WHITE RURAL DEMOGRAPHIC???
I am a white working class guy from Chicago. I have lived in Chicago, the suburbs of Chicago for 2 years, the suburbs of Seattle for 2 years, Louisiana for 3 years and Paris for 8 months. I currently attend college in South Dakota and I live on the border in Iowa. I have noticed that majority of the men and teenagers here wear facial hair. In Chicago other than a moustache or occassional goatee, this is pretty uncommon. Yet here to be clean shaven is uncommon. Is there a meaning behind the beard? If so what is it? If not, then why is it so common?
Dont answer because of the cold, facial hair is a liability in cold weather.
Comments
Well I can't really give a concrete answer but I'd think because it's a more 'rugged' environment to live in. I've been in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and I've noticed there are many more beards too, so I'd make an educated guess that it's because more like wilderness and that reflects in the people. They're much more outdoorsy and adventurous in nature and most people with that kind of personality tend to have beards, at least from where I come from.
I have one but it's more because I see it as a sign of sagacity and of a philosopher.
It's just a style. In the city here I live, young men try to look like they just got released from prison, shaved face, shaved head. The lack of facial hair is more of a statement. Older guys tend to have a goatee.
My 13 year old son wants facial hair so badly that I have to hide my razor to keep him from shaving the fuzz off his face in hopes of growing a mustache. I hate the daily chore of shaving but some jobs require one to be clean shaven. I've asked the boy why he wants whiskers so badly & the answer is, "because it proves you are a man & not just a boy!" He has reached the stage where he says things like "man up", "be a man about it", "show some testosterone" and any number of phrases he picked up from his buds & coaches.
I suspect facial hair reinforces the male desire to show masculinity and becomes increasingly important where male characteristics are more highly valued by their society.
Its a look. People who tend to want to look like this migrate to these areas, thus creating and overall appearance.