiletto Beard.

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.

Throughout the 18th Century beards were unseen among most parts of Western society especially the nobility.

Beards returned strongly to fashion after the Napoleonic Era. Throughout the nineteenth century facial hair (beards, along with long sideburns and moustaches) was more common than not. Many male European monarchs were bearded (e.g. Alexander III of Russia, Napoleon III of France, Frederick III of Germany), as were many of the leading statesmen and cultural figures (e.g. Benjamin Disraeli, Charles Dickens and Giuseppe Verdi, to name just a few). The stereotypical Victorian male figure in the popular mind remains a stern figure clothed in black whose gravitas is added to by a heavy beard (or long sideburns). However, in the early twentienth century beards fell almost completely out of fashion once more; they became largely the preserve of elderly, old-fashioned eccentrics.

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.

[edit] 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.

In the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, beards were rare in the United States, as elsewhere in the Western world. But as elsewhere, they had become prevalent by the mid-nineteenth century. Up to and following the American Civil War, many famous heroes and General officers had distinguished beards. A sign of the shift was to be observed in occupants of the Presidency: before Lincoln, no President had a beard; after Lincoln until McKinley, every President (except Andrew Johnson) had either a beard or a moustache. The beard's loss of popularity since its nineteenth century heyday is shown by the fact that after this brief "golden age", no President has worn a full beard since Benjamin Harrison, and no President has worn any facial hair at all since William H. Taft.

Following World War I, beards fell out of vogue. There are several theories as to why the military began shaving beards.

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.
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 early 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 mid-late 1960s and throughout 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 1990s 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Sikhism

Sikhs consider the beard to be an integral part of the male human body as created by God and that it should be preserved, maintained, and respected as such. Guru Gobind Singh; the tenth Sikh Guru ordained and established the keeping of the hair and beard as part of the identity, and one of the insignia; of Sikh males. Sikhs consider the beard to be part of the nobility and dignity of manhood.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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).

[edit] Islam

Some Muslims believe that it is mandatory by Islamic law to grow the beard because in 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."

The intent of this hadith is, however, a point of ongoing discussion and interpretation, and the fundamental interpretation is not currently the only accepted one among Muslims. This hadith, placed in historical context, is seen by some as an order at that time and in that place to distinguish one's self from the surrounding non-Muslims, largely for security and cultural reasons, for that situation. It is presently not uncommon for practicing Muslims in Islamic and Western countries to not grow their beards.

In addition, following the Prophet's actions is very important as well since he was proclaimed as a walking Quran and Muslims try their utmost to follow the teachings of the Quran. Since the Prophet kept a beard, many Muslim men keep beards to follow his actions and the teachings of the religion. Depending on their sect, they have differing opinions on how the Prophet Muhammad wore his.

As with hadith, however, following the Prophet's actions is also a point where fundamentalist vs. contextual interpretations come into play. Therefore, many Muslims do shave, since it is generally considered to be virtuous, but not required, to grow a beard.

[edit] Modern prohibition of beards

[edit] Sport

Today, for practical reasons (with some exceptions), it is illegal for amateur boxers to have beards. As a safety precaution, high school wrestlers must be clean-shaven before each match.

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 former manager of the Florida Marlins, adopted a similar clean-shaven policy for his ballclub.

[edit] 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 be permitted for cultural, religious, medical or traditional reasons.

[edit] 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:

members wearing the naval uniform (tradition)
members of an infantry pioneer platoon (tradition)
members who must maintain a beard due to religious requirements (Sikhs or orthodox Jews, i.e.)
members with a medical condition which precludes shaving

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).

[edit] 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:

The soldier is a practicing Orthodox Jew and requests to grow a beard for religious reasons.
The soldier requires a beard for medical reasons; this claim must be accompanied by medical documentation specifying the period of time during which his beard is medically necessary.
The soldier attains express permission to grow his beard from a high-ranking officer.
The soldier already has a beard upon his enlistment and requests to continue growing it.
The soldier is on permanent service (beyond the national service requirement).

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

A full beard - one that extends from the sideburns to the chin on both sides of the face.
A goatee - starting from the middle of the face on both sides and extending to the chin, including a moustache.

[edit] Spain

The Spanish Legion allows beards to be grown.

[edit] 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. 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.

[edit] 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 U.S. Coast Guard allowed beards until 1986, when they were banned by the Commandant, Admiral Paul Yost. 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, Iraq, and other mideastern countries in order to better fit in with the indigenous population.

[edit] Axioms 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 moustache is like a cat without tail.": —Arab Saying

LEONATO: You may light on a husband that hath no beard.
BEATRICE: What should I do with him? dress him in my apparel and make him my waiting-gentlewoman? He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man: and he that is more than a youth is not for me, and he that is less than a man, I am not for him…; —William Shakespeare - Excerpt from 'Much Ado About Nothing' – Act 2, Scene I

[edit] Early Christian attitudes

St Clement of Alexandria
- "The hair of the chin showed him to be a man." St Clement of Alexandria (c.195, E), 2.271
- "How womanly it is for one who is a man to comb himself and shave himself with a razor, for the sake of fine effect, and to arrange his hair at the mirror, shave his cheeks, pluck hairs out of them, and smooth them!…For God wished women to be smooth and to rejoice in their locks alone growing spontaneously, as a horse in his mane. But He adorned man like the lions, with a beard, and endowed him as an attribute of manhood, with a hairy chest--a sign of strength and rule." St. Clement of Alexandria, 2.275
- "This, then, is the mark of the man, the beard. By this, he is seen to be a man. It is older than Eve. It is the token of the superior nature….It is therefore unholy to desecrate the symbol of manhood, hairiness.” St. Clement of Alexandria, 2.276
- "It is not lawful to pluck out the beard, man’s natural and noble adornment." St. Clement of Alexandria, 2.277

St Cyprian
- "In their manners, there was no discipline. In men, their beards were defaced." St Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.438
- "The beard must not be plucked. 'You will not deface the figure of your beard'." (Leviticus 19:27) St. Cyprian, 5.553
Lactantius
- "The nature of the beard contributes in an incredible degree to distinguish the maturity of bodies, or to distinguish the sex, or to contribute to the beauty of manliness and strength." Lactantius (c. 304-314, W), 7.288

Apostolic Constitutions
- "Men may not destroy the hair of their beards and unnaturally change the form of a man. For the Law says, “You will not deface your beards.” For God the Creator has made this decent for women, but has determined that it is unsuitable for men." Apostolic Constitutions (compiled c.390, E) 7.392. (1)

[edit] Beard styles

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 chin beard. The combination of a mustache and a chin beard is a goatee or Van Dyck, unless the mustache and chin beard are connected, in which case it is known as a circle beard.

Full - downward flowing beard with either styled or integrated moustache
Sideburns - a full beard with a shaved chin
Chinstrap - a beard with long sideburns then comes forward and end under the chin, resembling a chinstrap, hence the name.
Garibaldi - wide, full beard with rounded bottom and integrated moustache
Goatee - A tuft of hair grown on the chin, sometimes resembling a billy goat's.
Royale (or impériale) - is a tuft of hair under the lower lip. This is also known as a "soul patch" or "flavor saver"
Stubble - a very short beard of only one to a few days growth
Van Dyck - A goatee accompanied by a moustache.
Verdi - short beard with rounded bottom and slightly shaven cheeks with prominent moustache

Barber's guide to men's facial hair styles (anonymous), circa 1900.

[edit] Further reading

Reginald Reynolds: Beards: Their Social Standing, Religious Involvements, Decorative Possibilities, and Value in Offence and Defence Through the Ages (Doubleday, 1949) (ISBN 0-15-610845-3)
Helen Bunkin, Randall Williams: Beards, Beards, Beards (Hunter & Cyr, 2000) (ISBN 1-58838-001-7)
Allan Peterkin: One Thousand Beards. A Cultural History of Facial Hair (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2001) (ISBN 1-55152-107-5)

[edit] References

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

[edit] See also

Facial hair
Beards, moustaches and military styles: Military uniforms
Other facial hair styles: Moustache, Goatee, Sideburns, Stubble, Five o'clock shadow
Removal/shaping of facial hair: Shaving, Clean-shaven, Barber
Women and facial hair: Bearded women, Depilation
List of types of facial hair

[edit] External links

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Categories: Limited geographic scope | Facial hair