Hipster beards really ARE just a way to get women: Men use flamboyant facial hair as a badge of dominance to attract females
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Last year scientists declared we had reached a 'peak beard' situation.
Bearded hipsters, they said, would start picking up their razors in the realisation that their facial hair was no longer unique.
But instead, beards have become thicker and bigger, and now scientists believe they have a new explanation; men are using it as a badge of dominance to attract women.
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Beards have become thicker and bigger, and now scientists believe they have a new explanation; men are using it as a badge of dominance to attract women
This 'badge' means that, whether or not women like the look of a beard, they will still be attracted to a man because it suggest that he is more powerful in society.
The theory is being proposed by a new study that found the more competition a man has to deal with, the more flamboyant he gets – at least in the world of primates.
Dr Cyril Grueter from the University of Western Australia said this was especially the case in big, multilevel societies where male primates have developed more ostentatious 'ornaments'.
These include the elongated noses of proboscis monkeys, the upper-lip warts in golden snub-nosed monkeys, capes of white and silvery hair in hamadryas baboons - and beards in humans.
The researchers believe men with beards could be seen as more aggressive and dominant - and attractive to women drawn to seemingly powerful men
At least some of these badges may enhance male sexual attractiveness to females.
For instance, male rhesus macaques with darker red faces receive more 'come-ons' from more females during the mating season.
But as well as aesthetics, male-male competition could even be a stronger reason for the evolution of badges.
The researchers believe men with beards could be seen as more aggressive and dominant - and might also be attractive to women drawn to seemingly powerful men.
In their study of 154 species of primates representing 45 genera, the authors flamboyant badges were of benefit to males in large and complex social organisations to signal their identity, rank, dominance and attractiveness.
Species that live in smaller groups, on the other hand, had less need of badges as individual recognition and more frequent interactions allowed animals to better assess the social status, strength and quality of their contemporaries.
A similar technique is seen in the monkey world where male primates have developed more ostentatious 'ornaments'. These include the upper-lip warts in golden snub-nosed monkeys (left) and the capes of white and silvery hair in hamadryas baboons (right)
The authors explain that primate group-sizes vary dramatically: Bornean orang-utans are non-gregarious, whereas mandrills move in hordes of up to 800 animals.
The team found the popularity of moustaches and beards among British men from 1842 -1971 rose when there were more males in the marriage pool and beards were judged to be more attractive.
'When you live in a small group where everyone knows everyone because of repeated interactions, there is no need to signal quality and competitiveness via ornaments,' said Dr Grueter.
'In large groups where individuals are surrounded by strangers, we need a quick reliable tool to evaluate someone's strength and quality, and that's where these elaborate ornaments come in.
'In the case of humans, this may also include phenotypic extensions such as body decoration, jewellery and prestige items.'
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