I live in the Denver area and there are way too many soft men with big beards here. I'm not a big beard guy myself, but in my neck of the woods a big beard is just another trendy hipster badge. No beard is the new beard as far as I'm concerned.
Lets talk a little bit about why beards are "in" these days. I think it goes along with tattoos and body art also being more acceptable. In the 1900's we had a lot of wars and young men were drafted into service. The policy of the military post-civil war was to be clean shaven with short hair, no piercings, and little-to-no visible tattoos. This became the "look" of the modern man in the early part of the 1900's and onward. Times have changed, young men are no longer forced into service, and we live in much more peaceful times. Therefor, men are able to grow their hair out and get whatever body art they desire. Long hair and beards are no longer consider the mark of someone who is irresponsible, unkempt, and unsuccessful.
On the flipside, because we live in such peaceful and prosperous times full of convenience and a lack of self-reliance; these same men who are growing beards and long hair are also not forced to do hard labor and make a living by the sweat of their brow. They are not forced to kill other men on foreign soil in the name of their country and freedom. They are not required to grow strong and acquire a wealth of knowledge about how to strip a rifle, repair an engine, plant and harvest vegetables, or build a shed. Instead we have soft men who wait tables, make coffee, type away on keyboards, and would rather send a text or email instead of pick up a phone because having to talk to a stranger is socially uncomfortable.
Because of this, the beard is becoming equated with men who do not know how to be "men." Obviously you own your look and if you're a bearded man who is in good shape and knows how to gut a deer in the field and rebuild a transmission then that's just fine, but the vast majority of men don't.
I just find it interesting that the baby faced men of yesteryear were far more independent, masculine, and life experienced than the bearded and tattooed gruff looking men of today.
Lets talk a little bit about why beards are "in" these days. I think it goes along with tattoos and body art also being more acceptable. In the 1900's we had a lot of wars and young men were drafted into service. The policy of the military post-civil war was to be clean shaven with short hair, no piercings, and little-to-no visible tattoos. This became the "look" of the modern man in the early part of the 1900's and onward. Times have changed, young men are no longer forced into service, and we live in much more peaceful times. Therefor, men are able to grow their hair out and get whatever body art they desire. Long hair and beards are no longer consider the mark of someone who is irresponsible, unkempt, and unsuccessful.
On the flipside, because we live in such peaceful and prosperous times full of convenience and a lack of self-reliance; these same men who are growing beards and long hair are also not forced to do hard labor and make a living by the sweat of their brow. They are not forced to kill other men on foreign soil in the name of their country and freedom. They are not required to grow strong and acquire a wealth of knowledge about how to strip a rifle, repair an engine, plant and harvest vegetables, or build a shed. Instead we have soft men who wait tables, make coffee, type away on keyboards, and would rather send a text or email instead of pick up a phone because having to talk to a stranger is socially uncomfortable.
Because of this, the beard is becoming equated with men who do not know how to be "men." Obviously you own your look and if you're a bearded man who is in good shape and knows how to gut a deer in the field and rebuild a transmission then that's just fine, but the vast majority of men don't.
I just find it interesting that the baby faced men of yesteryear were far more independent, masculine, and life experienced than the bearded and tattooed gruff looking men of today.