Shaving off the stereotypes
To beard or not to beard: it’s all a matter of respect. Beth Dalgleish reports.
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“THE male beard communicates an heroic image of the independent, sturdy and resourceful pioneer, ready, willing and able to do manly things.” Psychologist, Robert J. Pellegrini, made this observation in 1973; and in our modern material world, not much has changed. Harry Domanski can certainly vouch for that. The eighteen-year-old Elanora resident has spent the last four years on the receiving end of humanity’s mysterious infatuation with facial hair. His impressive, thick blonde growth has attracted a cult-like following: it’s iconic masculinity achieving a level of respect usually reserved for men far beyond his years.
However, the bravado associated with the beard is startlingly incongruent with the man behind it. A self-confessed introvert, Harry always met flattery with a reserved humility that often bewildered admirers as much as the beard itself. The respect attracted by his impressive exterior was always quickly sidelined by a deeper respect for his down-to-earth personality. Evidently, Harry’s fondest memory of the beard is not one of power or triumph: “It’s a toss-up between putting as many cicada shells in it as we could find, and putting as many pens in it as we could find. (Ending up with 15 pens and a highlighter.)”
Recently, however, friends and fans alike were shocked by Harry’s sudden decision to ditch the infamous beard. He explains the act as a kind of “social experiment… more or less to see if it would make that much of a difference to how people treated and respected me.” It is, undoubtedly, a shallow world: integrity can be measured by the hair on a man’s chin. Having lived with the status of the ‘big man with the beard’ for 4 years, Harry’s moral fibres called out for a change. Admitting he will miss the instant status his beard demanded on first impression, Harry says he disagrees with the “principle vanity” behind it.
“I’m still trialling it to see if people I meet regard me in any different way than they would with the beard. Respect is a very powerful thing, but is easily cheapened when you, yourself are getting it so cheaply… [respect] should be a thing earned, and not judged off the most whimsical of glances.”
So what has been the result of the Domanski social experiment? “With people that know me, even in the slightest… personal interaction and general treatment has remained much the same.. whereas strangers seem to fear me much less. I’m guessing that implies a more approachable person. Seems a little shallow, but it’s all a part of initial perception.”
Pellegrini postulated that, “inside every clean-shaven man there is a beard screaming to be let out”. In Harry’s case, however, it is the man behind the beard that is seeking triumph over the one-dimensional stereotype that confined him. The man of substance is fighting back – but will he hold his own in the material world of goatees and sideburns? Only time will tell…
