Talk:Bearded lady
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It is stupid that someone would feel this article is "pretty worthless", and yet so many other stupid articles permeate this website. Yet for some inexplicable reason, this site has pissed off some nerd to the point of advocating it's censorship. What, are you a bearded lady? What a hack. I think YOU'RE pretty worthless.
The title should be changed to "Bearded Lady", as far more common term.
[edit] Middle Earth
Is it certain that Tolkein's female dwarves are bearded? I've never seen reference to female dwarves at all, and the point is mocked by the presence of bearded female dwarfs in Discworld (according to the Discworld quizbook).
- "For the Naugrim (dwarves) have beards from the beginning of their lives, male and female alike
- A similar point is made in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings, although not as obviously. All it says there is that female dwarves cannot be distinguished from male dwarves by the other races. But we already know all male dwarves have beards, so the conclusion is obvious.
--Daibhid C 23:07 4 December 2005 (UTC)
I think the conclusion that female dwarves have beards is a little much to take from this passage. I think what was suggested by this passage is that the garb of female and male dwarves was similar, and that it was rare to see females outside of the home. (partially because of their lower numbers in dwarf society.) In the third age, apart from Dale and other communities that had a more muli-cultural societies, it was rare to see dwarves at all. How often were dwarves in Rohan, Gondor, Bree and other communities? Being a private people, and not often seen, rumors that they pop out of the ground and there are no dwarf women arose in Middle Earth. Also, if beards do not appear on other female species in Middle Earth it would be extremely unlikely that dwarven women would have beards. Beards on female dwarves is a pretty ridiculous genetic trait. I plan to review sections on dwarves and see the context of that passage. Oldnoakes 20:37, 19 December 2006 (UTC)
Here we go, this is the full text in the appendix: "It was said by Gimli that there are few dwarf-women, probably no more than a third of the whole people. They seldom walk abroad except at great need. They are in voice and appearance, and in garb if they must go on a journey, so like to dwarf-men that the eyes and ears of the other peoples cannot tell them apart. This has given rise to the foolish opinion among Men that there are no dwarf-women and that the Dwarves 'grow out of stone.'" ROTK Appendix A III Durin's folk.Oldnoakes 13:57, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
To me this section has more to say about they way others view dwarves than about dwarves themselves. It indicates the ignorance of Men because they can't tell the difference between males and females of different species, like in real life most people don't known the difference between male and female animals. I wouldn't think dwarves are born with beards and would have to grow them, so dwarven women could be mistaken for younger dwarven males. This harkens back to the tradition of women dressing up as boys in stories to avoid suspicion, which is evident in Tolkien's mind from the use of this disguise by Eowyn in the Battle of Pelenor fields.Oldnoakes 13:57, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
I suppose like anything that is written it may be interpreted differently to different people. However, the concept of the dwarves are slightly vague and are meant to be that way. If Tolkien intended dwarven women to have beards he would have said it more plainly.Oldnoakes 13:57, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] "True" Beard Growth
This article states that women who grow beards usually do not have true beard growth, but rather dark facial hair. Generally, the term beard simply refers to a style of facial hair in which a man or woman who is physically able to grow facial hair does so, and allows it to cover most of their lower face, as in a "full beard". This statement needs to be cited, reworded, or clarified. Andrea Parton 13:41, 22 May 2006 (UTC)
- I'm under the impression that facial hair is a beard, unless the facial hair is limited to a moustache or sideburns. Certainly a significant amount of hair on the chin and jaw area is a beard. Foday 02:44, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
