Beard (companion)

Beard is a slang term describing a person who is used, knowingly or unknowingly, as a date, romantic partner (boyfriend or girlfriend), or spouse either to conceal infidelity or to conceal one's sexual orientation. The American slang term originally referred to anyone who acted on behalf of another, in any transaction, to conceal a person's true identity.[1] The term can be used in heterosexual and homosexual contexts, but is especially used within LGBT culture.[2] References to beards are seen in mainstream television and films, and other entertainment.

Concealing infidelity

In early usage of the term, a beard scenario involved concealing infidelity in a monogamous relationship.[2][3] In a typical scenario, X and Y are in a supposedly exclusive relationship, but X is actually cheating with Z. However, to prevent Y from learning about X's infidelity, W, the "beard", pretends to be paired with Z. Such a scenario is a central premise of Woody Allen's 1984 film Broadway Danny Rose. The titular talent agent is the beard, pretending to date Tina, a single woman who is actually having an affair with married singer Lou Canova. By posing as Tina's date, Danny can bring her to Lou's performance without drawing attention from Lou's suspicious wife. The term "beard" is a running gag, used four times (e.g., "I'm only the beard") when Tina's ex assumes Danny is Tina's previously mysterious lover.

Concealing sexual orientation

Recognized usage of beard applies to a person who serves to camouflage another's sexual orientation.[4] An example is the woman a gay man pretends to date in an effort to conceal his sexuality. Though beard entered wider use in the 1960s, many of the reported lavender marriages of the 1920s in Hollywood, and the similar reported romantic marriage of Rock Hudson (mid-1950s) employed the same usage. In Hudson's case, Phyllis Gates acted as his beard, to avert the damage that the disclosure of Hudson's homosexuality[5] might have caused to his career. In a 2011 interview, Betty White stated that she often served as a beard to Liberace to counter rumors of his homosexuality.[6] Such relationships can cause legal and emotional issues for both parties, particularly when they end.[7][8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "beard: definition of beard in Oxford dictionary (British & World English)". Oxforddictionaries.com. 2014-06-03. Retrieved 2014-06-09.
  2. 1 2 Cassell's Dictionary of Slang. p. 83.
  3. ↑ Eric Partridge; Tom Dalzell; Terry Victor. The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English: A-I. p. 114.
  4. ↑ Paul Baker. Fantabulosa: The Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang. p. 80.
  5. ↑ Tyrkus, Michael (1997). Gay & Lesbian Biography. St. James Press. ISBN 978-1558622371.
  6. ↑ "CNN Official Interview: Betty White: Bea Arthur was not fond of me". youtube.
  7. ↑ "Va. Supreme Court recognizes unmarried same-sex couples are legal too". Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  8. ↑ Gross, Jane (2006-08-03). "When the Beard Is Too Painful to Remove". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
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