One fn of the word beard is found mostly slang dictnari, though the New Oxford Dictnary of English add the alternative fn a few years ago. A beard is fed as a woman who dat, or marri, a gay man to provi ver for the man's homosexualy. The term also appli to a man who do the same for a lbian woman. Current chatter at is filled wh beard ments ncerng Tom Cise's new lady love. Cise has long nied he is gay, but the mors persist that Cise dat and marri betiful women, the so-lled beards, to quash speculatn about his sexual orientatn.
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GAY BEARD
In the early days of queer culture, a “beard” was a wife, girliend or female pann who acted (wtgly or not) as social ver for a closeted gay man. In the days when virile movie stars dated betiful women to ver up their secret gay liftyl, the beard was an dispensable part of the social orr.
Today, at least the rarified culture bubbl which I float, beg gay isn’t the shame issue of yteryear, and few if any need to mata a sexual inty ver-up. The age of the term beard, also known as lavenr datg or ont datg, dat to the 20th century, prr to the gay rights movements. [2] This was at a time when homosexual relatnships had not yet gaed public acceptance the Wtern world.
HOW TO GROW AND TAKE CARE OF A BEARD: TIPS FOR GAY MEN
[2] Often, the early to mid-20th century, a beard pann was ed by homosexual dividuals to nceal one's sexual orientatn through the disguise of a heterosexual relatnship.
This relatnship typilly was between a lbian and a gay man an attempt to dispel mors of homo-orientatn. [2] Today, the term beard or lavenr datg is ed ls as a rult of greater acceptance of homosexualy both the Uned Stat and Wtern Europe, but is still ocsnally ed by young dividuals om tradnal muni or nservative untri. In Hudson's se, Phyllis Gat acted as his beard to avert the damage that the disclosure of Hudson's homosexualy[6] might have ed to his reer.