For me, it's the illusion of having a chin. I don't quite have a second chin, but without the goatee, my head just sort of looks like a big round cue-ball, waiting to be hit by a stick.

And if a goatee helps me not get hit in the face by sticks, I'm all for that.

(That last line? VERY funny in my head. On the screen, not so much, but I'm still sticking by my choice to put it there. Because that's how I roll.)

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I thought the sticks comment was V clever btw.

Was trying to think of some sort of come back, but coudln't not think of something clever and wasn't willing to go cheap and dirty.

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But shaving a goatee face involves a couple of quick strokes down the clear slalom of your cheeks, and wham! Done in fifteen seconds. No risk of cutting, no time at all.

Word. *laughs* At least that's part of it. The other part is that, with my face recognition issues, I not only don't look like me without it, but without facial hair, my face looks less like a face to me in ways that are kind of difficult to describe. Which is another reason why being in the geeky crowd at conventions and such is so great. A lot of people have really interesting hair in various places on their head that I can use to remember them.

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While I can't really get in there with you on the facial hair thing (what with being a chick) I think everyone has certain things that they feel make them look like them.
For me it's my hair color. I'm naturally a very dark brown, almost black. However I am quite insistent that I _am_ a red head*, genes and follicles be damned. I had been a red-head for so long in fact (12 years) that I began to think maybe I should do something different, so I dyed it back to my real color. I got a lot of weird looks from people, several of whom had the guts to tell me that "it didn't suit me" or that it made me look too pale. I always explained that it was my real color, but I couldn't help but agree. Every time I looked in the mirror I saw someone else. It only lasted a few weeks and then took several attempts to get it back to the correct color of red. Never again, lol.
I think it's hilarious that we build such images of ourselves in our mind that when reality conflicts, reality has to change :)

*this red-head thing has _nothing_ to do with my obsession with Willow (*points to icon*) nothing at all... I swear... *eyes dart around*

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More option (b) for me, but there's a certain element of (a) as well.

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i like a full beard better, but I was told in no uncertain terms to trim it down to a goatee.

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I definitely have some fat guy goatee syndrome going on, but I also look weird to myself without it. I'm one of the few with a goatee but no mustache. I'd like a mustache, I just can't grow one that looks decent, so I do have to shave my upper lip.

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Also, back in my cleanshaven days I had a very lean and angular face. When I shaved last Halloween, I was horrified by how much rounder and heavier my face looked. The beard hides the fatness of my face quite well.

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Amen to that. Although it walks a fine line - either my beard makes me look fat when it's unkempt, thin when trimmed properly, or fat again when it's gone.

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Also, goatees make you either the evil twin or the brilliant scientist.

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Mirror-Universe Spock FTW

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I can go any of three ways, actually. When I'm clean-shaven, I look like I'm 18, and thusly get the ego boost of having high school girls hit on me.

When I wear a goatee, I have something that both covers my mild double-chin, as well as giving me something to run my hand over in that popular mock-evil gesture.

When I wear a full beard? Yeah, I'm suddenly transformed into a ruggedly handsome figure, who is also the spitting image of my father.

It all depends on the time of year, and how lazy I am with shaving.

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Let us not forget the power of the Unix Beard!

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...which reminds me of the time that pi216 and I had a (later hilarious) misunderstanding-go-round wherein I said "Unix beard", and he was convinced I was saying "eunuch's beard". Heh heh.

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Achewood addressed this. The word you're looking for is "bloatee."

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Also, the nerds all want to believe they're from an alternative universe, thus the equivalent preponderance of inappropriate corsetry in female nerdity. We can't grow bloatees, most of us, so we relocate our back fat and smother ourselves with our own breasts.

To this date, not a one of us has taken over the Defiant with the sheer power of our hot bisexual knife skills.

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I have a chin regardless of whether or not I've shaved it, but I definitely look better in my own eyes with the soup-catcher in place.

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I didn't grow mine until my fifth decade, and I actually find it a bit harder to shave now. Before I could shave while basically still asleep - now I have to pay attention to the trim lines. I still don't have the extra chins (or jowls, thanks be) but I just like the look. Sue me :)

And I AM a twin ... so the goatee has made my "who is the evil twin" argument with my (clean shaven) bro much tougher these days!

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the goatee has made my "who is the evil twin" argument with my (clean shaven) bro much tougher these days!

Evil is relative. ;-)

Being from the alternate universe, from your point of view your brother would be the evil twin. You will find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view. :-D

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ofc, i read that entire post as goatse the first time...

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A "goatse and glasses" would be the stuff of nightmares.

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In my case I've just got exceptionally sensitive skin so minimize shaving as much as possible. End up with an unkempt beard much of the time. Shaving down to a goatee as a compromise when trying to look presentable (either for work or as a favour to the wife.)

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I dunno ... pudgy chins are kind of cute. ; )

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I waver between goatee and not because I enjoy changing what I look like in non-permanent ways and facial hair's one of the more convenient ways to do so.

Also, if I'm cleanshaven I still get carded obsessively and generally assumed to be young. If I have a goatee I only get carded by the people that still have to card me regardless of how old I am. I end up getting treated with a little more respect because people think I'm not fresh out of college any more.

I don't go full beard because it looks a little too wild. Goatee is the "Yes, I do still take care of my facial hair, this isn't out of laziness. I just like it this way." compromise.

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Heh, I'm a fullbearded geek and for all that I'm in admin/business development, everyone assumes I'm a techie.

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As the wife of a full blown nerd/geek/computer genius, I concur.
This post is 100% truth.
Also, it's HOT!!! Especially when combined with a pony tail. mmmmmm

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*frowns*
Mine cut his hair all off several years ago and refuses to grow it back out because it's very curly and "a pain in the ass to brush." He also gave up on his attempt to grow any type of facial hair after like 3 days of growth because it's "too itchy."
*sigh* Us geek chicks have odd tastes and I'm being denied!

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It's not so much that dorks are lazy...we've just learned to work smarter, not harder :)

(formerly natashavonsnape)

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A) Ha!
B) Aragorn does not have a goatee. Spock has a goatee.
C) Why not contacts or Lasik? I wear contacts. Lots of people do. Contacts actually correct my vision better, because they correct my entire field of vision and not just the part I would see through a pane of glasses. I know some people can't tolerate contacts, but I doubt it's the majority of guys. I think nerds wear glasses because we secretly think it makes us look smarter.
D) Why not, like, a moustache + soul patch? This isn't a rhetorical question, I really want to know.

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The chin is the second hardest part of the face to shave, the moustache and soul patch does not cover that.

Plus I, personally, am soul patch impaired. That part of my face is almost totally bald, except for a few hairs I can shave once a week.

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Everyone seems to have one. That's why I moved to a combo of a goatee and a skirt. It's kind of like a full beard without side burns, and I think it only works if you keep your head shorn.

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Goatees are hot. Just FYI.

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Shaving my upper lip is really uncomfortable. On the other hand, by the time a beard comes in full enough on my cheeks, it makes my head look far too wide, and traps waaaay too much heat for at least part of the year in California. A goatee ends up being a comfortable compromise for me.

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It's why I have muttonchops. They give me a strong jaw line. Without them, I look awful, and my fiancee would affirm.

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I'm a snowflake! A beautiful, unique, bearded snowflake! A snowflake, dammit!

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