Have you ever wondered why men are able to grow a beard and what purpose they serve?
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I have been pondering this concept for some time now and in my mind, there must be some sort of evolutionary reason for men being able to grow a beard. It must serve some sort of purpose.
In this article, I view the issue of beards through an evolutionary perspective and offer an explanation as to why humans can grow beards. I have done very little research on the subject and have no direct evidence to back up the arguments that I put forward, so please feel free to argue my points or offer alternative explanations.
Body Hair Serves a Function
When we look at body hair, it is easy to see that some places on our bodies have much more hair than others. The reason for this is quite simple; we have extra hair in the areas of our bodies where 1) we lose the most body heat (ie. our heads) and 2) to avoid chafing (ie. arm pits and pelvic/groin region). These are common traits shared by both sexes of the human species in that both males and females typically grow extra hair in these regions. Since women grow hair in all the same places that men do, we can reasonably conclude that body hair serves a similar purposes in both sexes.
However, the beard is different. In general, only men can grow a beard which suggests that the beard has a different purpose that only pertains to males. It is possible that the male beard serves a physical protective function, such as providing extra facial protection to earlier hunters or perhaps combating individuals.
However, I personally believe that the beard serves a social function in that sends information to members of the social group about the individual. To explain this concept further I will use the example of the male African lion and its mane.
The Human Beard Much like the Lions Mane
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The mane of the male adult lion is believed to serve many functions. For starters, it makes the lion appear larger and more intimidating, which aids them during confrontations with other competing lions. However, it also serves a social function by providing information about the individual to other members of its group. For instance, the presence or absence of a mane, its thickness, length, and coloring are all determined by genetic preconditioning, sexual maturity, and testosterone production. In fact, as a general rule, the darker and fuller the mane, the healthier the lion. With these factors in mind, the mane is also believed to serve the function of attracting female lions, as it is an indicator of the male lion’s health, genetics, and possibly dominance in nature. Studies even show that female lions favor males with darker and denser manes.
The Beard as a Social Indicator
I think that the beard serves a similar purpose in humans as it does lions. I believe that it acts as an indicator of an individual’s health, maturity, and possibly even social dominance. As such, it likely provides signals to other members of the group, which may not be realized on a conscious level, but none the less reach potential mates and competing males on a primitive sub-conscious level. With this in mind, it is also possible that in today's society, there are social advantages as well as disadvantages for having a beard.
Advantages and Disadvantages
The beard could be an advantage in dating situations. If the man is able to grow a thick dark beard, this may indicate measures of health, maturity and dominance to potential mates and may make the man appear more attractive to the opposite sex. Similar indicator traits like the beard and the mane tend to be common in nature. For instance, male peacocks tend to have ridiculously large and colorful tail feathers that serve no other function than to attract female mates.
The beard could also be an indicator of intimidation to other males which would be an advantage in sports or professional fighting situations or even if the individual finds themselves in a jail or prison.
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On the other hand, having a beard could be a disadvantage if it subconsciously intimidates other males. For instance, during a job interview, it may be a disadvantage to have a beard if on a primitive sub-conscious level it evokes an intimidating message to the employer. Also, salesman may not want to intimidate potential clients and a person in court may not want to appear intimidating to a jury. In these cases the beard would be a disadvantage.
Conclusion
Though I offer a possible explanation for the function and purpose of the male beard, I am sure that there is more to this particular evolutionary story. Also keeping in mind the fact that the human species is constantly evolving (both physically and socially) it is hard to determine if the beard serves the same function today as it did thousands of years ago. However, the full beard has made a major comeback recently in terms of facial hair fashion which makes me wonder how others view the beard and what their opinions are regarding the advantages and disadvantages of growing a beard in today’s society.
Feel free to comment or discuss :)
A female perspective would be interesting to hear.