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ohio jones wrote:

Sudsy wrote:I'm curious how a church group who require beards for men would treat a man who wishes to join their church but he is unable to grow a beard. Sometimes called the "perpetual baby-faced syndrome". Would they still be accepted into the fellowship?

It would probably be acceptable to outsource the growing, as in this solution.

That's just weird!

It's unthinkable that a group who requires beards would have an issue with someone who couldn't grow one, I cannot imagine this being a case, but it does seem like it would be somewhat uncomfortable for the man who was not able to-
I feel equally uncomfortable about a community in my county who do require beards but why not let the poor elderly Amish lady shave her beard off- I realize they do not want to encourage vanity but I feel sorry for her having a real beard. Maybe I'm just too vain.

ohio jones wrote:It would probably be acceptable to outsource the growing, as in this solution.

What a beauty

Some more strict Amish groups or just ones less culturally assimilated don't engage in hair removal for women. Legs, armpits. Nobody in the community cares. Hairy legs are normal. And if a woman grows a bit of facial hair, that's normal too (a little bit of hair on the upper lip is not that rare even for young women - something like 20% of American women wax it or remove it, last I heard).

When the whole culture is committed to not requiring hair removal, it's not a restriction as much as it is a freedom. In mainstream American culture, women are pretty much required to wax their upper lip or face social consequences. The Amish are free from that.

KingdomBuilder wrote:

ohio jones wrote:It would probably be acceptable to outsource the growing, as in this solution.

What a beauty

Would they take that off to sleep, or keep it on, and if the latter, does it go under the sheets, or on top?

Josh wrote:Some more strict Amish groups or just ones less culturally assimilated don't engage in hair removal for women. Legs, armpits. Nobody in the community cares. Hairy legs are normal. And if a woman grows a bit of facial hair, that's normal too (a little bit of hair on the upper lip is not that rare even for young women - something like 20% of American women wax it or remove it, last I heard).

When the whole culture is committed to not requiring hair removal, it's not a restriction as much as it is a freedom. In mainstream American culture, women are pretty much required to wax their upper lip or face social consequences. The Amish are free from that.

Josh, the woman has a full on, beard- I mean like an Amish man, but shorter-

And I do not for a minute believe that the Amish are free from those social restraints that find hair growing on a women something most women would be ashamed of.

appleman2006 wrote:And I do not for a minute believe that the Amish are free from those social restraints that find hair growing on a women something most women would be ashamed of.

My perspective as an outsider (in Amish-Mennonite and Mennonite circles at least), amongst more conservative groups, is to simply be shocked that nobody bothers to wax their upper lip. Maybe all those young women are walking around in shame, I don't know.

Josh wrote:

appleman2006 wrote:And I do not for a minute believe that the Amish are free from those social restraints that find hair growing on a women something most women would be ashamed of.

My perspective as an outsider (in Amish-Mennonite and Mennonite circles at least), amongst more conservative groups, is to simply be shocked that nobody bothers to wax their upper lip. Maybe all those young women are walking around in shame, I don't know.

Josh if you are not able to compare what you are saying, with a woman having a full on beard- well- I find that very odd- I MEAN FULL BEARD not what is common for women after menopause to deal with sometimes- there is a big difference, you don't see that?

Okay, I guess I'm not fully grasping it. I've honestly never seen an Amish woman with a full beard.

More conservative Mennonites and Amish groups do preach and teach against any form of hair removal / trimming / cutting of any kind for women.

Josh wrote:Okay, I guess I'm not fully grasping it. I've honestly never seen an Amish woman with a full beard.

More conservative Mennonites and Amish groups do preach and teach against any form of hair removal / trimming / cutting of any kind for women.

I'm not sure that this is quite accurate. I remember reading an article or letter to the editor in the Pathway magazine that advocated the idea that a beard is for sex distinction and that women should remove any facial hair. My uncle refused to let my aunt do that and she had the closest I know to a full beard until he died. Then she got rid of it and looked much better.

I've never heard anyone in the settings I've been with say that it was wrong to do that.