One of the unique perks in longevity is the ability to follow history as it unfolds within a lifetime. As years go by and history begins to repeat itself, the observations become almost an amusing pastime. And here is one observation on a current male fad:

This is going to be a hairy tale, but you’ll only get the start of it from me; with time the rest continues to grow longer with age. (Ouch, a bad pun.)

A fad comes and goes, usually to be replaced by another as silly as the previous one, and until we smarten up about them we take the ride to conclusion.

Have you noticed the new trend among men, young and old, who have stopped shaving and starting beards – actually hair in a variety of designs from waxed mustaches to full, daddy-long beards? The trend toward proving one’s masculinity has always been there. Historical photos reveal each hirsute blossoming – Lincoln, Grant, etc. from the Civil War period; various presidents and statesmen – balanced by earlier alternatives among the clean-shaven writers of our country’s Constitution, who would blanch at the thought of showing themselves as boorish bushmen.

So why now are the bushes in style again?

There are as many possible answers as to why any fad rises to popularity, then fades forever. But let’s consider a few:

To begin with, for whatever reason we live in a period of emerging baldness among men, often beginning in the teens and continuing until a feeble resort to simply shave one’s head gives way to proving that well, OK, if it won’t grow up there, then why not down here? A desperate compromise to prove vanity’s desire for a show it can be done?

But then Freud had another possible answer. He claimed that since growing facial hair is normally the only thing a woman could not do, many men reveled in their facial masculine charms, while women who might feel resistant to the male sex per se would find it abhorrent. In the battle of the sexes, Freud added, find a woman who likes a man with hair on his face, and you will find a perfect match for an uncompetitive marriage.

(It’s a kind of battle of the sexes in modern form. And that battle began as far back as the Greek poets & playwrights to those including Shakespeare and beyond – and also including all the masters in arts and literature throughout time – Delacroix, Rodin, Holbein, Chopin, etc. – always, of course, melded in with the contrary advantages of having two sexes for romantic reasons. But the same battles continue today, not just in the arts, but in business and politics, in the market place, in the home, in marital situations).

So it is not unnatural that with the rise of female power (which has only begun to show its true presence in the last few years) that the battle resumes in our society, often with a venom. No more male domination puts men in a fearsome situation. How to regain their sense of masculinity at all, but grow a beard?

But not all fads work. For example, when politicians for some unexplainable reason created the fad of wearing white tennies with more formal gear, even at the Capitol, that’s as far as it got.

Men in general wouldn’t buy it. On the other hand, when young stud actors began showing up wearing suits without ties, the idea spread like wildfire as did the casual idea of going unshaven to public events. Why did they succeed when the tennies did not? Because the “leaders” were idealized stars? And because the timing was right; they hit smack during the current trend in casual (read that as sloppy) everything?

For any or any combination of the above possibilities, the fad is here to stay and, as said above, growing steadily. Some men say they like the feel of a beard, the sensual stroking of it when it reaches a certain length. Some say, proudly, their girl friends or wives like the beards, also for sensual reasons.

Other less courageous men who still wish to flaunt their sense of the macho simplify with full waxed mustaches, sideburns that extend u-shaped over or under the chin, etc.

The whole point in a fad is finding a way to draw attention, whether positively or negatively. Bearded men have found one that, despite the price paid (trimming, for example) is worth the attention received from a hairy face.

Where is the fad headed, for how long? Men questioned, in the main, claim they like it well enough to keep their hirsute visages forever. But those of us who have long-range historical vision might just sit back and smilingly wait for the next chapter.