Question about shaving/facial hair and men (guys, light, balding)
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Hello, I have noticed the following odd paradox about the role that being shaven/ unshaven plays depending on the specific man.
If you are tall, white, and have an aura of being upper middle class or above, you can get away with being unshaven. For instance, some trust fund hippies, professors, and West coast tech types don't shave. (Ever see photos of the original team of Microsoft!). Yet if you are working class white in terms of facial expression, accent, and aura or a minority and don't shave your not shaving is an indication of being poorly groomed(sloppy and lazy.) If a person from the projects did not shave, security guards would follow them around every store, yet if a white young tall man with a trust fund kid aura about them walked around a store unshaved, it would be fine. This is not just race, but class since a white person from the trailer park would also be viewed as suspect, if he were unshaven. If being unshaved is Wrong for a poor person, it should be wrong for a Upper Middle class Math professor from Berkely or a Microsoft Millionaire. Why is it that for most people, being unshaved means derelict, but people with a hippie trust fund aura/ professor aura seem to get away with it?
As a side note, in our society a man being overweight is now usually viewed as indicative of being lazy and such, yet for people like Steve Wozniak who invented the Apple computer and Richard Dennis, a famous hedge fund trader, their being overweight and their fast food eating habits are viewed as eccentric rather than low-class by some biographers.
Or maybe your observations are just a wee bit nonsense. If someone already has an 'aura' of being a trust fund kid or a ghetto rat, then shaving or not shaving isn't really going to matter.
Hello, I have noticed the following odd paradox about the role that being shaven/ unshaven plays depending on the specific man.
If you are tall, white, and have an aura of being upper middle class or above, you can get away with being unshaven. For instance, some trust fund hippies, professors, and West coast tech types don't shave. (Ever see photos of the original team of Microsoft!). Yet if you are working class white in terms of facial expression, accent, and aura or a minority and don't shave your not shaving is an indication of being poorly groomed(sloppy and lazy.) If a person from the projects did not shave, security guards would follow them around every store, yet if a white young tall man with a trust fund kid aura about them walked around a store unshaved, it would be fine. This is not just race, but class since a white person from the trailer park would also be viewed as suspect, if he were unshaven. If being unshaved is Wrong for a poor person, it should be wrong for a Upper Middle class Math professor from Berkely or a Microsoft Millionaire. Why is it that for most people, being unshaved means derelict, but people with a hippie trust fund aura/ professor aura seem to get away with it?
As a side note, in our society a man being overweight is now usually viewed as indicative of being lazy and such, yet for people like Steve Wozniak who invented the Apple computer and Richard Dennis, a famous hedge fund trader, their being overweight and their fast food eating habits are viewed as eccentric rather than low-class by some biographers.
Thanks
There are all these little anomalies.
Rich people get to be 'eccentric,' while poor people who behave the same way are just nuts.
There's also the saying that if you have a reputation as an early riser, you can sleep until noon.
Under similar logic, football players can hug each other without their sexuality being questioned, because the aura of football is so hypermasculine that it 'protects' the players from suspicions that might fall on other men.
Higher class people always have to cross a higher threshold before they'll be threatened on anything. It's the same with dress. The lower class person striving for a higher class image must be very careful about the way he/she dresses to cultivate the right image, while the person who's already high class can just wear whatever he/she wants to.
There are many examples of this. I think your observations are pretty valid.
I've noticed a lot more guys in their 20's & 30's who've chosen to go scruffy in the past 5 or 7 yrs, especially after-hours or on the weekends. Many of my friends who work in entertainment or the tech sector rock the stubble during work hours too. I think it's part of the post-ironic hipster vibe that seems to have infiltrated all aspects of male identity in this century.
At the same time, there's been a trend here in Cali for aging baby boomers to sport facial hair to complement their ever-expanding waistlines. While the general public (and image-obsessed media) generally look down on guys under 40 with beer bellies & sagging love-handles, it's generally forgiven once you hit middle-age..... as long as you have a Bimmer or Benz to show for it. I know fat balding friends of my dad who brag that they're too busy schmoozing, wooing clients & making $$$ to diet or exercise. It's almost like they wear their paunchiness as a sign of pride.
I've noticed a lot more guys in their 20's & 30's who've chosen to go scruffy in the past 5 or 7 yrs, especially after-hours or on the weekends. Many of my friends who work in entertainment or the tech sector rock the stubble during work hours too. I think it's part of the post-ironic hipster vibe that seems to have infiltrated all aspects of male identity in this century.
At the same time, there's been a trend here in Cali for aging baby boomers to sport facial hair to complement their ever-expanding waistlines. While the general public (and image-obsessed media) generally look down on guys under 40 with beer bellies & sagging love-handles, it's generally forgiven once you hit middle-age..... as long as you have a Bimmer or Benz to show for it. I know fat balding friends of my dad who brag that they're too busy schmoozing, wooing clients & making $$$ to diet or exercise. It's almost like they wear their paunchiness as a sign of pride.
I definitely see a lot more men go around scruffy than in the past. I don't see a problem with it. I don't shave anymore on days when I'm not working, and I used to shave every day. These things go in and out of fashion over time.
As far as expanding waistlines go, that's a different issue. It's unattractive and unhealthy.
Oh, the class warfare is now down to the facial hair. Thank B.O. for that. We are looking under every rock, leaving no page unturned to find something to gripe about.
How about becoming valuable enough to the people around you not to have to worry about such things.
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