Apparently, having a beard now-a-days either makes you a trendy “lumbersexual,” the newest evolution of a hipster trend, or a close minded chauvinist clinging to antiquated ideals of male masculinity. It’s just facial hair people. Get over it.

Have beards become trendy as of late? Sadly, yes, this is the case. Most likely we have shows like Duck Dynasty and Sons of Anarchy to thank for this, but what’s done is done and we can’t do anything about it. And yes, there are men out there getting hair transplanted onto their face in order to grow a more convincing and appealing beard. Are all men who cultivate their facial hair mindless additions to the hipster masses? Absolutely not.

Men have facial hair. Not to say that in order to be considered a man one should have facial hair, but male members of the human species are capable of growing facial hair. It could be a moustache, sideburns, a goatee; the possibilities are widespread and varied. Some men decide to grow a full beard. Why? Because it is their face, their decision, and they want to. Regardless of their influences, it is their face and their choice.

Some men equate facial hair with masculinity. Does that make them chauvinistic? Of course not. If your father has a beard, and you see that every day during your formative years, that’s what you are going to equate with manliness. There is nothing wrong with that. To each their own, and opinions are different for everyone.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions, true enough, but keep your opinion to yourself in regards to the appearance of other people. If you’re walking around and you see a man with a well-trimmed beard, or a man with a beard grown down to the middle of his chest, keep in mind that they are doing what they want with their bodies and it makes them happy. If you don’t like it then that is your prerogative and your problem; therefore, keep it to yourself and don’t make the mistake of angering someone by voicing an opinion that no one else really cares about. At the end of the day it is just a beard and it’s not worth getting into an altercation with someone else simply because you don’t like how it looks.