A bearded lady (or bearded woman) is a woman with a naturally occurring beard normally due to the condition known as hirsutism or hypertrichosis. Hypertrichosis causes people of either sex to develop excess hair over their entire body (including the face), while hirsutism is restricted to females and only causes excessive hair growth in the nine body areas mentioned by Ferriman and Gallwey.
A relatively small number of women are able to grow enough facial hair to have a distinct beard. The condition is called hirsutism. It is usually the result of polycystic ovary syndrome which causes excess testosterone and an over-sensitivity to testosterone, thus (to a greater or lesser extent) results in male pattern hair growth, among other symptoms. In some cases, female beard growth is the result of a hormonal imbalance (usually androgen excess), or a rare genetic disorder known as hypertrichosis. [1] In some cases, a woman's ability to grow a beard can be due to hereditary reasons without anything medically being wrong. [2]
There are numerous references to bearded women throughout the centuries, and William Shakespeare also mentioned them in Macbeth :
you should be Women,
And yet your beards forbid me to interpret,
That you are so.— 138–46; 1.3. 37–45
However, no known productions of Macbeth included bearded witches. [3]
Sometimes it is caused by use of anabolic steroids. Cultural pressure leads most to remove it, as it may be viewed as a social stigma.[ citation needed ]
Charles Darwin's ideas on sexual selection that influenced the perception of women with excess facial hair were applied differently across race.[ citation needed ] Women of color who had excess facial hair were actually perceived as evidence of human's evolution from apes, whereas white women with excess facial hair were perceived as diseased. A beard on a white woman challenged her sex and medical condition, whereas a beard on a woman of color challenged her species. [2]
Some famous bearded women were Krao Farini [2] and Julia Pastrana. [4]
Notable examples were the famous bearded ladies of the circus sideshows of the 19th and early 20th centuries, such as Barnum's Josephine Clofullia and Ringling Bros.' Jane Barnell, whose anomalies were celebrated.[ citation needed ] Sometimes circus and carnival freak shows presented bearded ladies who were actually women with facial hairpieces or bearded men dressed as women, both practices being lampooned by comedian and former circus performer W.C. Fields in the 1939 film, You Can't Cheat an Honest Man. [5]
Polycystic ovary syndrome, or polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), is the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. The syndrome is named after cysts which form on the ovaries of some women with this condition, though this is not a universal symptom, and not the underlying cause of the disorder.
Hirsutism is excessive body hair on parts of the body where hair is normally absent or minimal. The word is from early 17th century: from Latin hirsutus meaning "hairy". It usually refers to a male pattern of hair growth in a female that may be a sign of a more serious medical condition, especially if it develops well after puberty. Cultural stigma against hirsutism can cause much psychological distress and social difficulty. Discrimination based on facial hirsutism often leads to the avoidance of social situations and to symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Hair removal is the deliberate removal of body hair or head hair. This process is also known as epilation or depilation.
A beard is the hair that grows on the jaw, chin, upper lip, lower lip, cheeks, and neck of humans and some non-human animals. In humans, usually pubescent or adult males are able to start growing beards, on average at the age of 21.
A moustache is a growth of facial hair grown above the upper lip and under the nose. Moustaches have been worn in various styles throughout history.
Wilgefortis is a female folk saint whose legend arose in the 14th century, and whose distinguishing feature is a large beard. According to the legend of her life, set in Portugal and Galicia, she was a teenage noblewoman who had been promised in marriage by her father to a Moorish king. To thwart the unwanted wedding, she had taken a vow of virginity, and prayed that she would be made repulsive. In answer to her prayers she sprouted a beard, which ended the engagement. In anger, Wilgefortis' father had her crucified.
Julia Pastrana was a performer and singer during the 19th century who had hypertrichosis. Pastrana, an indigenous woman from Mexico, was born in 1834, somewhere in the state of Sinaloa. She was born with a genetic condition, hypertrichosis terminalis ; her face and body were covered with straight black hair. Her ears and nose were unusually large, and her teeth were irregular. The latter condition was caused by a rare disease, undiagnosed in her lifetime, gingival hyperplasia, which thickened her lips and gums.
Clémentine Delait was a French bearded lady who kept a café. She has been described by contemporaries as "the most illustrious and celebrated bearded lady in France" and "the perfect example of a bearded lady".
Jane Barnell was an American bearded lady who worked in circus sideshows, dime museums and carnivals, who used various stage names including Princess Olga, Madame Olga and Lady Olga. In her only film role in Tod Browning's cult classic Freaks, using the sideshow stage name Olga Roderick, she was billed as the "Bearded Lady".
Hyperandrogenism is a medical condition characterized by high levels of androgens. It is more common in women than men. Symptoms of hyperandrogenism may include acne, seborrhea, hair loss on the scalp, increased body or facial hair, and infrequent or absent menstruation. Complications may include high blood cholesterol and diabetes. It occurs in approximately 5% of women of reproductive age.
Hypertrichosis is an abnormal amount of hair growth over the body. The two distinct types of hypertrichosis are generalized hypertrichosis, which occurs over the entire body, and localized hypertrichosis, which is restricted to a certain area. Hypertrichosis can be either congenital or acquired later in life. The excess growth of hair occurs in areas of the skin with the exception of androgen-dependent hair of the pubic area, face, and axillary regions.
Body hair or androgenic hair is terminal hair that develops on the human body during and after puberty. It is different from head hair and also from less visible vellus hair, which is much finer and lighter in color. Growth of androgenic hair is related to the level of androgens and the density of androgen receptors in the dermal papillae. Both must reach a threshold for the proliferation of hair follicle cells.
Helena Antonia was a bearded female court dwarf of Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress and was a favorite of Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain, and also a lady-in-waiting for Constance of Austria, Queen of Poland.
Facial hair is hair grown on the face, usually on the chin, cheeks, and upper lip region. It is typically a secondary sex characteristic of human males. Men typically start developing facial hair in the later stages of puberty or adolescence, around fourteen years of age, and most do not finish developing a full adult beard until around sixteen or little later. However, large variations can occur; boys as young as ten have also been known to develop facial hair, and some men do not produce much facial hair at all.
Krao Farini was an American sideshow performer who was born with hypertrichosis and took part in 19th-century exhibition tours in North America and Europe. She was adopted by William Leonard Hunt, also known as Guillermo Antonio Farini, who exploited her appearance. Throughout her life she was falsely advertised as a primitive human and billed as the missing link between humans and apes.
Rossa Matilda Richter, who used the stage name Zazel, was an English aerialist and actress who became known as the first human cannonball at the age of 17. She began performing at a very young age, practicing aerial stunts like tightrope walking in an old London church. She took up ballet, gymnastics, and trapeze by the time she was 6 and, at 12, went on tour with a travelling acrobat troupe. In 1877, she was the first person to be fired out of a cannon, in front of a large crowd at the Royal Aquarium.
Harnaam Kaur is a British social media personality, postpartum coach, life coach and motivational speaker.
Magdalena Ventura with Her Husband and Son or The Bearded Lady is a 1631 oil on canvas painting by the Spanish artist Jusepe de Ribera. It is now part of the Fundación Casa Ducal de Medinaceli collection and displayed at the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid.
Ethinylestradiol/cyproterone acetate (EE/CPA), also known as co-cyprindiol and sold under the brand names Diane and Diane-35 among others, is a combination of ethinylestradiol (EE), an estrogen, and cyproterone acetate (CPA), a progestin and antiandrogen, which is used as a birth control pill to prevent pregnancy in women. It is also used to treat androgen-dependent conditions in women such as acne, seborrhea, excessive facial/body hair growth, scalp hair loss, and high androgen levels associated with ovaries with cysts. The medication is taken by mouth once daily for 21 days, followed by a 7-day free interval.
.. I made all Elbonians look identical, even the women, with long black beards ...
