In certain countries note The Philippines, South Korea, Turkey, and Brazil to name a few. In Ancient Rome, beards were considered slovenly and a sign of living in squalor but were accepted as long as they were well-groomed and worn by someone in a position of authority. Mustaches and beards are also considered a sign of innate masculinity and virility in India.įrom 1860 to 1916, it was mandatory for British soldiers to wear mustaches and they would be arrested if they removed their facial hair. In the southern parts of India, police officers are encouraged to grow a mustache or have mustaches as part of the uniform because police officers with a mustache were believed to be more effective, more respected by the public, less intimidating, and better at interacting with the community. In real life, mustaches are considered more professional than beards and they were mandatory in certain services. A Beard of Evil is also unlikely to be manly, given its likelihood to be worn by an older, wimpy intellectual villain like a Mad Scientist or Evil Chancellor. Beard of Sorrow is also not manly, but rather a sign that a man has become depressed and given up on his grooming (though it could be worn by a Heartbroken Badass). And note that not all facial hair is manly - a Porn Stache might make people giggle instead, and a Wizard Beard serves more to make them look wise and old. Compare Girls with Moustaches, mustached or bearded women are usually presented as funny or disgusting since women should not be manly and should not have facial hair. Super-Trope to Beard of Barbarism (where long facial hair is used to mark someone as being from a violent warrior culture) and Seadog Beard (where a bushy beard is on an experienced seaman). Sister Trope to Carpet of Virility, which achieves the same effect with chest hair, and Lantern Jaw of Justice, the way to go if you want to look manly without a beard. Sometimes the association becomes parodic, as in the case of Testosterone Poisoning types who also sport exaggerated facial hair. Also often found in military settings, associated with Sergeant Rock, Colonel Badass, The Captain, Father Neptune, and the Ace Pilot. Characters who lack facial hair can be considered less masculine, and the growth of facial hair on someone who was previously unable to grow one or was clean-shaven can be a visual indicator that the guy Took a Level in Badass.Ĭommon "manly" types who tend to have facial hair are the Chick Magnet (who may be sporting a Clark Gable-style mustache), the Mighty Lumberjack, Nature Hero, or Hunter Trapper (in these cases a bushy beard shows their relation to and dominance over nature), The Strongman (who is usually associated with a handlebar moustache), and the Macho Latino sporting one of the Magnificent Moustaches of Mexico. While a sufficiently muscled and square-jawed hunk can get away with being clean-shaven or sporting Perma-Stubble, he is just as likely to have a thick moustache and/or a full and gorgeous beard. The reason for this is that women and young boys usually don't grow facial hair, and the lack of it on a post-pubescent man can make them look "delicate" (see Pretty Boy) so its presence is associated with a gruff, hardened older guy. Be it a well-groomed moustache or a lush and untrimmed beard, prominent facial hair on a male character is used to show them as a bona fide tough guy, a man's man, a veritable buffet of manliness. Facial hair is widely perceived as masculine and mature.
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