On Bearded Men

I have always liked facial hair on men. I think back to a boyfriend I had in my early 20's who had a full beard. I liked nothing more than to stroke the hair of his beard. Facial hair, neatly trimmed of course, will make even an unattractive man attractive. This has not changed as I grow a little older. Now, I don't care for the scraggly beard or the Santa Claus look nor, for that matter, the handlebar moustache or strangely, goatees with no other facial hair. But, I find almost any other type of facial hair hugely attractive.

Over the years, I've talked to quite a few men about beards and even tried to coerce a few into growing one. One of my brothers wears a beard fairly regularly. He says it's easier on his skin than shaving which seems to cause his skin to break out. A close friend told me a few years ago that he thinks men who wear beards should - the implication being that men who wear beards would be unattractive men without them.

It seems that beards, and facial hair in general, have faded in and out of popularity, especially in western cultures. During the era of the Viet Nam war and for a time after it, beards were immensely popular. Hippies wore them, usually uncropped and free-flowing. Black Nationalists and others in the black power movement also sported beards. Of course, beards have long played a role in religion, in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and many other religions.

In the U.S., for quite a while in the 1960's through about the 1980's, many employers forbid male employees to have any facial hair other than a small, trimmed moustache. The military of many countries ban beards, including the U.S. Army and Marines, ostensibly for reasons of hygiene and, oddly, because beards prevent a good seal on gas masks.

A lot of women, my mother for one, abhor beards. My mother says they're scratchy and itchy. Another friend hates them because she says food gets caught in them. Yet another friend says that in very "intimate" encounters, they cause abrasion. I won't delve further into that discussion.

Personally, I love facial hair. Often, when out shopping, I have to refrain myself from commenting to a male stranger, "great beard." I suspect many men know that women like me exist. Many men with neatly trimmed beards seem to exude a healthy confidence that they know how good they look with their beards. They seem to have an invisible sign that reads, "I know I'm working this beard."

Oh, if the beard is salt and pepper or heaven forbid, silver, they could father my next child.

T