Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1921-10-04
PUZZLE TO FRANCE
Bearded Girls are Worrying the'
French Scientists,

French Scientists, -
That the loss of man. power In
France during the war has been re-
sponsible for what has been regarded,
as the astonishing production OF
"superfluous hair upon the faces OF
French girls and women during the
recent years, has been the truly aznaz-
ing theory Of some French disputants'
whose opponents have said that the
unusual number Of more or less be-
whiskered women has been due to
chance. 80
The theory is under consideration
by the Academy of Medicine Of Paris,
says a Paris dispatch. 1t Is natural
that the problem should fascinats
French scientists, for probably in no
other civilized country does one see SO
many women with masculine facial
adornments as in France.
These feminine blemishes may be
merely "throwback" to the day when
all mankind, without distinction OF
sex, developed whiskers in full meas.
ure. Or perhaps they may have orig
mated Mt an even earlier day when
ION the authority Of one Of the saw
ants present at the meeting) the world
war ruled by bearded flercely mus
tached women, .whilo feeble, smooth
faced man crept about humbly and
did the bidding of the hairy ladies'.
On the other hand, there are scien-
lists like the pessimist Hofbauer, who
declares that beard on a woman Is a
fine sign, betokcning the sex's gradual
rise to higher plane. r
Brandt indeed calls the bearded wo-
men "the pioneer Of future genera
tions," end looks forward to that
bright day when women, having won
by evolution complete hirsute outfit.
in other words luxuriant whiskers, as
well as the vote, will ut last become
the equal, not to say the master, or
man IL
French scientists, being gallant men,
will have none of these gloomy Ger
men theories. They regard 'hirsut-
isrn," as they call this phenomenon,
as a freak or accident, due generally
to pathological cause, but also sorne-
times to mere absep ptmindedness on
the part of Mother Nature. On the
whole they utterly reject the theory
to do with maidens' boards. o
Professor Achard Of the Paris fac.
ulty, specialist on the subject, says
it is an accident to which men also
are subject, sometimes having whis-
kers long before the accepted age for
growing them. There have been very
little bearded boys as well as whis-
kered young women-so let any Scho-
penhauer who will cast the first shaw
ing mug. -
Partial virilism," as some Of tho
wise call it, may attack the fair sex
at any period of life. 1t is not con-
fined, as many people suppose, to the
Autumn of q woman's life. No woman
in ether words, from the cradle to tEe,
grave, is wholly certain not to grow
surerfuous hair upon her face. -
One of Mr.. Achard's mos. interest
ing cases is that of woman aged II
who was under his care in the Bear:
jon hospital (Paris). She had. a
strong mustache, square beard and
bushy eyebrows" and one can well
understand his first surprise at finding
a person of such striking masculine
appearance" in the women's ward. !
This was one of the cases which at
first was laid to the war, but 1t was
between her ninth and tenth years
that beard grew. Early in hfe, be-
cause the other girls poked fun at her.
she used to shave. But later she de-
cided to make the best Of It and let
the entire face forest flourish at Its
own sweet will. So
The woman who Is subject TO these
sad disfgurements has not even the
satisfaction of thinking that she Is
thereby protected from badness. In
fact, by the irony Of Nature, she Is
normal to the frontal badness usually
peculiar to man.
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