Why do men have beards?

I just pointe out that your alleged sources are bullshit. To that, you have a vicious and hysterical response. If you post bullshit, you can expect people to tell you've posted bullshit. I will post in any thread it choose to.

Mate, you are a renowned arsehole of the highest calibre. When I first joined a2k and before you'd ever even elbowed your way into a thread of mine before I was warned about you by panzade...



http://able2know.org/topic/134781-2

Your probably the sort of sad **** that gets off on having a reputation like that though aren't you. Have fun crying and masturbating your lonely self to sleep tonight, hey. Ignorant hick.

How pathetic you are. I challenged your sources and you're throwing a puerile fit, flinging foul insults which exceed anything i've ever used. Don't deal well with criticism, do you?

It appears that you didn't understand panzade's comments when you joined, and still don't.

Good luck to you eh.

No I get it Beth. I have him on ignore now. Thanks though!

Yeah, he still doesn't get it.

you don't get it and appear to be intent on not learning

impressive. not.

No way. I love this site. There are plenty of good teachers out there though. Thomas and Farmerman are brilliant. You ask questions and debate and they remain polite and helpful. They never deride or ignore your comments. There's loads of good'uns.

Try re-reading panzade's comments with more of a critical eye toward yourself.

Right. OK. Done. Can we get back to my discussion about beards now (ridiculous as that sounds!). I'm not into this playground stuff.

Why did women lose their beards? It was clearly bred out because of male selection, but that in turn implies that the beard was seen as a male trait. It seems therefore to be a sexual thing, a way of attracting a mate, perhaps demonstrating verility through an abundance of testoterone. This would also explain why beardless women were selected. An abundance of testosterone in women has implications on fertility. A bearded women would not make a good reproductive mate. Surely this is a better explanation than a chin warmer! I cannot see that a beard offered insulation and was kept for this reason. Women also require insulation (they too have hair on their head).

'This is senseless. Facial hair is clearly a good insulator. In my past, I've personally had a beard for decades and have done winter camping with and without facial hair. I've spent quite a few overnights outdoors in my youth. Having a beard and moustache while winter camping is definitely warmer. If there's ice in your moustache or beard it's easily removed with a quick hand swipe. Why else do you think so many outdoors men grow a beard in the winter? Trust me on this matter - for the majority, it's not laziness or a desire to look macho. It's a practicality as it's warmer. This is not even a matter for debate.

I'm clean shaven and I never get ice around my mouth at all when skiing or camping. Surely that makes being hairless even more efficient.

But OK. Even if we accept this as true, and beards provided crucial chin insulation (or chinsulation, if you will) why did women not need to keep their chins warm. Keep in mind their life was just as outdoorsy.

My speculation on the matter is meaningless but if I were to hazard a guess...as women's role as keepers of the hearth, they didn't go out on the hunt - stayed at home base and protected and nurture the children. If women were at the home base/cave/shelter, they were where it was warmer as there was shelter and/or a fire. So evolutionarily, it was a useful characteristic to have a smoother face.

Here's another possibility: if while on a hunt or in the field, men had beards, their faces reflected less light and would be less visibe to a predator or another attacker.

As womens role was NOT to go out on the hunt, the 'need' of a beard was far less. And, as it was lighter and had far less coarse hair, evolution eliminated it as not needed. Out on a limb here, perhaps, but maybe men folk found females with smoother faces fairer and more desirable. After all, there was no battle over the razor.

I never claimed you would get ice around your face if it smooth. Complete non-sequitur.

You just don't get it. Hair IS an insulator. Shrugging why you can't grasp this FACT.

No. I get it. I wrote several posts back that hair on the head was kept while much of the rest of the body went bald for exactly that purpose. I get that hair traps air, air's a great insulator, all that jazz.

What I don't get, which has yet to be answered by anyone, is why the chin requires especial insulation. Moreover, if it is vital that a man's chin be warm, why not a woman's?

I don't believe insulation has anything to do with the different growths of hair on a man and woman's face. It has to be sexual. The beard shows virility. Testosterone (a beard) in a man is favoured in sexual selection. It is rejected in females as testosterone denotes limited fertility. As women age and go through the menopause, their oestogen levels drop making their testosterone levels dominant. This is why many older women have problems with moustaches and sideburns.

Danny Vendramini believes hat underarm and pubic hair served to prevent scents from getting out to predators which might otherwise home in on them.

Yes, I like this one. In fact I said it earlier in this thread (beards as a hunting scrim). But then I thought, wouldn't women need just as much camo when out foraging in the woods? What keeps a predator hidden when stalking also keeps prey hidden when being stalked. You never know when a smilodon or cave bear might roll up.

So I still lean more towards the sexual mane idea than the scrim or insulator idea.

" It has to be sexual...."

it doesn't have to be anything.

why do we have an appendix, and when did it decide to stop working?

Yep, I said exactly this earlier too. Even used the appendix as an example. We should be looking at the question the other way round. Having hair is the default. It's the bald parts that are evolved. But then the question just reverses, doesn't it - why don't women have beards?

OK...then make it sexual: ugly women have beards. Sexy women have smooth faces. Men are visual critters!

Next?