Summary Of Alum Whithey's Facial Hair

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Alum Whithey discusses the cultural changes and background of facial hair in his essay “Facial Hair and Masculinity in the Eighteenth Century”. Using facial hair as a reference, Whithey describes the changes in the cultural definition of 'masculinity'. In the early eighteen hundreds, having a beard showed that a man was fertile and virile. Changes in medical knowledge led to the belief that beards were 'uncouth' and using the 'humors' theory of medicine, removing stubble “...was therefore to rid the body of a potential source of sickness.” Additionally, to wear a beard was considered 'vulgar' in polite society. Consequently, a clean shaven man was viewed as a civilized man. While reading Whithey's essay, I observed that male fashion does