4 ms·

As someone with a full beard, a father who wears a full beard, and several friends with full beards, what is the problem with them?

Retric 11y ago
For one thing it lowers the bar before people think your indigent. Depending on industry it can often make it harder to find a job. On the whole it's generally viewed as a low status symbol. Granted this is mostly from the east coast of the US (DC). And having a styled bearded seems to make a large difference.
- thomnottom 11y ago
  All I can say is that I and my friends in the NYC and Philly region working (mostly) in pharmaceutical and financial industries do not generally experience this. But obviously that would be anecdotal.
  - moistgorilla 11y ago
    > financial Isn't finance the place where being clean shaven is almost necessary if you want to succeed?
    - remarkEon 11y ago
      -> almost necessary Required. I'm in graduate school right now and you won't get a call back for 2nd rounds if you have a beard. It's some sort of irrational proxy for discipline.
  - Nadya 11y ago
    This is going to sound worse than I mean it to be, but I'm not familiar with NYC. Is Philly a "hipster" region? A full (groomed) beard in SanFran will be seen completely differently than full (groomed) beard in Los Angeles. You'll fit right in with the SF hipsters but you'll be seen as a bum/idiot in LA. There is a drastic difference in perception against say.. the Dollar Beard Club [0] and "manly-men" beards. The difference in perception is a source of comedy [1]. The source of this perception difference is that people "allowed" to grow beards for work were/are typically blue-collar workers. Blue-collar work is associated with those of lesser intelligence (sorry to any hard working blue-collars out there....) while white-collar professions are seen as "more intelligent" and have typically required being clean shaven. As it follows, facial hair = blue collar worker = less intelligent. That's just how things are currently. Obviously this is changing, but more-so in "hipster" areas where people do white-collar work and grow their beards out. As the requirement/stigma against facial hair dies out. [0] https://www.dollarbeardclub.com/ https://www.dollarbeardclub.com/ [1] http://www.primalunleashed.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/10458871_10152170006550108_7588909318375872464_n.jpg http://www.primalunleashed.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/...
- GFK_of_xmaspast 11y ago
  > For one thing it lowers the bar before people think your indigent. Have you considered keeping your facial hair washed and groomed.
  - Retric 11y ago
    It's not just a question of grooming. Short but sparse beards can look unkempt. This is probably self selecting as men who have issues growing a thick beard are more likely to shave if there well off.

Retric 11y ago

For one thing it lowers the bar before people think your indigent. Depending on industry it can often make it harder to find a job. On the whole it's generally viewed as a low status symbol. Granted this is mostly from the east coast of the US (DC). And having a styled bearded seems to make a large difference.

thomnottom 11y ago
All I can say is that I and my friends in the NYC and Philly region working (mostly) in pharmaceutical and financial industries do not generally experience this. But obviously that would be anecdotal.
- moistgorilla 11y ago
  > financial Isn't finance the place where being clean shaven is almost necessary if you want to succeed?
  - remarkEon 11y ago
    -> almost necessary Required. I'm in graduate school right now and you won't get a call back for 2nd rounds if you have a beard. It's some sort of irrational proxy for discipline.
- Nadya 11y ago
  This is going to sound worse than I mean it to be, but I'm not familiar with NYC. Is Philly a "hipster" region? A full (groomed) beard in SanFran will be seen completely differently than full (groomed) beard in Los Angeles. You'll fit right in with the SF hipsters but you'll be seen as a bum/idiot in LA. There is a drastic difference in perception against say.. the Dollar Beard Club [0] and "manly-men" beards. The difference in perception is a source of comedy [1]. The source of this perception difference is that people "allowed" to grow beards for work were/are typically blue-collar workers. Blue-collar work is associated with those of lesser intelligence (sorry to any hard working blue-collars out there....) while white-collar professions are seen as "more intelligent" and have typically required being clean shaven. As it follows, facial hair = blue collar worker = less intelligent. That's just how things are currently. Obviously this is changing, but more-so in "hipster" areas where people do white-collar work and grow their beards out. As the requirement/stigma against facial hair dies out. [0] https://www.dollarbeardclub.com/ https://www.dollarbeardclub.com/ [1] http://www.primalunleashed.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/10458871_10152170006550108_7588909318375872464_n.jpg http://www.primalunleashed.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/...
GFK_of_xmaspast 11y ago
> For one thing it lowers the bar before people think your indigent. Have you considered keeping your facial hair washed and groomed.
- Retric 11y ago
  It's not just a question of grooming. Short but sparse beards can look unkempt. This is probably self selecting as men who have issues growing a thick beard are more likely to shave if there well off.