6 Minute English – Are beards back to stay?

Rob
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I’m Rob…

Neil
… and I’m Neil. Hello.

Rob
Hi there, Neil! Now, Neil… what’s that on your face?

Neil
What… this? It’s a beard, Rob. Have you never seen one before?

Rob
I have. But I’ve never seen one on you before… and I’m surprised to say, it looks good on you!

Neil
Well, thank you! I thought I’d get on the beard bandwagon, you know. Beards are all the rage at the moment – that means ‘very fashionable’.

Rob
And to get on a bandwagon is when you join other people in doing something that has become popular – perhaps because you hope to become popular yourself!

Neil
Well, that doesn’t apply to me, Rob, because, as you know, I’m very popular already.

Rob
Yes. Yes, I know that, of course… Anyway, beards are such a talking point – a subject that a lot of people are discussing – that we decided to talk about them on today’s programme! So are you ready for today’s question, Neil? What’s the name for someone who loves beards? Is it…

a) barbophile?

b) pogonophile?

or c) pelophile?

Neil
Hmm. All the answers sound tempting. But I’m going to go for a) barbophile.

Rob
Right. OK, well we’ll find out if you’re right or wrong later on. But this is interesting: a new scientific study suggests that the more beards there are in a population, the less attractive they become – and this currently gives clean-shaven men a competitive advantage.

Neil
Oh, no! That’s bad news for me, then! Competitive advantage means when a condition or circumstance puts you in a favourable position – in this case, being clean-shaven or having no facial hair.

Rob
That’s right. We’ve reached ‘peak beard’ apparently. Beard popularity has peaked – or reached its highest point – and will decline in popularity from this point.

Neil
OK. Let’s listen to writer, Lucinda Hawksley, talking about beards through history. And listen out for a word that means women’s struggle to achieve the same rights and opportunities as men.

Lucinda Hawksley, writer of Moustaches, Whiskers and Beards
It’s interesting, while I was writing the book I came to realize that the most heavily bearded times in Britain are either when women are in power, such as Elizabeth I or Queen Victoria, or when there’s a big discussion of feminism – and it is really interesting that in the last few years there’s been so much more discussion of feminism. You get a woman on the throne and men go, ‘Oh, got to have a beard.’ It’s really strange. Or in the 60s or 70s with all the kind of, you know, big thing about women’s lib, suddenly the beard becomes huge here.

Rob
Well, needless to say Lucinda doesn’t have a beard, but she certainly knows a lot about them. She’s the great great granddaughter of famous writer Charles Dickens, who sported – or wore – a very flamboyant beard. Flamboyant means eye-catching and different.

Neil
Now, did you spot the word for women’s struggle to achieve the same rights as men?

Rob
Yes. It’s feminism. She also talks about women’s lib, which is short for women’s liberation. And this has a similar meaning to feminism. So, what do you think, Neil? Are beards a show of testosterone in reaction to powerful women? Is that why you’ve grown your beard?

Neil
I don’t think it’s testosterone – that’s the main male hormone. For me, it’s laziness. I’m flying the flag for men’s lib – liberation from the razor.

Rob
Right. Well, I’m not sure whether that’s a worthy cause or not, Neil. Let’s hear from Brock Elbank, the photographer behind the exhibition ‘Beard’. He’s talking about one of the people he photographed.

Brock Elbank, photographer
I found Jimmy on a friend’s Facebook page whilst I was in Sydney. Invited him to come to my home studio for a portrait and I posted it and it got reblogged over half a million times in four hours. I mean I think when Jimmy and I… when I met Jimmy he told me about his ‘beard season’ melanoma charity and I was kind of on board from the get go.

Neil
So Jimmy must have a pretty awesome beard!

Rob
Indeed. We should check out the Beard exhibition and find out. But Jimmy has a beard for a special reason, right Neil?

Neil
That’s right. Yes. Brock mentions Jimmy’s melanoma charity. Melanoma is a serious type of skin cancer and Jimmy is raising money and awareness to help people who suffer from it.

Rob
And Brock says he was on board from the get go – meaning he wanted to be involved with the charity right from the start.

Neil
We should also mention ‘Movember’ and ‘Decembeard’ – both campaigns invite men to get hairy for good causes.

Rob
That’s right, good causes – moustaches in November and beards in December. Now, let’s have the answer to the quiz question. I asked: what’s the name for someone who loves beards. Was it: a) barbophile b) pogonopile or c) pelophile?

Neil
And I said a) barbophile.

Rob
Wrong, I’m afraid. The answer is actually b) pogonophile.

Neil
Oh, well, you can’t win them all. Now then, Rob, can we hear today’s words again?

Rob
Sure. We heard:

all the rage
get on a bandwagon
talking point
competitive advantage
clean shaven
peaked
sport
flamboyant
feminism
women’s lib
testosterone
melanoma
on board from the get go

Neil
Well, that’s the end of today’s 6 Minute English. We hope it wasn’t too hair-raising for you. Please join us again soon.

Both
Bye.