Sunday, January 31, 2010

FAQ--female equivalent of beards?

There are a few eternal questions of beard-dom (or of my pursuit of said beard-dom). I have begun to answer a few to my satisfaction.

When is it a beard, as opposed to mere scruff?
A: This is subjective, and varies on the individual. General consensus says that once there is a complete line of hair connecting one temple to the other, and that hair is curly, it is a beard.

But this one persists:

What is the female equivalent of the beard?
Problematic A #1: long hair.
Same: '70s nostalgia, potential for lasseiz faire grooming, externally displayed gender.
Problems: facial hair is postpubescent, long hair is associated with little girls; head hair indicates a more extensive time committment.
Resolution?: associate earlier age association with female's earlier potential for fertility, link time commitment term pregnancy vs. insemination

Proposed A #2: The bush.
Same: postpubescent; though growth is natural, regular grooming/ hair removal is considered common; "dirty hippies"; texture.
Problems: Not publicly displayed; pubic hair present in both genders; hairiness is not associated with "femininity"
Resolution?: facial hair is potentially present in both genders; both bushy women and bearded men are minorities, but not radical minorities.

Anyway, further research is required.

3 comments:

Raw said...

The curly thing just doesn't stand up to scrutiny. For instance, Asian men usually have long, perfectly straight beards. Your definition suggests that his beard, well, isn't one.

lostberg said...

Maybe all pubes aren't curly?

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