Beards Are Back: Fashion Statement or Symptom of Masculinity Problems?

After falling out of fashion from the beatnik-hippie era of the 1950s to the early 1970s, beards, moustaches, and the eternal 5 o’clock shadow are back. Trumpsters – including Donald Jr., Sec. of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) – is sporting a beard. There are many ways men can style their beards Men’s Health identifies 29 “best beard styles.”

Another commenter, Andreas Ramos, recalls that he “saw the beard for the first time in Nashville in 2009.” He says, “It was working-class guys who started to have tough beards. Eventually, it started showing up in college classes and somewhere in 2012, it exploded. By late 2013 and early 2014, everyone had beards everywhere.” He adds, “We talked about this in 2014. I repeated what I saw a few years ago in Nashville. But everyone says it’s a San Francisco/Brooklyn hipster thing and the working groups have copied the elite groups.”

So, why did beards become so popular in the last decade or so? Many commentators agree with the 2013 statement by the Voice of America, “facial hair is more than a fashion statement.” As the BBC report put it, “The beard became almost synonymous with masculinity, upheld as a symbol of men’s natural strength.” Today, in an age where the campaign for gender equality sees more women being looked after in stronger positions than ever before, men are growing strong beards and stroking them for added dimension. One book says, “a beard can show maturity, masculinity, confidence, and even a sense of warmth or protection.”

Equally important, “Beards provide protection against the elements. They can protect the face from harmful UV rays, reducing the risk of skin cancer.

However, some have raised serious concerns related to beards and masculinity. Helen Fisher, PhD, anthropologist and senior researcher at the Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, offers a very simple explanation: “Like a lion: facial hair shows testosterone, its size, as well as youth, strength, firmness and readiness.” The key word is “shows.”

Tamsin Saxton, a professor of psychology, found that the increase in unshaven men coincides with periods of history in which masculinity is threatened, especially when a large number of single men compete for fewer women.

And our current age is one that many men feel threatened by. There is no more masculine authority than Donald Trump’s insistence that “masculinity is under attack.”

Andrew Smiler, PhD, a developmental psychologist, argues that “masculinity” concerns re-emerge after twenty to three years in times of social and economic crisis. She notes that this happened during the Great Depression, in the 1960s and 1970s (among the civil rights movement, traditions and the second women’s movement) and in the early 20s.^th century and the transition to a service-based economy. This shift occurred as more women graduated from high school, went to college and joined the labor force (as the two-income family became necessary) and – especially for men – manufacturing jobs declined.

The American Psychological Association (APA) points to some factors driving this change. There has been an increase in male deaths due to what is known as “diseases of despair” – the number of male suicides is twice as high as that of women, and the number of male suicides is twice as high due to drug overdose. In addition, women live longer than men – in 2023, women will live 5.3 years longer. And more men feel lonely than women – a Gallup poll found about 35 percent of men feel lonely compared to 18 percent for women; most revealing, while about 60 percent of women sought treatment, only about 40 percent of men did.

One commenter said: “When you look back in history, beard styles often follow a certain era.

This has been clearly revealed in US presidents: Abraham Lincoln, 16^th president (1861-1865) was the first president; Benjamin Harrison, aged 23^rd president (1889-1893), was the last president to have a full beard while in office. JD Vance is the first vice president with a full beard since Charles Fairbanks, who served under the President. Theodore Roosevelt (1905-1909).

Yes, beards are back – and the only thing Vance and NYC Mayor Zoran Mamdani seem to have in common are their beards.