Men with beards are under attack again. Yep, after a survey decreed that bearded men were the ‘worst people ever’ (and we called bullshit on it), now more research is here to make out that furry-faced blokes are not very nice.
An Australian study interviewed more than 500 men, aged 18 to 72, divided into facial hair categories, and asked them about their attitudes towards women.
Sadly, the men with facial hair were more likely to agree with hostile sexist statements, including derogatory remarks, patriarchal views, and ‘benevolent sexism’ like opening doors for women and paying the bill.
Julian Oldmeadow, one of the researchers from the Swinbourne University of Technology, added this little gem as to why beardy men could be such douchebags. ‘Men holding more patriarchal views may be inclined to reinforce their masculinity and dominance by growing facial hair,’ he said.
Although it’s worth noting that only a third of the men interviewed did NOT express some kind of sexist statement, according to the report which was published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behaviour. Which in itself is kind of depressing (and suggests it’s not having a beard that’s the issue here).
We’re not totally convinced that growing a beard means you’re going to be sexist, but the study has left us a bit disappointed, because in the words of Tyra Banks on that infamous ANTM episode, bearded men, we were ROOTING FOR YOU.
Picture: Getty
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.