Photo: kamshots, Flickr Creative Commons
The reason I grew the beard is a little more unusual. For some reason, I saw this beard as a symbol of protest, a protest against having to work a job with some expectations of professional dress. It's a stupid protest, but then I have a history about protesting stupid things. I once protested a college's decision to stop sending an English professor to my high school (I was a student at the time) in the middle of a school year by e-mailing the college and telling them I hoped they'd be raped by zombie dogs or something. I can't exactly remember what I said, but it was both creative and horribly vulgar. I had to go talk to the president of that college after that and I'm probably lucky I wasn't suspended it being a Baptist school and all.
Obviously, growing a beard because I'm not entirely happy with my job is a much more mature and understated form of protest. I keep it trimmed and there are several other male teachers in the school with their own beards so I'm not even the only guy with whiskers. Besides, I don't think I've ever shaved on a regular basis. Back when I used a razor to shave, I only shaved every week at most. It was really more an aversion to pain than a fashion statement. A couple of years ago, I switched to just used an electric beard and mustache trimmer that leaves me with permanent stubble. I also only did that once a week. Honestly, that probably makes the beard more professional than I looked before.
Still, the only reason I shaved at all was for a paycheck and being able to put that crap away for two much was at least a little therapeutic. I don't know if the beard will stay now that I'm working again. I still haven't made up my mind.
6 comments:
I still think your beard makes you look like Sam Beeme from Iron & Wine. (I mean that as a compliment.)
I'm glad I married an Asian. No beard to worry about!
Read this and it reminded me of my colleague. I'm thinking of sending it to him and asking, "Do you hate your job? Is the beard some form of protest?"
Anyway, told my colleague that the beard makes him look like a terrorist.
My skin isn't dark enough for the beard to lead to profiling me as a terrorist. American white terrorists are too inconsistent in facial hair styles to create much of a stereotype. Timothy McVeigh (who blew up a federal building when I was a kid) was clean shaven, as was (I think) the guy who set off a bomb at the Atlanta Olympics, a gay bar, and some abortion clinics before being caught. There was the Unibomber, but he had the crazy beard. I don't have the crazy homeless person beard.
I usually grow a beard every weekend. But in my line of work, beards are almost the norm. Dirty academic hippies.
I know several coworkers who grow weekend beards. I don't get it, but then again, I'm a girl and hair is less socially acceptable for me. I imagine it would not go over too well if I started wearing a beard to work.
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