26th April 2025
The politics and pitfalls of Beard Liberation
I’ve been organising the Beard Liberation Front since the mid-1990s. Its aim has always been to promote people being able to dress and appear as they want but the focus is facial hair.
It is as always described an informal network and there is plenty of guidance and advice on hand from that network. Ultimately, based on that, as the organiser I get to decide.
On 26th February Trump posted an AI produced video about Gaza on his social media. It was a disgraceful intervention, typical of Trump. It featured beards and I received a number of social media comments that the BLF should piggy back on it.
This did not happen. The BLF will never promote the far right propaganda of someone like Trump.
It does however point to the wider issue of the politics and pitfalls of the BLF.
The BLF is UK based and is well aware of the UK approach to facial hair, otherwise known as the man with a beard syndrome. The BLF’s approach is a mixture of humour and the serious where discrimination occurs. This is less frequent in the UK than it was but not absent.
Looking wider there is a need for caution. A focus on Macron’s (little displayed) very hairy chest or Justin Trudeau’s disappearing beard is fine. Elsewhere however what facial hair someone does or does not where can be a reason for political persecution or worse. It is not a matter for humour. Understanding the lines where the BLF can and cannot go has seen us through thirty years of light hearted campaigning and we are not stopping now.
Leave a Reply