When it comes to men's showcase of manliness, they would often associate their beard or facial hair with how manly they look. However, a new survey says that men with facial hair are more likely to value traditional gender roles.
In a survey conducted by Qualtrics, an online survey software provider for businesses and academics, they found out that bearded men were likely to value traditional roles more than men who tend to shave their facial hair.
In history, men's facial hair was defined in various aspects. Some say that men use them for sun protection while others said it is a way to attract women. In fact, in a report in 2014 said that facial hair showcase a man's maturity and dominance.
Having a beard or facial hair means the body has ample amounts of testosterone, which is associated with aggression. Thus, people perceive that men who are bearded are more aggressive, angry and dominant even if their personality is the opposite of those traits.
The survey involved 500 men from India and the United States, they showed men with nine various facial hairstyles varying from no beard to someone with the thickest beard. The respondents were asked to pick one that best resembled their own facial hair.
In the second part of the survey, they were asked to agree or disagree with a number of statements about governing gender roles.
The result stated that 86 percent of Indian men and 65 percent of American men had facial hair. Apparently, men with facial hair from both countries agreed more with hostile sexist statements than men without facial hair.
Hostile sexism means agreeing with openly negative beliefs about women while benevolent sexism involves outwardly positive, but still damaging beliefs about women. However, there was no difference between bearded men and men without facial hair in terms of being in agreement with benevolent sexist statements.
"Our research suggests that there is a link between beards and gender role beliefs, but it's not apparent what causes this association. It's possible that men with more negative attitudes towards women are more likely to choose to wear facial hair because it accentuates their apparent masculinity and dominance," the researchers said.
In another survey of 2,000 people by Eva and Censuswide, they found out that men who have facial hair are more likely to cheat on their partner, steal or get into fights. Specifically, they found 47 percent of men with beard had cheated on their partner, compared to 20 percent clean-shaven men.
Around 45 percent of men with facial hair get into fights compared to 29 percent of men without beard. Lastly, 40 percent of men with facial hair claimed that they have stolen something compared to just 17 percent of non-bearded men.
"In my photography career I've certainly noticed attitudes are shifting in regards to long beards and moustaches. Fashion changes so quickly, the beard trend is one that comes in every decade or so, but we might be seeing the end of current beard cycle," Jens Wikholm from Eva, said.
Bhavishya Goel | Flickr
