According to Butler, normative society imposes behaviors and expressions that define what is a man or woman to the point where our perception of even corporeal sexual differences is shaped by gendered conventions. As such, facial hair is part of a performance that not only confers its wearer with manly qualities, but also defines him as a man.
… It behooves men to wear long beards, Valeriano wrote, for “chiefly by that token (as I have often said) the vigorous strength of manhood is discerned from the tenderness of women.”
I have never worn a beard as I don’t have sufficient facial hair to grow a good-looking one. I have worn a mustache ever since I could produce a decent one. At some point, I noticed goat tees looked good on some men and have worn one off and on for several years. Mostly, however, I hate to shave, and a goat tee means less hair to shave.
Do beards project a person as being manly?
When we think of Charles Darwin, what comes to mind? Natural selection. The Galapagos Islands. And if we are picturing him, he has a rather impressive beard.
It turns out that among the many puzzles of biology that Darwin tried to solve was why human males have the propensity to grow beards. In “The Descent of Man” (1871), Darwin speculated that beards may not directly enhance survival in contrast to claims from a recent study suggesting that facial hair’s function may be to absorb some of the impact of getting punched (Beseris et al., 2020). Instead, Darwin argued that beards might be considered an “ornament,” much like a male peacock’s bright tale feathers.
So, if you are a man and having problems attracting members of the opposite sex, or maybe men who prefer men may also find beards attractive, then grow a beard, but be prepared to tell your wife that it will not be to attract younger or prettier women.