Beards are Bad Business

Beard, day 17:

I would like to note that I received relatively little support on announcing the return of the beard. I got a lot of "Really? A beard?" and "So what, are you growing a beard?" with that look of skepticism and disdain. I was surprised by this at first but after reading the statement of purpose of the National Beard Registry and thinking about it in the context of my current situation, I began to understand their reaction.

It seems that the full beard is no longer acceptable for professionals in many fields. Sure it's fine if you're a lumberjack or park ranger but not for anything that involves working indoors. If a beard is worn by an office worker, it carries the negative connotation of being laid back to the point of indifference or disinterest, which you don't necessarily want in your doctor or IT professional. In addition, the beard is not the conformist's look. It is easier to wear a close shave and fit in than to go out on your own with the beard and stand proud in the face of convention. Nothing says rugged individualism like a full beard.

Here are some excerpts from the statement that I mentioned above:

The National Beard Registry has been established to encourage men in all walks of life, from every continent, to resist conformity, corporate culture, and androgyny by embracing the beautiful, unique and utterly personal habit of growing a full beard.

In past generations, it was normal for men to grow full beards. Images from the past are filled with men who grew full beards. Military men, men of letters, activists, politicians, judges, farmers, professors, big men, small men, great men, heroes, famous and infamous men alike grew full beards.

Today, wearing a full beard is often looked down upon and discouraged. Men with full beards are now accused of being un-patriotic, whatever that is. How silly we have become.

Like a fingerprint, a year or more of full growth on a man's face produces a one-of-a-kind appearance that defies trend, pop culture, and media driven conformity. It is a very natural and beautiful symbol of individualism, and honors the self-expressed manhood within each man.

It is our belief that by establishing the National Beard Registry, we will be supporting individual creative expression, resisting blind conformity to media driven corporate culture, and promoting the notion of a world where every individual is valued.

The National Beard Registry is based in America but the word National in its name applies to any nation. International boundaries are only in our minds. Conformity is an international malaise. Beards are beautiful on every continent.

I join in the National Beard Registry's call to every man to grow a beard (if you so desire), but be warned: you must be prepared to have only the support of your father, wife and priest.