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The transformation happens because sex hormones,
including testosterone, cause follicles to switch from
vellus to terminal hair. But many scholars think
post-pubescent hair is a product of sexual selection.
It seems Darwin’s early notions of nakedness better
explains the presence of some hair, rather than its
general absence.
It’s possible that hair that develops at puberty
may have attracted members of the opposite sex
by signaling that an individual was mature enough
to reproduce. Alternatively, body hair could have
advertised status or strength, such as a form of
intimidation between males competing for females.
Over the past 50 years, researchers have tried to
evaluate these hypotheses by testing people’s gut
reactions to body hair. Barnaby Dixson, an anthro-
pologist at the University
of Queensland, Australia,
has conducted more than
a dozen such studies, sev-
eral focusing on beards,
which he considers “the
most obvious social
marker of sexual maturity
and biological maleness in
our species.”
The results are con-
sistent in one respect:
Universally, bearded men
are judged as older, more
masculine and aggressive.
But do females consider
that look attractive? That
depends on their culture,
economic conditions,
relationship status and life
stage. Present-day social
influences and life experi-
ences may override innate dispositions.
And while most research has focused on visual
signals sent by body hair, it’s also been suggested
that the message is sent via scent. Remember those
apocrine glands that release oily secretions? Of the
small number humans do have, most are found
associated with armpit and pubic hairs.
HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW
Regardless of the ancestral function of body hair,
today “it doesn’t have to be what it was evolved to be.
Culture can take it beyond what nature had intended
for it,” says Christopher Oldstone-Moore, a historian
at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.
His 2015 book Of Beards and Men showed this
to be true for facial hair. The work chronicled styles
across Western civilization for millennia, from ancient
Mesopotamia to today. According to Oldstone-Moore,
facial hair trends reflect shifting attitudes about manli-
ness. “Shaving is associated with discipline and control
... conformity to established norms,” he says. When
clean-shaves were in vogue, men derived status from
social approval. During beard times, manliness was
about natural, physical strength.
Similarly, pubic hair practices are culturally vari-
able. In a 2018 Cross Cultural Research study, anthro-
pologist Peter Gray and graduate student Lyndsey
Craig, both of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas,
reviewed ethnographies from more than 300 diverse
societies. Of the entries that mentioned pubic hair,
some groups removed it, others retained it. None of
the cultures were influenced by Western pornography
and marketing — the supposed drivers of removal
trends in the United States.
“So we have pubic hair... nowadays we can choose
to modify it,” says Gray. “It’s just a beautiful illustra-
tion of the biocultural way in which we carve our way
through life.”
D
Bridget Alex is an anthropologist and a frequent contributor
to Discover.
Bearded
men are
judged
as older,
more
masculine
and
aggressive.
But do
females
consider
that look
attractive?
Beards of War
Some researchers have hypothesized
that, like lion manes protecting
vulnerable parts of the animal’s
face and neck while fighting with
a competitor, beards have survival
value. During hand-to-hand combat,
“the theory was that beards might
stop you from getting knocked out”
by cushioning the blow, says Barnaby
Dixson, an anthropologist at the
University of Queensland, Australia.
The idea itself took a hit when a 2018
Evolution and Human Behavior paper
looked at results from the Ultimate
Fighting Championship’s cage matches,
which blend wrestling, kickboxing and
other martial arts. “It’s pretty much
a slugfest,” says Dixson, the study’s
lead author. In the 600 fights analyzed,
beards had no effect on knockouts or
wins. Says Dixson: “Beards are fairly
useless in terms of fighting.” — B.A.
ORIGIN STORY
Conor McGregor
Other primates, such as
these Japanese macaques,
have retained the thick body
fur that humans lost as we
evolved to perspire more.