this post was submitted on 30 Sep 2026
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[–] Texas_Hangover@lemmy.radio 164 points 1 day ago (5 children)
[–] GreenBeard@lemmy.ca 185 points 1 day ago (13 children)

It's a wild thing. So the term grew out of the manosphere actually, it was mainly a term for present fathers who steered their boys away from that garbage because they recognized it was only going to hurt them. It kind of grew from there to encapsulate everything they hate. Now, they associate beards with hipsters, dads, LGBT+, nerds who like games, music, books, theatre, and basically any man with a soul and two brain cells to rub together, which is precisely who they see as the enemy because they're so transparently evil.

[–] TeaWithDani@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

Oh, the men who actually get laid. Couldn't have that!

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 6 points 11 hours ago

Fucking wild. "What an unmasculine loser, he's raising his children, that goes against my family values".

[–] cinoreus@lemmy.world 23 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

How active is this hegseth on 4chan? How come he knows this stuff but I don't?

[–] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 10 points 12 hours ago

Because he's an actual loser, not somebody like you just pretending to be uncool for internet cred.

[–] killea@lemmy.world 145 points 1 day ago (3 children)

So basically a wholesome father with a big bushy beard.

[–] GreenBeard@lemmy.ca 94 points 1 day ago (7 children)

Exactly. They've been working real hard to make it about gas masks in the military, which is a thing, but that's not why they're going off about it. "Beardos and Weirdos" specifically is a dog-whistle for men who actually have honestly held values, don't consider sex, violence, and substance abuse the point of life, and try to be a mentor, a partner, a part of a community or who otherwise contradicts their narrow, machismo-laced, lecherous and reductive definition of "Man."

[–] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 3 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Damn, and here I was thinking it was about no-shave chits (which has racial undertones, because black men are more prone to razorbumps (basically ingrown hairs which can be extremely painful)).

[–] GreenBeard@lemmy.ca 1 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

I mean, it's the US, you dig into anything deep enough and you can find racist undertones, because American society is built on racism. That said the particular phrase "Beardos and Weirdos" did in fact evolve out of the manosphere to describe any man of any race who didn't fall in line with them ideologically. Like so much of what they do, it just happens to also particularly disadvantage black men by virtue of their ideal being grounded in "whiteness."

[–] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 1 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Well I'm saying that in the military context specifically, it's well-known that the vast majority of shave-chit holders (i.e., people who can have beards) are black men. There was a whole thing a few months ago when they banned shave-chits, and a large part of the discussion was how it would disproportionately affect black men, and how this is one part of a larger strategy to push black men out of the military.

So within that context, yes, this statement by Hegseth absolutely does carry racial undertones, and you don't have to dig very deep to uncover that. It's not a conjecture, that statement was thinly-veiled racism.

[–] GreenBeard@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 hours ago

I'm not disagreeing. The policy itself is definitely an attack on black people. His choice of phrasing merely suggests he was trying to slur a lot of people, black people chief among them as usual.

[–] SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 12 points 18 hours ago (1 children)
[–] JoeBigelow@lemmy.ca 47 points 1 day ago

Look here now, a man can enjoy sex, violence, and substance abuse(not necessarily in that order) a whole lot without it becoming a part of their personality. Plenty of us are happy to be degenerates in private

[–] Earthwormjim91@lemmy.world 21 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

No it’s just a racist dog whistle. By far the group that gets the most facial hair waivers in the military are black men. They just don’t want blacks in the military anymore.

[–] Enkrod@feddit.org 16 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (1 children)

To explain the facial hair wavers to my fellow straight-hair-phenotypes: forcing to shave too closely, can lead to really big, painful infections and scars from ingrown hairs if you have curly-phenotype hair.

You can shave close enough for a gas mask to work, but in an organization that had its rules build around the bodily and cultural "normal" of white people, you might still need a facial hair waver.

[–] Earthwormjim91@lemmy.world 6 points 9 hours ago

Yeah the waivers are definitely a good thing. Black men often have very coarse, tightly wound facial hair. Some of the dudes I served with would get the worst ingrowns and without a waiver they'd still have to just shave over them, causing nasty sores.

[–] jve@lemmy.world 12 points 22 hours ago

Holy shit I’m inadvertently outing myself as giving a shit about people.

[–] killea@lemmy.world 26 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Oh ya I get it, just wanted to shorten your more complex definition for some folks. I can hardly comprehend the amount of fucking idiocy and blind hate occurring in the us gov right now. They shit all over the so-called values they very vaguely pretend to support.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 3 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

Idk which they hate more: attentive loving husbands and fathers or people who actually use freedom

[–] EntheoNaut@lemmy.ml 16 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Username checks..

GreenBeardo!

[–] JamieDub86@piefed.social 4 points 16 hours ago

Do you think his beard is green or is he a green person with a beard?

[–] TheCriticalMember@aussie.zone 15 points 1 day ago

Basically, the stereotypical image of the man they want to be little spoon for.

[–] m4xie@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 day ago

How Freudian of them

[–] Witchfire@lemmy.world 27 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Has anyone told them that they can take estrogen to lose those peaky beards?

[–] m4xie@lemmy.ca 17 points 1 day ago

Unfortunately it doesn't work like that. The change to the follicles is permanent, one needs laser hair removal or electrolysis to destroy each one.

That's not to say someone couldn't tell them...

[–] crunchy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 23 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Specifically in the military it refers to those in favor of loosening facial hair standards beyond just tiny mustaches, plus some service members that discovered and successfully exploited the "Heathen loophole."

Really it's just Pete's preference toward big burly white hairless men that will follow his commands.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)
[–] crunchy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Beards are apparently a part of Heathen and Norse Pagan religion, so claiming the religion allowed them to grow and maintain a full beard as a religious exemption. That's since gone away with Hegseth's purge of almost all non-Abrahamic religions.

Everyone knew it was a loophole being exploited and not a bunch of people having spiritual awakenings all of a sudden. But a loophole is much more preferable to a Christian Nationalist leader determining what is and isn't a valid religion.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 2 points 8 hours ago

Ok, yeah that makes a lot of sense. And yeah, when it comes to stuff like this you wind up in an awkward position where you have to allow loopholes to avoid prohibiting sincere religious convictions, especially among neopagans. Speaking as one, we're eclectic in what we consider religious (for example I consider my being trans to have religious significance and if I were to file a first amendment complaint against restrictions on my hormones it would be entirely sincere)

I'm not even necessarily opposed to not giving facial hair/uniform passes to members of particularly disorganized religions. We aren't like the Sikhs where it's easy to see their conviction and there's a continuous practice that can be pointed to. That said, first amendment complaints are first amendment complaints. Just because I think a compromise might be reasonable, doesn't mean that's in line with the law. Us pagans get fucked six ways to sunday on religious freedom and we do need to stand up and demand it apply to us.

[–] m4xie@lemmy.ca 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

A tiny mustache that fits under a gas mask 🤔

[–] crunchy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (1 children)

Fun fact: a full beard fits under a gas mask too.

Because technology has improved somewhat since 1945.

edit: wait that was another sex thing wasn't it

[–] ArchAengelus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 22 hours ago

I think it was a Hitler thing?

[–] nullspace@lemmy.world 6 points 20 hours ago

That really explains why chuds hate Kratos so much.

[–] Alwaysnownevernotme@lemmy.world 11 points 23 hours ago

People who didn't use their disposable razor subscription scam

[–] Texas_Hangover@lemmy.radio 16 points 1 day ago

First I've ever heard of it. I am in fact, a Dad with a beard lol.

[–] antheraeavx@slrpnk.net 8 points 23 hours ago

Great explanation. Ashamed to say I would have thought it was another term for 'neckbeard' judging only by the sound of it lol

[–] dumples@piefed.social 9 points 1 day ago

That's me. I have a new term to call myself: Beardo

[–] Gullible@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I swear to god, it's like they distilled Jon lajoie's satire into modern standard

[–] baronvonj@piefed.social 7 points 1 day ago

And my sexual performances are average!

yeah, I'd say they nailed it.

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[–] baronvonj@piefed.social 28 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Jesus. Jesus was a beardo. A real socialist hippie kind of guy in sandals and robes and long hair and a beard.

[–] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 3 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

To be fair, Jesus would only be useful in a military if he abandoned his principles and went Doctor Manhattan on everybody.

[–] kestrel7_7@lemmy.world 4 points 12 hours ago

Nah, the guy who whipped money changers outside the temple and said “sell all your possessions and buy a sword to defend the poor” would do just fine. He was canonically into peace, but not pacifism

[–] baronvonj@piefed.social 2 points 11 hours ago

Well then maybe the "Christian" nationalist shouldn't be running the Department of "War" preaching about filling the ranks with "Christian" warriors.

[–] marduk@lemmy.today 17 points 23 hours ago

I hear that guy did unto others as he would have them do unto him; disgusting!

[–] E_coli42@lemmy.world 40 points 1 day ago (2 children)

A beard or long hair for men has always been a sign of rejection of conforming to social authority.

Hair is the best symbol of rebellion as it is difficult to defect from, takes a long time to grow long, and is accessible to everyone. You can recognize a hippie with their tie-dye shirt and reflective sunglasses. They signal to themselves and others that they are opposed to the Vietnam war and the establishment in general. But when they go to the office, for a swim, to the gym, etc. they go back to conforming to the rest of society. The hippie with long hair is at all times signaling their rejection to the establishment and is also signaling that they have been rejecting this for many years. The hippie who only commits to the tie-dye shirt and sunglasses can take it off when under scrutiny and put it back on when convenient.

Hair has no nerve cells. Cutting hair is completely painles. If someone won’t even listen to authority telling them to cut their hair, what makes you think they’ll listen to authority for anything else? Long hair subconsciously scares authority because the legitimacy of said authority is constantly challenged. This is my hypothesis for why being clean shaven and short hair has become a requirement in many militaries, but never a militia. It is the easiest way to get someone to subconsciously be comfortable with submitting to authority.

Some examples of "beardos" who use their hair as a symbol of rebellion:

  • Koreans during Japanese Imperialism
  • The Khalsa
  • Indian saints, regardless of religion
  • Hippies in the US
  • Brazilian communists during the dictatorship
[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 2 points 11 hours ago

Very true for many cultures. But it's also important to understand that for many Native American men it's rebellious in a very different way. Many tribes saw it as manly for a man to have long hair, and by growing it out it can be a rebellion against the demands of cultural surrender placed by white society

[–] CheesyFingers@piefed.social 1 points 10 hours ago

and is accessible to everyone

doubt

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