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What is the point of a beard,evolutionarily speaking? Children, women, and a whole bunch of men manage justfine without one. But take a walk down some streets these days and you’ll beconfronted with all sizes and shapes of groomed (and less groomed) facial hair –fromdesigner stubble to waxed moustaches and hipster beards.
从进化的角度讲，胡须的意义到底是什么？儿童、女性、还有相当多的男人没有胡须，也照样过的很好。但现在这年头，如果你去街上逛逛，你会看到各种各样的修整过的（或者不修边幅）的胡须——从精心修理的胡茬，到上了蜡的小胡子，再到各种时髦的花样，可谓应有尽有。
When we see men paying attention to theirappearance, it’s easy to assume that they’re just angling forpartners. But our research on beards and voices shows that beards probablyevolved at least partly to help men boost their standing among other men.
当我们看到男人非常注重自己的外表时，很容易推断出，他们这样做只是想吸引伴侣。但通过我们对胡须和声音的研究表明，胡须的进化极有可能是来帮助男人提升他们在同类中的地位，至少在一定程度上如此。
Compared to males and females of many otherprimates, men and women on average look very different from each other – partlythanks to men’s facial hair. And when we see differences between males andfemales, the explanation often boils down to evolution through sexual selection–the process that favours traits that boost mating opportunities.
平均而言，与许多其他灵长类物种的雄性和雌性相比，男性和女性在外貌上有着很大区别，而这至少在一定程度上和男人浓密的面部毛发有关。并且，在我们研究男女之间存在的这种差异时，很多人往往将其归咎于进化过程中的性选择，即人们会更加偏爱能够增加交配几率的个人特征。
But interestingly, women don’t seem thatinterested in beards. While some studies have found that women like a bit oreven a lot of facial hair on men, other studies have reported that they preferthe clean-shaven look. The lack of consistent evidence means we can’t concludethat beards evolved because women were attracted to them.
但有趣的是，女性似乎对胡须似乎并不是那么的感兴趣。虽然有一些研究发现，女人喜欢男性留一点、甚至是一大把胡子，但其他的一些研究却认为，女性更偏爱胡子刮的干干净净的男士。由于这些结果缺乏一致性，意味着我们不能得出这样的结论：胡子是因为女人喜欢才进化出来的。
Researchers have therefore suggested that asecond type of sexual selection may hold the answer. To reproduce, it’s oftennot enough to simply be attractive. You also have to compete with the same sexfor mating opportunities. The funny, shy guy at the back of the bar isn’t going tostand a chance when competing with his bolshier brothers otherwise. And there’s evidencethat beards evolved to help men do just that.
因此，研究人员提出了另一种性选择倾向，或许能解释这一现象。想要繁殖后代，仅仅具有吸引力是不够的，在求偶时，你还得与同性竞争。与其他胆大的兄弟们比起来，那些躲在后面的、古怪的、害羞的家伙们是没有机会的。有证据显示，胡须的进化正是帮助男性进行竞争。
In times with a greater proportion ofsingle men competing for fewer women, beards and moustaches became morefashionable
在男性比例远高于女性比例时，求偶时有胡须的男性就显得更为时尚。
A man’s ability to grow a fulsome beardisn’t actually neatly linked to his testosterone levels. Despite this, a numberof studies have suggested that both men and women perceive men with beards asolder, stronger and more aggressive than others. And dominant men can get moremating opportunities by intimidating rivals to stand aside.
一位男性能否长出茂密的胡子，其实和他体内睾酮水平的高低并没有绝对的关系。尽管如此，许多研究表明，男人和女人都一致将胡子视作成熟、强壮、和具有攻击性的象征。那么占这种支配优势的人就能胁迫竞争对手靠边站，从而为自己赢得更多的交配机会。
