back to article Are bearded blokes more sexist?

Scientists have critically discovered that men with beards are not necessarily more sexist than clean-shaven chaps, despite previous research which indicated "a connection between facial hair and negative attitudes about women". Back in 2015, Aussie researchers Barnaby J. Dixson and Julian A. Oldmeadow asked 309 Indian and 223 …

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  1. Known Hero

    what a round a bout way of stating, it might be influenced by the muslim faith not respecting women much & requiring beards. or ...... am I being too sceptical

    You could say they were beating round the ...... Bush

    1. Just Enough

      wrong

      The Muslim faith does not require beards. So you're not being too sceptical, just wrong.

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

      2. Chris Miller

        Re: wrong

        There is nothing in the Koran requiring men to have beards, but it is in the sayings of the prophet Mohammed. Some Muslims argue that the sayings of the Prophet may be reinterpreted to reflect changes in society over the last 1,400 years. Other Muslims say that people who argue this way should be beheaded. You pays your money ...

        It's undoubtedly true that in Britain, Muslims are over-represented amongst men with beards, but there is no 1-1 correlation between the two sets.

    2. Anonymous Blowhard

      And I think that "the muslim faith not respecting women much" is also a bit wide of the mark; OK there are *some* Islamic cultures that make women second class citizens (UK ally and arms customer Saudi Arabia is a good example) but Muslim countries like Turkey, Pakistan and Bangladesh have all had female Prime Ministers (Bangladesh still has) so where does that put the USA & UK in the "respecting women" contest?

    3. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      The majority faith in India is Hinduism not Islam…

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @Known Hero; "You could say they were beating round the ..."

      (Known Hero takes out and puts on a pair of children's toy plastic sunglasses)

      "... Bush"

      YEEEEEEAAAAAA.... er, no.

      That's *not* the type of hair that "bush" normally refers to. :-O

      By the way, does "round a bout" refer to the crowd in a boxing match?

    5. WolfFan Silver badge

      what a round a bout way of stating, it might be influenced by the muslim faith not respecting women much & requiring beards. or ...... am I being too sceptical

      Errm... in the first place, there's nothing in Islam about having a beard.

      In the second place, when I think of 'India' and beards, I think Sikhs, and beards are required in Sikhism for all guys. However, Sikhs are notorious for being of the opinion that women (or at least Sikh women) are equal to men (or at least Sikh men) and superior to some men (that would be any man who's not a Sikh). In other words, Sikh girls are superior to you, boyo, and won't be shy about saying so. And most Sikh girls won't require any assistance from Sikh guys in kicking non-Sikh ass.

      In the third place, while some Muslims (Saudi nutbags, for example) aren't particularly respectful of women, others have little or no problems. The Saudi nutbags and those who think like them really hate that, and in many cases don't consider such Muslims to be true Muslims. Said not-really-true-Muslims tend to ignore the Saudi nutbags and friends, which really makes the nutbags upset.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Lots of faiths have people with stupid beards and generally being hard for a faith means you're hard for their not written in the last 50 or so years of ethics and morals.

        1. This post has been deleted by its author

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            I remember something along the line of "What's Gods fascination with head gear? Wear a hat inside, don't wear a hat, this person can wear a pointy hat but nobody else, long hair but in a hat, no hair no hat"

    6. Known Hero
      Thumb Down

      I noticed I got a lot of thumbs down for mentioning the "M" word !! (really are we at that stage now !!!)

      But if you bothered to read the story written, it was the researchers way of writing that I was commenting upon, But no no no, you all grab your pitchforks and downvote away !! I must be a dailymail skinhead due to the simple reason I uttered the M word :/

      Actually it was a response in particular to two paragraphs which led to my comment pointing out it was a rather long winded way of not actually pointing the finger whilst pointing the finger. personally I cant think of many faiths requiring beard growth who have a reputation for not treating women with much respect.

      Authors Kahl Hellmer and T. Johanna Stenson elaborate: "We suggest that facial hair is, to some extent, used by men as a sociocultural symbol that, depending on the cultural environment, signals qualitatively distinct group membership

      "Consequently, men in different cultures and traditions cease shaving to pursue different social group memberships, some of which may — or may not — be tied to more traditional or conservative values."

  2. earl grey
    FAIL

    My beard

    Says i don't want to bother shaving (for the last 50 years). What a load of rubbish.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: My beard

      Same here.

      As a youth shaving gave me a bad rash so I stopped and have never started again.

      1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

        Re: My beard

        > As a youth shaving gave me a bad rash

        (To revive an old Usenet meme: AOL)

        I do sometimes (as in - twice in the last 15 years) take the guard off the beard-trimmer and cut it back to less than 1mm. Just to remind all and sundry what my unprotected face looks like.

        I soon grow it back again.

    2. chivo243 Silver badge
      Windows

      Re: My beard

      @earl grey

      My beard gets trimmed, but not completely shaved off.. I was reaching Gandalf proportions over the winter, but have trimmed it back since we have nicer weather.

      I agree...

      Tramp as he has a beard.

    3. EvilGardenGnome
      Trollface

      Re: My beard

      Many, many moons ago I had the fond pleasure of telling off a snide psychology professor. The professor asserted that men grow beards due to a fundamental, and overpowering public anxiety/need to hide.

      I countered that I merely didn't shave as I was too lazy to do so, and was too cheap to buy razor blades at 15$ a pack. The prof's response involved a lot of sputtering, a stumbled claim of anecdotal evidence, and a red face over my particularly smug smile.

      That was my last psych class.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: My beard

        I first grew a beard because a woman told me to.

        Afterwards shaving just seemed pointless.

        1. chivo243 Silver badge

          Re: My beard

          @Mycho

          "I first grew a beard because a woman told me to."

          You too?

          That would be the Mrs. I could go either way, shave once in a while, or let it go and have a beard.

          1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

            Re: My beard

            > I could go either way, shave once in a while, or let it go and have a beard.

            "Either have a smooth face or a nice soft beard"

            Been there. Living that.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: My beard

          Yes, it's manly being told what to do by a woman.

          And yes, it's always pointless to go against a woman's wishes.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: My beard

            Yes, it's manly being told what to do by a woman.

            And yes, it's always pointless to go against a woman's wishes.

            Manly is what you do about it, which is none of your business, and it's always pointless to refuse to make less effort in exchange for a reward.

      2. BurnT'offering

        Re: telling off a snide psychology professor

        But was he wrong?

        1. EvilGardenGnome
          Devil

          Re: telling off a snide psychology professor

          My anxiety issues account for a generally curmudgeonly demeanor and desire to show up pompous gits. The beard is pure laziness.

          1. Pompous Git Silver badge

            Re: telling off a snide psychology professor

            desire to show up pompous gits.

            And what makes you think your beard is more beardly than The Pompous Git's beard?

      3. Robert Helpmann??
        Childcatcher

        Re: My beard

        The prof's response involved a lot of sputtering, a stumbled claim of anecdotal evidence, and a red face over my particularly smug smile.

        That was my last psych class.

        Why stop when you were having fun? You could have had many hours of entertainment at that particular professor's expense. If you had played it right, you could have gotten a study funded to completely undermine the professor's stated theory, just like the researchers in the article did (at least the funding part).

        1. EvilGardenGnome
          Trollface

          Re: My beard

          I allowed common sense and the scientific method to stop me.

          As you can see, I'd make a horrible psychologist. /s (merely as I am good friends with a few...)

          1. frank ly

            Re: My beard

            A beard (even a short one) is great for keeping the winter wind off your facial skin.

      4. Marshalltown

        Re: My beard

        I had an anthropology professor assert pretty much the same, but who then went ahead and asked why I wore a beard. My list was 1) it grows there, and shaving it off is trouble for no discernible reward, though keeping it clipped keeps it from getting in the way, 2) pain, it's no fun shaving and self-torture is not my bag, and 3) cost and spending options, unless you're a crackerjack with sharpening stone and a strop you buy blades, and not buying a pack means you CAN buy more coffee.

    4. BurnT'offering

      Re: Says i don't want to bother shaving

      Also says you don't mind sporting a handy archaeological record of meals eaten and a fizzog that smells like a yeti's armpit

      1. Rich 11

        Re: Says i don't want to bother shaving

        Also says you don't mind sporting a handy archaeological record of meals eaten

        A moustache and beard are excellent places to store small quantities of Guinness for consumption on the way home from the pub.

        1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

          Re: Says i don't want to bother shaving

          > store small quantities of Guinness

          Eww. Guiness[1].

          Now if t'were a proper zider wiv bits in it I might be interested. Or a nice bottle of heavy red wine (Rex Mundi will do nicely).

          [1] I'll admit that it's not Guiness per-se - it's beer in general. The only beer I've ever drunk without feeling terrible the next day [2] is either German Weissbeer or US Budwiser[3].

          [2] Even after small amounts. And I can drink whisky without bad side effects and eat barley-bread without a problem.

          [3] Probably because the actual beer content is so low as to be a homeopathic levels.

      2. Graham Dawson Silver badge

        @BurnT'offering Re: Says i don't want to bother shaving

        There is this amazing new device called a "shower".

        1. BurnT'offering

          Re: There is this amazing new device called a "shower".

          Does it penetrate through the rainforest canopy bedecking your face? (Looks like someone needs to do a study on whether beardos are easier to wind up than those of the nudie chin persuasion)

  3. TheProf
    Windows

    Proper sexism

    Of course having a beard is sexist. Men grow them only to annoy feminists because women are, frankly, utter shite when it comes to sporting facial hair.

    1. ElectricFox
      Holmes

      Re: Proper sexism

      Are bearded blokes more sexist*?

      *sexist as defined by feminist ideology

    2. Tom 7

      Re: Proper sexism

      I think Mr Zappa would have cause with that: 'Catholic girls, with a tiny little moustache'.

      And largely tiny so as not to offend the insecure patriarch by letting it grow,

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Proper sexism

        I'm really not sure old Frank was talking about a mustache on the girl's face.

      2. James O'Shea

        Re: Proper sexism

        "I think Mr Zappa would have cause with that: 'Catholic girls, with a tiny little moustache'."

        Mr. Zappa is hanging out with the wrong Catholic girls.

        Fond memories of Elizabeth Ryan, who most definitely did not have a moustache, tiny or otherwise. I made her laugh by singing Billy Joel's 'Only the Good Die Young'. Not so fond memories of Sister Hildegarde, a.k.a. Attila the Nun, who did not have a _tiny_ moustache. And who could easily have played on the Minnesota Vikings' defensive line, except that I don't think that the NFL allows you to use an 18" ruler to whack the opposing quarterback on the knuckles. I pissed her off when she heard me singing 'Only the Good Die Young' to Liz.

    3. Warm Braw

      Re: Proper sexism

      >women are, frankly, utter shite when it comes to sporting facial hair.

      It rather depends on how motivated they are..

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Proper sexism

        >women are, frankly, utter shite when it comes to sporting facial hair

        I give you my sister and five goats if you tell me where you live. No make that five pigs, then you have a better chance of telling which is the sister.

    4. Chris G

      Re: Proper sexism

      "because women are, frankly, utter shite when it comes to sporting facial hair."

      Not always true! When I were a lad many decades ago, I had a date with a beautiful Armenian girl I met at a local youth club; when I turned up for the date she was accompanied by an ancient chaperone in a black dress and a black lace head scarf, not only did her facial hair put mine to shame ( kind of Van Dyk, moustache and sideburns) she sucked her popcorn all the way through the first Doctor Who and the Daleks movie.

      I was also too nervous to even think of a goodnight kiss at the end of the date.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Proper sexism

        There is a reason Burkas are mandatory in some parts of the world..

  4. Rosie Davies

    MISOGNY!

    I note that neither piece of 'research' has gathered the views of bearded ladies. Once again hirsute ladies are ignored in a blatantly sexist attempt to sideline those who don't conform to the narrow parameters of conventional beauty.

    I shall be writing to the Gaurdinnan!

    Rosie

    P.S. no, I am not a bearded lady but that doesn't mean I don't have the right to get offended on their behalf and act as a spokesperson for their community.

    1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

      Re: MISOGNY!

      Fair enough. I think we should survey 500 bearded ladies and ask them: "Is patriarchal conservatism behind the exclusion of bearded ladies from beard surveys?"

      1. Stevie

        Re: MISOGNY!

        Once again we see a so-called survey in which bias is built-in from the get-go.

        The sample should include groups of women, men, transgender individuals and all should be represented by both bearded and non-bearded persons.

        These people should be made to wear burkhas and to speak through randomly cycling frequecy shifters when answering the survey to avoid biasing the quizmaster with visual and/or sonic cues.

        Each should also wear a harness that can deliver small shocks to various parts of their bodies so that a consistent and non-gender identifying mode of fidgeting can be imposed on the sample.

        To be absolutely rigorous the subjects shouldn't know to which group they belong, nor whether or not they are clean-shaven.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: MISOGNY!

          How about if we have a survey of whether people take part in surveys?

          Experience suggests 70% will vote No.

    2. Tom 7

      Re: MISOGNY!

      MsOGNY in these PC days I think you'll find.

  5. BoldMan

    Who the hell is funding this bollocks... oops sorry load of old bullsh... oops now load of cock an... er... rubbish? Phew, think I got away with that one...

    1. David 18

      Re: Who is funding this...

      I suspect that when first proposed, it was to find a correlation between hirsuteness and sexism the corresponding effect on Anthropological Climate Change.

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