So how do you like your men? We all like em buff and tough (with a warm squooshy inside) and we’ve talked about body hair (on which we are split between slightly fuzzy and smooth as a baby’s bottom) but what about between the shoulders and the forehead?
I started thinking about the this, lord only knows why, but I thought I’d go through some of the basic facial hair styles and which m/m heroes I’ve read about who sport said style.
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Clean Shaven – Well, most m/m heroes, probably m/f, m/m/f, and any variation with an m in it are clean shaven these days. Lets admit it, the smooth look is popular and most models/actors adopt it.
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Scruff – This is one step up from clean shaven, or perhaps the correct term is 2 days after clean shaven. I’ve heard this is a fair bit of work to maintain on a permanent basis, but most men manage to pull it off easily from time to time, it’s called being lazy and not shaving. Personally the scruffy look is my preference but mostly when combined with clean shaven, the weekend scruffy look. I can’t think of any heroes off hand that sport the scruffy look as part of their persona, but most get there every now and then.
Mustache – This used to be very common. Who can forget Magnum PI and the magical “stache”? The mustache was more popular in the 70’s and 80’s and seems to have fallen from popularity in recent years. The only book I can think of that had any m/m characters who sport a mustache was Memories Erased by ME Reid. However the main character sported the Fu Manchu (as did a secondary heroic-type character). That look does sooooo not work for me but whatever floats your boat.
Soul Patch – That little bitty patch of hair right below the lower lip. Personally I just want to grab the guy and shave it off and I can’t think of any heroes who have one. Which is probably good.
Goatee – There are variations on the goatee, too numerous to mention, those with a connected mustache, no mustache (not a personal favourite of mine at all), thin ones like Orlando’s or full ones. There is even something called the “goatee strip” as sported by Adam Lambert which is really a soul patch run amok. As for heroes, I can think of Jacob Marks from Jordan Castillo Price’s Psycop series, Caesar from James Buchanan’s The Good Thief and Phil Sorrells in Ally Blue’s The Happy Onion.
Full Beard – There seem to be a few more characters with full beards. It really doesn’t do it for me as a rule but on the right guy it can look good. Naturally I’m talking well trimmed and cared for, not the Grizzly Adams mountain man look or god forbid, the ZZ Top special. *shudder* As for m/m heroes, KZ Snow’s Jackson Spey of Obsessed, InDescent and To Be Where You Are has a beard, as does Nate Hawkins of JL Langley’s My Fair Captain and ML Rhodes’ Jesse McIntyre of Passion and Satisfaction. Or maybe it just seems like more men with beards because they are all in series. 🙂
Historical Facial Hair – I am not a big reader of historicals and I can’t think of any off hand that I have read that included facial hair. And really? That may be a good thing. Look at that picture people. I defy even the best author out there to make mutton chops sound sexy. But perhaps some of the authors and fans of historicals can let us know of some characters with some extra fuzzy sideburns.
So share with us your favourite mustachioed or bearded heroes and how do you like your own men?
Hahaha! Brilliant! Ewww for the full facial or full beard. Definitely not my thing *shivers*
The scruffy look definitely works 😀 On some people though a beard actually works better, but not all. Definitely not all
Scruffy is winning. Seems being lazy is paying off for men these days. 🙂
Well, crap, KZ. My forthcoming piece, Master Bear, has a character with a Amish style beard. Very short and neat, but no mustache. It suits him.
He makes up for all the mustaches we’ve been writing. 8)
Sean – yes please. We need that chapter. Right now.
Actually, I just remembered Declan had a dreaded soul patch at the beginning of Tigers and Devils, because Simon threatened to shave it off.
And although it never happened in the book, I think in the end Simon would have.
Maybe that’s a “missing chapter” that needs to be written.
Most definitely Sean. That would be a good scene where he holds him down and shaves that sucker off. 🙂
Hahaha! Brilliant! Ewww for the full facial or full beard. Definitely not my thing *shivers*
The scruffy look definitely works 😀 On some people though a beard actually works better, but not all. Definitely not all
I think scruffy is definitely the popular look these days. I’m not big on the full beard either but on the right person it looks okay.
Tam, hon, Jackson’s in the goatee category. He doesn’t have a full beard.
The only types of contemporary facial hair I really dislike are at the extreme ends of the spectrum: mountain-man beards, and skinny moustaches and jawline beards. Well, I guess I’m not too crazy about the Amish look, either. Everything else can be very complimentary on the right guy — like Apolo Ohno’s soul patch. (You remember that, don’t you? *g*)
Ooops. Goatee. Oh well, close.
Yes, you and your Ohno. 😉 *sigh*
I’m not sure anyone except Amish women are big on the Amish look and even then I have to wonder.
Actually, I’ve seen Amish women with some interesting facial hair. 🙂 (Hey, I’m just the messenger.)
When I went to college back in ’83, I hated the way my upper lip felt after I shaved, so I grew a stache. I tried a couple of times to grow a beard, but my skin itched. After I graduated and returned to the farm, I tried the beard again and made it through the itchy stage, I’ve never shaved since. I trim it differently sometimes. At the moment, I trim the cheeks and neck area under the cheeks as close as I can get it. I trim my mustache almost as close. And then trim my chin and neck under my chin at the next setting on my beard trimmer. So, I guess I have a scruffy beard, gottee, and stache look all in one. grin
Early on when I grew the beard, I tried it longer, but my hair is curly at longer lengths and is the same for my facial hair. It didn’t trim evenly so I’ve kept it short.
I have a buzz cut as well. Quite easy to dry off after a shower.
On other men, I like scruff, trimmed beards and staches and gottees. Yeah, sometimes it can get prickly when kissing and rubbing body parts with the hairy chin. But that’s the adventure.
I don’t like shaved pubes, balls, or ass either. Shaved chests? sacreligious!!
Thanks for the youtube clip. That was funny.
On other men, I like scruff, trimmed beards and staches and gottees.
So basically you’re saying you’re easy John. 😀 My male friends bitch all the time about having to shave everyday so I can understand the appeal of letting it all go.
A 5 o’clock-shadow and some scruff do it for me. The weekend warrior I-couldn’t-be-bothered-to-shave-today look, especially if worn on a weekday 🙂
Nadja
I-couldn’t-be-bothered-to-shave-today look
Great description. LOL It’s a look I like too, maybe because it says “I’m not all caught up in looking perfect”.
Remember when Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) showed up with a mustache in Brokeback Mountain and every single fan called it a porn stache? LOL. Of course, it did look glued on which didn’t help.
David Laine (L.A. Heat et al.) (already mentioned) does have a mustache. I just read No Bull by B.A. Tortuga and Mac in that has a mustache–he’s a cowboy, it fits.
Jacob Marks (also mentioned) has a goatee. Didn’t Jake Riordan (the Adrien books) have some sort of facial hair? A goatee? Shoot me if I am remembering wrong.
I just read Sympathy by Jordan C. Price and the main character in that (Tony?) didn’t shave because the guy who is wooing him mentioned he liked the scruffy look. Of course, then Tony’s brothers teased him that he was “going gay.”
L
I remember Sympathy now Leslie. Thanks for mentioning the others, can’t say about Jake, maybe one of his fans will speak up. 🙂
Nick, a character on CSI had a pornstache for a while too. Not my thing. LOL