Stories

about men* and their beards

*cis, trans, non-binary; queer and straight

Mounir‘Celebrating my beard is a political act’

Hidde‘Masculinity is about being confident in who you are’

Robert‘All my lovers are hairy’

Wesley‘I wanted to bond with other men’

Pierre‘Porn is about so much more than sex’

Bas‘I’m a big guy’

Dennis‘My beard hit the parts I didn’t want to show’

Maurits‘I closed my eyes and prayed to God to change my sex’

Mattia‘They told me it was such a pity my handsome face didn’t match my body’

Gideon‘Stories hold our cure’

Mishaël‘I’ve built up resilience’

Ryan‘I couldn’t eat or sleep anymore’

Daan‘Bearded men began to visit me in my dreams’

Philip‘My father said: I love you, but I don’t like you’

Dean

Dean‘I’ve never felt so light’

Richard‘Drag is a mask that shows who you are’

Yoav‘My skinny body made me feel insignificant’

Jonathan‘I had to prove my manhood’

Sven‘You have to man up’

George‘I feel blessed’

Guillermo‘I’m a fighter’

Chris‘They call me a Viking’

Teun‘I sometimes ate so little I would faint’

Leslie‘The barber was a beautiful woman with the most gorgeous smile’

Jeff

Jeff‘Men fetishize me’

Leo‘I fantasise about bearded men who hold me’

Ismael‘I slept on the streets and stole from shops’

Tillmann‘I am white, straight and German’

Topher‘I will always identify as a lesbian’

Dan‘I know how the world looks at me’

Manuel‘I can be whatever I am’

Jorge‘He wanted me to be a real man’

Adrian‘I like what I see in the mirror’

Ryan‘I want to be registered as a parent, not as a mother’

Daan‘I am ready for love’

Merdan‘I didn’t want to be a bearded migrant boy’

David‘It’s about helping and protecting your loved ones’

Ryan‘As soon as I got out, I started to grow my big red beard’

Adam‘I wanted to be the perfect son’

Steve‘My beard makes people scared of me, they think I am a terrorist’

Alex‘A honeymoon with my brother’

Timor‘I was being called a faggot and a dirty Jew’