Beards, beards, beards. A lot of guys have them these days, so they must be pretty well-liked among those with an XY chromosome. Women, on the other hand, can't rock facial hair, but they still have opinions on it.
I for one am not a fan of facial hair. Some men can really pull it off, but for the most part, I just don't think they look as sophisticated with a beard. It reminds me too much of Grizzly Adams, and I am not an outdoorsy kind of girl. Case and point, the wild animal that seems to be a permanent fixture on Andrew Garfield's face, which along with his film "99 Homes," has been his big news out of his appearance at the Venice Film Festival this week. As someone who thinks he looks best as the clean-cut Eduardo Saverin from "The Social Network," I'm not a fan.
And it looks like I'm not alone in my preference for a smooth face. The ladies of the world have spoken, and they don't like beards as much as guys do.
A recent survey from eBay Fashion asked 1,000 people about their preferences in beards. The study found that about 75 percent of men like beards, whereas about 55 percent of women enjoy hairy chins. This news is going to destroy relationships, I just know it.
The survey also found that 60 percent of male respondents wished the world was filled with more beards, and 52 percent of female respondents wished that there were less beards to look at. As "Esquire" points out, that means some women who said they like beards secretly wish they didn't have to look at so many. Are you getting the idea that women sacrifice a lot for men yet?
So if men want to attract some female attention, they should probably get rid of their beards. But if you really want to keep your stubble, you should probably convince your bros to chop theirs off. Researchers from the University of New South Wales in Sydney published a study in April that found the rarer it is to see people with facial hair, the more attractive it becomes.
The survey from eBay Fashion also shows that Google searches for "beards" increased between 2011 and 2013, hitting its peak in November 2013. This is because November has gained popularity as "No Shave November" or "Movember," where men don't shave their facial hair for the entire month to raise cancer awareness.
However, Google searches for "beards" has been on the decline ever since. See? Women do know best.
