As the occasional wearer of facial hair, I do get a sense of community spirit when I see events like the World Beard Wearing competition. These are chaps who understand dedication to style and aesthetic for personal satisfaction against public opinion. It is quite interesting to consider the way in which beard wearers are perceived. There has, in recent times, been a shift in public opinion from the view of the beard as indicative of maturity and wisdom, to a mistrust of people with beards. As is seen with people who are obese, beard wearers are often considered lazy and lacking in moral fibre as is suggested here but this is not always the case. As one who ranges from clean shaven to flowing beard and back I am aware that public perception of my facial hair varies as the beard grows.
I tend to get interested looks as the beard first starts to grow through the stubble stage. Then depending on how the beard is trimmed, the looks change. If I trim to a goatee I tend to find that people distance themselves more than if I keep a neatly trimmed full beard. By the same token, I find that as the beard grows longer if it is left to flow and appears natural I get a better response than if I try to keep it in check. I find it fascinating that people have a reaction at all to something which is a perfectly natural process, and makes no difference to anyone particularly, although this may be a function of my personal worldview. It could well be that because I don't read faces when I am communicating face to face I don't see the impact of changing or hiding facial features. perhaps someone who is better attuned to reading faces, and therefore relies on them more heavily to establish trustworthiness would be affected more significantly.
Could make an interersting research project one day.....
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