After Donald Trump chose JD Vance as his Presidential running mate the New York Times has taken a look at beards in US political culture. It has identified problems with beards..
Facial hair is often seen as suspicious. Facial hair hides something — maybe something even more telling than a weak chin. It suggests subterfuge. Neatly trimmed, it has been associated with the demon Mephistopheles, who was often pictured with a goatee, and Dracula. When left unchecked, it recalls rebels like Fidel Castro, and hippies.
“Shaved faces were a mark of urbanity and good grooming,” said Richard T. Ford, a professor at Stanford Law School and the author of “Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History.” “Beards became associated with rural lifestyles (‘mountain men’), old men, college professors and the counterculture. None of those associations were likely to appeal to a mass electorate.
“The counterculture vibe was especially problematic,” he continued, “but the other associations suggested either a lack of good breeding or a dubious eccentricity.”
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