In the US they were definitely out of fashion in the '80s and '90s. They were fashion statement that said "I'm a gross hippie" or worse, a BeeGee.
I was a teen at the time and the consensus among teen girls was that a beard was the ultimate dealbreaker of a physical attribute. Makes sense, really, because most guys our age couldn't grow a nice one if they wanted to. (And also - hippies are gross). I always respectfully disagreed, and would point to our classmate, Murad. He had pretty well grown facial hair by junior year and he looked fiiiinne.
The exception that proved the rule? Luckily (for Murad) my classmates generally agreed, but refused to back down from their opinion in general.
That attitude persisted, with the occasional appearance of a goatee or soul patch in the late '90s, both of which proved to be a gateway drug that led to the appearance of proper beards. I think a lot of guys would have liked to have beards, but realized that they were driving away potential partners. But they were pretty normal by 2010.
I'll drop this line from wikipedia, which should illustrate just how boringly mainstream beards have become in the US.
Since 2015 a growing number of male political figures have worn beards in office, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and Senators Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton.
My wife and I both grew up in the eighties/nineties and this was exactly her attitude for years. It was only when I went ahead and grew one anyway - despite her reservations - and she decided she actually likes the way I look with it and now won’t let me shave it off!
Personally I’ve always found most men look more attractive with beards (I’m a straight dude) so I grew one as soon as I could.
After having it for a while I decided to shave as I hadn’t seen my actual face in a few years. After I shaved I realized that I have very chubby cheeks that make me look like a literal child.
I’m glad shaving hobbyists exist, y’all were a great help when I wanted to replace my Ross clearance safety razor, but I still don’t understand it as a hobby, lol.
There is a time while growing a beard that it looks like shit.
Most of the people shave it off to not go through it.
But the pandemic meant people could go for weeks without seeing an other human. Which is the perfect time to grow a beard and get over the awkward phase without getting laughed at too much.
I’ve had a beard for 10+ years now. I was going thru a really rough period and didn’t do much hygiene. Once I got out of that rut, I kinda liked it. My spouse, who initially said they didn’t like beards, complained when I shaved it.
I’ve always wanted one. I have a baby face and it makes me look older and people take me more seriously.
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