Adding more beards to the world
Twenty-three years ago today a little beard website made its online debut: All About BEARDS. That was the small beginning of a worldwide mission to promote beards and the growing of beards. Accompanying this effort was the important mission of providing helpful information about beards. The site developed an easy-to-follow guide on how to grow a beard successfully. The All About BEARDS beard-growing guide has helped thousands of men around the world to grow their beards. Before these men started growing, the site helped convince them to do so. In many cases, the All About BEARDS site inspired them to grow and bolstered their confidence to stay with it all the way through to beard success.
By promoting beards without wavering, All About BEARDS set out to increase public acceptance of beards. With the increased popularity of beards in recent years, it may be hard to fathom that beards used to be far more rarely seen. And it was not long ago that beards enjoyed far less acceptance than they do today.
Recently Scott, pictured above, reported that he was speaking with a young man who is just a year older than the All About BEARDS site. In reference to All About BEARDS, the young man asked Scott why there would be a need for a website devoted to promoting beards. Scott mentioned this exchange to one of his dearest friends. In response, she told Scott to tell me, “Mission accomplished.”
The heartbreak of anti-beard bias
While I was delighted to hear that congratulatory “Mission accomplished”, All About BEARDS‘ mission will never be fully accomplished. Even today while beards seemingly enjoy great popularity and acceptance, the negativity of anti-beard bias remains surprisingly prevalent. It may not be as readily apparent as before. But it still lurks about and makes itself known with too much frequency.
There are people who still comment about how much they detest beards. There are still those who ridicule new-beard growers and insist that they shave. Or, these self-appointed beard police often inform bearded men that their beards must be trimmed down substantially or shaved off altogether. Why should someone else hold so much veto power over your beard? And thanks to these people, there are still far too many men who are too reluctant to grow their beards. It is not easy to eliminate the harm of anti-beard bias. However, All About BEARDS will continue undeterred.
Growing for the future
Click on either image above to view larger.
One of the main ways to grow beard acceptance is for as many men as possible to grow their beards. The more bearded men there are, the more others will grow accustomed to being around beards and, with that, acceptance follows. There is strength in numbers.
Of course, when beards are more common, beard-growing pioneers may long for the old days when having a beard made them stand out even more. When beards were less common, those who steadfastly remained bearded often felt that having a beard made them more unique, making them stand out from the rest, and giving them a certain mystique. They have a point when stating that when every man has a beard, having a beard may not make them feel nearly as special as before. However, we still have a long way to go. Even today at large public events I may look out into the crowds and see that beards are few and far in between.
When it comes to the future of beards, I still say that more is better. Adding more beards to the world by inspiring more men to grow their beards is one of the best ways to make the world more beard-friendly. And the more beard-friendly the world becomes, more men will feel free to grow their beards as they see fit.
If you are one of the thousands of men who grew their beards with inspiration or assistance from All About BEARDS, I express to you my hearty thanks. If you grew your beard without inspiration or assistance from All About BEARDS, I thank you for growing as well. And if you have not yet grown your beard, I invite you to visit our guide on how to grow a beard and start growing for the future right now!
Congratulations on your anniversary! I’m one of those who began beard growing without the support of All About Beards; indeed, I started about four years before the site was established, and before I started online activities. In the 1990s beards were much less seen, and although there were a few fully bearded men in my part of the world at the time, I was often the only one in view. We’re still in the minority, although I’ve never encountered much negativity. It was a real pleasure when one of the first things I discovered on the internet was this site, even if that was only about five years ago (my computer experience started very late in life).
It’s also to your credit that you have maintained a very respectful and accepting tone on the site. So many beard pages seem to denigrate any man who chooses to shave or cannot in fact grow a full beard. The simple respect shown on All About Beards shows the character of its originator, as well as acting as an example for those of us who feel manliness has more to do with gentlemanliness than physical traits.
So, thank you for the site and your years of dedication to our natural bearded nature. Best wishes for the years ahead.
Thank you, Barry, for such a kind testimonial! And congrats, as always, on your great beard as well as for being a courageous, pre-all about beards beard-growing pioneer!