If you spend any time looking ’round the Internet for information on beards – which is admittedly a somewhat odd thing to do – you will quickly come across a certain segment of the “Internista” referring to something called “feral beards”.
This took me some time to figure out, as the phrase summons to my mind the image of a beard that leaps off the face, scurries off into a nearby bush, and growls menacingly at anyone who comes too close. Which I’m pretty sure I’m safe from that kind of beard unless I start feeding myself mind-bending drugs. But what on earth did they mean ?
Well, it turns out they are referring to the kind of beards that grow on men if the man doesn’t start hacking the growth away. The sort of beard that normal people might refer to as unkempt, or even (if they are being sensible), natural. The word feral is used by those who have certain opinions regarding beards – that those who just let them grow are somehow lazy, unclean, untrustworthy, the “rat’s nest“, “shaggy beards“, etc. Basically these people just don’t like beards, which is fair enough if you are deciding whether or not to grow your own beard. But using derogatory language about another’s choice ?
Even unkempt is quite inaccurate; if a beard looks like a mess, it could be because it hasn’t been combed in a week, or because you aren’t used to seeing real beards. Now there’s always the possibility that what you’re looking at is really unkempt – complete with bits of food, and wild creatures living in it. But the overwhelming majority of men with beards will spend some time working on them – cleaning them at least daily, combing regularly, and perhaps trimming back a bit.
Which is why I say such beards are natural. Which is not to criticise those who indulge in unnatural practices such as shaving, and trimming their facial hair, but; in fact I wouldn’t use the word “unnatural” except to draw attention to the fact that it isn’t natural! It’s natural, trimmed beard, or shaved face.
And if you start thinking “but a beard just makes you look untrustworthy” or something similar, bear in mind you are indulging in the same kind of thinking that results in burning crosses in the front yard. It may not be the same to the same scale (after all I can always shave my beard off), but it is judging someone by appearance in the same way that a racist judges someone by their appearance.