Close Shave

Not too long ago, I had a chat with a sixteen year old. And oh my, I feel old.

One of her friends walked by and she made the comment that she’d rather he shaved his beard. Curious as ever, I turned around to catch a glimpse of this fella. I kid you not, he was barely rocking stubble.

Needless to say, we argued back and forth about whether males should shave or not. Personally, I reckon a beard increases a male’s handsomeness at least tenfold. She completely disagrees. To be totally honest, I didn’t understand it at first. But then I remembered that, back when I was in grade 10- as she currently is- I felt the same way: Males look better clean-shaven.

Wrong. There’s just something extremely attractive about a male with a beard. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking a mile long or unkempt and unruly. I’m talking about a well-groomed, neatly trimmed beard. Decent.

It seems one’s taste and what one perceives as attractive or not, changes as one matures. But perhaps there’s more to it. My closing argument [I swear I felt like an old person] was that she’d understand when she was older. Of course, she denied it. Duh. What was I expecting? My mother readily agreed with me, though that shouldn’t have been news- my dad’s had a beard since… before my time. J But what really surprise me was the fact that her own mother agreed.

I prefer a male with a beard, rather than without it. Quite a few [pretty much all] of my [female] friends agree. Is it just us, or is it a thing? Does one naturally tend toward the more rugged, manly appearance as one grows older? Or are we, and by ‘we’ I mean me, just strange creatures?

I’d love to hear your input on this. Just for interest’s sake. Be sure to comment! J

2014/03/11