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Originally posted by Nanuq:
Beards are a lot more common in some racial groups than others even though we all evolved together up until about 30,000 years ago.

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Of course this theory dosen't explain the men of anchient Greece who lived in a temperate climate but grew full beards anyway.

[ 31 March 2007: Message edited by: CMOT Dibbler ]

If by this you mean, "Why do men have beards, but women don't?" the answer is that women have the same hair follicle distribution as men, but higher levels of testosterone in men make their facial hair grow more agressively. Give a woman testosterone treatments and she can grow a beard, too.

Beards are thus a secondary sexual characteristic, like breasts on a woman. To our ancient ancestors they were a sign of someone who had a high probability of reproductive success.

Through the process of what Darwin called "sexual selection" men with full, healthy beards and women who were attracted to them would have greater reproductive success, thereby tending to pass on to their offspring the genes that coded for higher testosterone production in males and a higher tendency in females to be attracted to bearded men. Over thousands of generations the numbers of men who tend to grow beards (whether they shave or not) would come to far outstrip the number who don't tend to have facial whiskers of any consequence.

No conscious effort was required on the part of either men or women to make this happen.

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Originally posted by CMOT Dibbler:
There are examples of beards all over the world, what about Confucius? Chief Butalazee? Osama Bin ladin? Your etnic orgin does not garauntee you an inability(or ability) to grow a beard.

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It does not guarantee, but it can predispose. I find the suggestion that ethnicity/race doesn't influence beard-growing-ability to be forced, if not ridiculous.

That being said, if you wish to to prove the beardability of asians, you may want to cite more credible example than confucious.

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It does not guarantee, but it can predispose. I find the suggestion that ethnicity/race doesn't influence beard-growing-ability to be forced, if not ridiculous.

That being said, if you wish to to prove the beardability of asians, you may want to cite more credible example than confucious.

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[ 01 April 2007: Message edited by: CMOT Dibbler ]

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Originally posted by M. Spector:
"Why do men have beards?"

If by this you mean, "Why do men have beards, but women don't?" the answer is that women have the same hair follicle distribution as men, but higher levels of testosterone in men make their facial hair grow more agressively. Give a woman testosterone treatments and she can grow a beard, too.

Beards are thus a secondary sexual characteristic, like breasts on a woman. To our ancient ancestors they were a sign of someone who had a high probability of reproductive success.

Through the process of what Darwin called "sexual selection" men with full, healthy beards and women who were attracted to them would have greater reproductive success, thereby tending to pass on to their offspring the genes that coded for higher testosterone production in males and a higher tendency in females to be attracted to bearded men. Over thousands of generations the numbers of men who tend to grow beards (whether they shave or not) would come to far outstrip the number who don't tend to have facial whiskers of any consequence.

No conscious effort was required on the part of either men or women to make this happen.

A similar evolutionary process has resulted in marked differences in appearance between males and females of many animal species, such as birds.

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