Casting Off And Setting Sail—taking Off The Mask---moving Ahead—making A Difference--serving
Wearing a mask doesn’t make the problems go away. It may help you to feel like you’re in control but, that false sense of security will eventually catch up with you and it will be no one but you who pays the price. The more time passes, the more difficult it is to find ways to just “get by” and before long your mask becomes an integral part of who you are, until one day, without realizing what has happened, the mask becomes your identity.
In this way, you can lose your identity and become someone else, like Alice did in Lewis Carroll’s masterpiece, Alice in Wonderland. “What’s the use of a Looking Glass? When one side of it is in front of you, the other is behind; when that’s here and that side is there, what good is it? It’s a trick mirror—and nothing but a trick! I don’t believe in it!”
Humans are social animals and we all have masks to help us express who we are to the world. Whether they be expressions of our own personal identity through facial hair, tattoos or costume accessories. We wear masks to tell the world our social status, identity and personality.
Facial hair is a symbol of our masculinity and can be used as a way to express attitudes, attitudes which may be hidden beneath the surface. Fads come and go, but many men have kept facial hair no matter what their age or social situation. I have personally seen this with men in their 20s and 30s who are now dressed in full beard regalia. This is often shown through the wearing of full facial hair by younger men today—particularly those who are of Hispanic or Native American decent.
The Anglo-Saxon, European men's culture has a long history of facial hair as a sign of masculinity and strength. The English and the British are famous for their beards, while Germany has its distinguished look with the Moustache of Hitler, who also had a mustache.
Although this may seem counter-intuitive at first glance, it is not uncommon to see young men with one or more days of stubble on their faces giving off an attitude that says “I’m just a kid.” However, when they step up to the plate by growing beards, it suggests that they are men.
The facial hair fad started with shaving and continues to widen with less and less shaving. I have had many of my friends who were clean-shaven before turn into bearded mountain men within the past year. It’s not just a change for them—it’s a personal transformation. They feel more accepted in their jobs from wearing facial hair. It's almost as if their new look elicits more respect from co-workers and management alike, as well as customers (both male and female) when dealing with the public.
Racial and ethnic groups believe that hair has a special meaning among their communities. For example, for the Chinese and Japanese, facial hair is a symbol of maturity and wisdom.
Over time, facial hair has been connected to social status as well as to personality traits among various cultures. In ancient Egypt it was believed that beards were the “gift of Seth”—one of their gods. In ancient Greece, it was thought that all men should grow a beard so that they could look more like the god Zeus. During the Middle Ages in Europe, shaving became popular among rich men because they wanted to look more like clergymen who were forbidden to shave under church rules.
The bearded look is a sign of strength and power among many cultures. Historically, warriors were allowed to be bearded as long as they wore their facial hair neatly trimmed and clean-shaven. In the Israelite culture, it was believed that a man with a beard symbolized manhood.
Beards have come to be associated with many different things, from religious significance to romance. Some cultures believe that facial hair is a sign of age—that maturity comes with facial hair so that one will grow up to be an old man after having a beard. Many societies view the appearance of facial hair as synonymous with youth—those without beards are seen as young and childlike while those who grow beards are seen as adults.
The perception of a beard as a symbol of virility leads some men to grow one for romantic purposes. Indeed, in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio wears a beard in part as a symbol of his masculinity that he throws off when he meets Juliet. The modern popularity of beards may have its roots in the concept of the “metrosexual”—a man who likes to dress well and has an appreciation for good-looking bearded men. There is also the thought that beards are unhealthy or something to hide behind.
For some men, facial hair is merely a symbolic disguise worn by non-bearded men who wish to disguise their real identities from their potential enemies. This is often done through dressing up as someone else—perhaps an enemy soldier or someone antagonistic to their own culture.
The wearing of masks has been a part of human tradition since the earliest times. They are generally used in two different ways: to symbolize the wearer's identity or to conceal it. Masked men tend to be frightening because they are anonymous—their identities are hidden and they pose a threat to the community being protected.
The wearing of masks is used for ceremonial purposes as well as for hiding one’s real identity. The mask also allows one to portray another “being” or a specific status so that people can tell which group you belong in, e.g. age, gender, race. The masked person can then act out the role of another being or status and can participate in societal activities that he or she may not have the right to do so normally.
Masks also have symbolic significance for the wearer as well as for the viewers. The wearer may be putting on a “face” that hides his own personality or identity—a way to protect himself from being hurt emotionally or physically by wearing a mask of someone else.
Masked men are still symbols of mystery and intrigue in today's society. Criminals are forever hiding behind masks such as those worn during bank robberies and by terrorists when committing atrocities against people abroad or at home.
Conclusion
Facial hair has been a part of human culture for thousands of years. It is worn by all ages, races, and genders and for a wide array of reasons—from masculinity to romance. It's the product of social norms and expectations that have developed over time.
Psychologists have long looked at why humans grow facial hair and have generally concluded that it is a tool in social communication. People grow facial hair to look older or more masculine or because they need it to survive under some conditions. But, perhaps most importantly, people grow facial hair to fit into the community around them as well as to become individuals with their own sense of self-identity within the community.
For further reading:
Barber, D.