Facial hair is every boy’s passage into manhood. From the very first sprouts to poke out of the corner of the young lad’s upper lip, there is something truly sacred about a man’s facial hair, as precious as a US work visa is to a foreigner working in the States. In fact, the American Mustache Institute (AMI) was specifically established to advocate facial hair and promote greater acceptance of moustaches in the workplace and throughout modern culture. Seriously!

To honor famous facial hair, here’s a look at some of the most celebrated beards and moustaches worn by some of the biggest, baddest stars.

Tom Selleck

“The Magnum Moustache”

Sam Elliott

“The Horseshoe Moustache”

I believe this quote justly sums up the greatness of Sam Elliott’s man-stash: Sam Elliott’s mustache exudes complete testicular endowment. His mustache is like John Wayne’s sweat mixed with a chainsaw, three pints of Guiness, Indiana Jones, early Nintendo era Castlevania and motor oil. -Gents with cool ass facial hair-

Chuck Norris

“Behind Chuck Norris’ Beard is another fist.”

Frank Zappa

“The Imperial Moustache”

Zappa became so identifiable by his moustache that after his death its image was copyrighted by the Zappa Family Trust.

ZZ Top

“The ZZ Top”

In the 80s, Billy Gibbons (guitar) and Dusty Hill (bass guitar) were offered millions of dollars by a razor company to shave their beards off. They declined.

Joaquin Phoenix

“Chief Crazy Beard”

When Joaquin seemingly lost his mind, quit the movie business, grew a shabby Jesus Morrison beard and made his rap debut, rumors circulated that it was an elaborate hoax. In fact at the time, Casey Affleck was filiming a documentary on Phoenix called I’m Still Here: The Last Year of Joaquin Phoenix.The Los Angeles Times reported that the film featured “more male frontal nudity than you’d find in some gay porn films and a stomach-turning sequence in which someone feuding with Phoenix defecates on the actor while he’s asleep”. Reportedly film buyers, after seeing it, were still uncertain whether it was a serious documentary or a mockumentary.

Brad Pitt

“Van Dyke/Goatboy”

Pitt told Britain’s The Sun that the reason he is growing a beard is because he’s bored.

Hulk Hogan

“The Handlebar”

Salvador Dali

“The Dali”

The famous painter’s trademark moustache, is characterized by long points bent or curved steeply upward which require an artificial styling aid (i.e. stash wax). Dalí published a book dedicated solely to his moustache.

 

John Waters

“The Pencil Moustache/Mouthbrow”

The pencil moustache is narrow, straight and thin as though it has been drawn on with a pencil. It is closely clipped, outlining the upper lip, with a wide shaven gap between the nose and moustache. It was the moustache of choice for the fictional character Gomez Addams of The Addams Family. Billionaire-aviator Howard Hughes was known for his iconic pencil moustache, which he grew after a 1946 plane crash.

Gene Shalit

“The Handlebar”

Known for his frequent use of puns, rocky relationship with Bryant Gumbel and the bushy, mother-of-all handlebar moustaches. (Handlebar moustaches resemble the handlebars of a motorcycle)

 

Billy Mays

“There are two kinds of people in this world that go around beardless—boys and women—and I am neither one”-Greek Quote-

 

 Geraldo Rivera

When he isn’t helping people in wheelchairs, he must be using his time grooming his bountiful salt-and-pepper man-stash.

 

Rollie Fingers

“The Spaghetti Stash”

The spaghetti stash got its name for its stereotypical association with Italian men. Rollie Fingers certainly had one bad-ass stash and a name to match.

Groucho Marx

“The Greasepaint-Satsh”

The greasepaint moustache and eyebrows Marx painted on originated as a quick-fix reaction prior to a vaudeville performance when he did not have time to apply the pasted-on moustache he had been using, plus he did not enjoy the removal of the moustache because of the effects of tearing an adhesive bandage off the same patch of skin every time he wore it.

Charlie Chaplin

“Sole Stash, The Chaplin,The Hitler Stache or The Toothbrush”

Chaplin devised his moustache from a bit of crepe hair belonging to Mark Swain, an American actor and vaudevillian, prolific throughout the 1910’s-1930’s. Both Marx and Chaplin wore artifical moustaches most of their lives.

Alexi Lalas

“Ginger Beard”

Ron Jeremy

The “Hedgehog’s” moustache make him possibly one of the most recognizable faces in the porn industry.

Strikebeards

 The strike beards were the result of the Writers Guild of America strike. Conan O’Brien, grew his first-ever beard, calling it “a hobby on my face”.

Ned Flanders

You may recall the controversy that arose in 2004, over the suggestion by FIFA president Sepp Blatter that female players wear more revealing uniforms in order to “bring more attention to their sport”. He defended his position saying that women’s soccer needed to attract fashion and cosmetics companies by featuring sexier uniforms.  Though the shorts never got shorter and the necklines never revealed more cleavage, here’s to the sports that tantalize us with their dead-sexy uniforms.

Tennis

Volleyball

 

Gymnastics

Figure Skating

Cheerleading

So cheerleading may not be considered an “official” sport but the athleticism involved certainly makes it worth mentioning. Cheerleaders need the perfect recipe of diet, strength, endurance, and the flexibility of some of the best gymnasts.

Lingerie Football

The concept of Lingerie Football (i.e. Heaven on Earth) originated from the Super Bowl halftime alternative television special called the Lingerie Bowl. Now, the Lingerie Football League (LFL) is a women’s American 7-on-7 tackle football league with games played in the Fall and Winter at NFL, NHL and MLS arenas and stadiums.

Lesbian fashion is something that has puzzled me to no end. As an openly gay, feminine woman, sexually attracted to other feminine women, I have always been curious as to why, in our day and age, it seems the majority of lesbians continue to assume more masculine roles and styles whether it’s in the clothes they wear, their comportment, or even the adoption of butch/femme gender roles in relationships. Lesbians come in a wide variety of shapes, moods and sizes and some are built with a lot more fashion sense than others. If you’ve ever wondered what lesbian fashion is, or better yet, how sexuality can have a style, I have broken down the main tenets of lesbian fashion and provided some insight as to why some lesbians identify with a particular lesbian style over another. This article will contain generalizations and stereotypes that may not be suitable for audiences that don’t have a sense of humour.

The Lipstick Lesbian

As the name suggests, the lipstick lesbian is not afraid of make-up, heels, dresses and accessories. She embraces the typical aspects of what is considered feminine, long hair, make-up, clothes that show off her curves. This often leads to the assumption that she is straight, bi-curious or at most bisexual. Given that lesbians had to hide their sexuality for so long, there are still many lesbian women today that may dress in a way that coincides with the heterosexual norm. Others will be open about their homosexuality yet still take on more feminine roles. They may prefer dating women who present themselves in a more masculine way. Then again, there are many lipstick lesbians who are attracted to girlie girls and also like looking like girlie girls. They blend right into mainstream heterosexual culture while being completely comfortable with their sexuality.

The Butch Lesbian

We love softball and hiking

Butch lesbians were particularly prominent in the working-class lesbian bar culture of the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s. In the 1940s many butch lesbians were living a double life, dressing in typical feminine attire during their work week, saving their best shirt and tie for an underground bar event over the weekend. By the 1950s however, a new generation of butches emerged, wearing “butch” attire full-time. This usually limited them to a few occupations with no dress codes, such as factory work and cab driving. Nowadays many butches continue to commemorate their butch roots wearing trucker hats, construction boots and cut-off tee-shirts, pulling together the look with those stunning mullets.

The Tomboy/Soft Butch Lesbian

I didn’t know Hilary Swank’s character in “Boys Don’t Cry” could become a pop star!

The soft butch/chapstick lesbian is androgynous in appearance, shops in the Boy section of Men’s stores and is in great part responsible for hipster fashion. You’ll be able to spot her from her lopsided haircut and arm-sleeve tattoo, wearing skin tight black jeans, canvas shoes, a wallet-chain, and perhaps some thick, black-framed Clark Kent glasses. Though the soft butch typically has short hair, male clothes, and a masculine attitude she embraces gender dichotomies and chooses to blend them.

The Power Lesbian

Adopting the assured, strong qualities typically associated with men,the power lesbian is a career-driven, flat shoe, DKNY wearing woman-on-the-go, juggling full-time corporate responsibilities like the talent management of her employees, but always finding time to slip out of the office for a quick “boxed lunch”. (Who doesn’t love a lesbian pun?) The power lesbian is of the lesbian elite. She has money, connections and power, and will only be seen wearing the most sophisticated, tailored attire, letting everyone know who’s boss.

The Artsy Lesbian

You’re most likely to find the artsy lesbian working as an art curator at your local art gallery dressed head to toe in black Japanese designer clothing. Turtlenecks are also very popular among this group.

The Literary Lesbian

She listens to Ani DiFranco and Kenny Star, knows the complete works of Djuna Barnes, is an activist on a raw food diet and most likely using her cat’s excrement to fertilize her plants.

Drag Kings

John Goodman as “Deli Owner”

Drag kings dress in masculine drag personifying male gender stereotypes as part of their performance. A drag king routine usually incorporates dancing, lip-synching, singing, either individually or in groups.  Drag kings will exaggerate macho male characteristics and often impersonate male celebrities like Elvis Presley.

When it comes to sex and foreplay, there are countless ways people get in the mood. From gentle kisses on the neck, a go at role-play, to some more provocative exploits, like leather, whips and chains, sexual arousal can be brought on by many things. When a particular object, situation or body part that is not conventionally viewed as being sexual in nature excites a person however- it is considered to be a sexual fetish (e.g. rubber masks, wearing diapers and acting like a baby, sexual fixation to feet). While modern psychology assumes that fetishism is conditioned as a result of a strong emotional or traumatic experience, many people embrace their fetishes and do not feel a need to seek treatment. Clothing accounts for 58.3% of fetishes, rubber and rubber items, 22.9%, footwear 14.6%, body parts 14.6%, leather and leather items 10.4%, and soft materials and fabrics 6.3%. Here is a look at some of the notable sex fashion fetishes out there.

Furry Fandom

Some people never grow out of the stuffed animal phase but instead of dragging around their favourite Teddy Bear they literally slip into Teddy Bear’s skin. There are thousands of self-proclaimed “Furries” that feel they have an “animal soul” trapped inside of them. “Furries” feel a strong connection with anthropomorphic characters (fictional characters or objects that possesses human qualities, e.g. Donald Duck) and this connection becomes an obsession which can also be sexual. Though not all furries are in it for the sex, furverts enjoy sex or yiffing (sound a fox makes when mating) in their fursuits. Within furry subculture, plush animals are traditionally very popular and a significant number of furries might be considered plushophiles (devoted appreciation of and love for stuffed animals or plushies and plush toys).

Vampirism

The idea of drinking blood, living forever and keeping one’s eternal youth has always piqued our human curiosity about vampires. People playing out their vampire fetish will wear dark clothes, and engage in neck-biting to the point of even drawing blood.  There have been cases of people developing an obsession with drinking blood, a mental disorder called Renfield syndrome, traditionally known as clinical vampirism. The term was first coined by Richard Noll and is named after Dracula’s insect-eating assistant, Renfield, in Bram Stoker’s novel. There is an erotic attraction to blood and the idea that it has certain powers. According to Noll, a key event in childhood causes the experience of blood injury or the ingestion of blood to be exciting. After puberty, the excitement is experienced as sexual arousal. Throughout adolescence and adulthood, blood, its presence, and its consumption can also stimulate a sense of power and control. Noll explains that Renfield’s syndrome begins with autovampirism and then progresses to the consumption of the blood of other creatures.

Dominatrix

A dominatrix also referred to as ”mistress” is a woman who takes the dominant role in bondage and discipline, domainance and submission or BDSM (bondage, discipline, sadism, and masochism). The woman usually wears a corset or bustier, stockings with high heeled footwear and high boots to enhace her domination. Most women in dominatrix costumes carry an accessory such as a whip.

Rubber Fetish

 

Useful not only for making tires and wires, wearable rubber also fulfills an increasingly popular fetish, from its smell, to the feeling of raincoats and rainboots, or skin-tight constricitng rubbersuits. Rubber masks that make breathing difficult as well as gas masks are also highly appealing to rubber fetishists.

Nylon

For stocking fetishists, the act of a person donning or removing a pair of stockings is incredibly arousing. Some men with this fetish find it exciting to collect and wear stockings, sometimes wearing them hidden under their pants.

 

Ballet Boots

With elements of bondage and submission many feet fetishists adore ballet boots and shoes because of their difficulty to put on and take off, and how painful they are to stand on, making them especially appealing to masochists.  Arch-training devices are sometimes used to increase the wearer’s instep in order to fit into the high heels.

Stiletto Heels

 Trampling, worship and female domination make stilettos a very kinky accoutrement. Foot massage, stocking foot worship and footjobs are also very popular.

Leather

After World War II, leather-wearing became a big part of the homosexual biker-culture in London’s underground.  Nowadys there is a prominent leather-wearing subculture, especially visible within the gay community. Wearing leather expresses heightened masculinity and sexual power.

Latex

Similar to PVC, leather and rubber, the smell and feel of latex is highly arousing to this community of fetishists.

Plastic

The feeling of plastic seems to get some people really riled up. An anonymous post on a plastic fetish forum says “i have a fetish with anything made from plastic to pvc and vinyl. it can be trash bags, vinyl shower curtains to clothing made from pvc. i have thought about being a sanitation man. then i would have to sleep with my work.”

Nazi chic

 

The symbolism of extreme ideologies such as fascism has strong elements of dominance/submission but Nazi chic is a controversial topic in the fetish clothing subculture. Sometimes substitute symbols are used, with designs that clearly reference the design styles of Nazi symbols without directly copying them.