Neckbeard

Neckbeard

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Updated Aug 17, 2020 at 05:37AM EDT by shevyrolet.

Added Mar 26, 2013 at 04:59PM EDT by Don.

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About

Neckbeard is a pejorative term referring to unattractive, overweight and misogynistic Internet users who wear a style of facial hair in which a majority of the growth is present on the chin and neck. Neckbeards are commonly associated with hipster stereotypes and Internet addicts who frequent websites like 4chan and Reddit.

Origin

On December 31st, 2002, the term "neck beard" was used in an message sent to the news.admin.net-abuse.email Usenet newsgroup.[13]

Precursor

The neckbeard facial hairstyle, sometimes referred to as the portmanteau “neard,” has been traditionally associated with male members of the Amish Mennonite Christian church fellowship (shown below). Amish men do not shave their beards after becoming married, but are forbidden to grow mustaches due to its association with the military.[2] Several notable historical figures were known to have worn the beard, including the Roman Emperor Nero, American Liberal Republican Party founder Horace Greeley and German composer Richard Wagner.



Spread

On August 24th, 2003, the term "neckbeard" was used in the Wackbag Forums[3] by member SOS, who asked if the facial hairstyle is considered "ugly or sexy."

On April 29th, 2004, MetaFilter[4] user angry modem submitted a post asking if he should grow a neckbeard, which received many responses deriding the facial hairstyle. On May 1st, 2005, the Internet humor site Something Awful[5] published a neckbeard guide, claiming that men with neck facial hair are typically deemed unattractive by the opposite sex. On December 19th, Urban Dictionary[1] user parttimehanyou submitted an entry for the term "neckbeard":

''Derogatory term for slovenly nerdy people who have no sense of hygiene or grooming. Often related to hobbies such as card gaming, video gaming, anime, et. al.''

On December 4th, 2007, DeviantArt user nef uploaded an illustration titled "Neckbeard Guy"[9] (shown below), receiving over 1,300 views in the next six years.


www.neffoons.com

On January 31st, 2008, Everything2[10] user rootbeer277 submitted a post about neckbeards, portraying those who sport it as stereotypical virgins living in their parents' basement:

"The neckbeard is a feature of the slovenly obese, that stereotypical virginal denizen of teh intarwebs who lives in his parents' basement at age 25+ and despite his college education and vast computer skills, works a menial, low paying, low stress job, perhaps as night manager of a grocery store or phone tech support."

OOn September 6th, 2009, the /r/neckbeard[7] subreddit was launched, featuring various image macro jokes about the facial hairstyle. On November 2nd, 2010, the viral content site BuzzFeed[11] highlighted a photograph titled “Ultimate Neckbeard” (shown below).


ultimate neckbeard

On December 14th, 2011, MMO Champion Forums[12] member Chunkyman posted a thread asking why neckbeards were stigmatized online, which received over 100 responses within 24 hours. On December 28th, 2012, Redditor wildsportsbets submitted a photograph of a man with a gray neckbeard to the /r/WTF[8] subreddit (shown below). Within three months, the post garnered upwards of 24,000 up votes and 1,000 comments.


$68 PEOPLE OF WALMART

Notable Examples


NECKBEAR neckbeard i haz it 10A N HAS CHEEZBURGER. COM Before! found Reddit「felt as if I was drowning in an anti-intellectual quagmire Uhis is the effect a religious community can have on a person. But since discovering that Was not alone in valuing the power of my own brain above the words of clergýmen ight to govern t who have no Of myself (or anyone else).1 have allowed my intelligence to blossom iracgy A FILM QUESTION NARWHAL My name is David and this is my face of atheism AT FIRST I WAS LIKE BUTTHENIWASLIKE Video Games Card Games Memecreator.o

Butthurt Dweller

The advice animal character Butthurt Dweller is often considered an example of the neckbeard stereotype, with captions expressing arrogant, misogynistic and immature character traits.


IMSMUG WHEN ISHOULDN'T BE

Fedora Fashion

Neckbeards are commonly associated with men who wear the fedora felt hat as a fashion accessory, which is often mocked online for being worn by men with poor sense of style.


okcupid

Fatlus

Fatlus is an internet slang term and pejorative label used to describe Western fans of the Japanese video game developer company Atlus[1] and its video game franchises, most notably Megami Tensei,[6] as well as its spin-off titles Shin Megami Tensei: Persona[7] and Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga.[8] In the MS Paint-style webcomic series with the same name, “Fatlus” is depicted as the archetype of male Otakus or Weeaboos.


ONE COPY OF PERSONA 3 ATLUS

What's All This Racket

The son portrayed in the What's All This Racket exploitable webcomic is drawn with sparse neck facial hair and is often associated stereotypical neckbeard fandoms including Otaku and Bronies.


What's all this racket going on up here, son? It's called ANIME, dad. You watchin' yer girl cartoons again'? It's not for girls AND it's not a cartoon. It's some of the best animation from a country superior to ours with deep, intricate plots that a BAKA GAIJIN like you wouldn't understand Watch for a second. Am I kawaii? uguú- translator's note: kawaii means cute

Search Interest

External References

[1] Urban Dictionary – neckbeard

[2] Amish Religious Freedom via Wayback Machine – FAQ

[3] Wackbag – Neck Beards – Ugly or Sexy (login needed)

[4] MetaFilter – Should I Grow a Neckbeard

[5] Something Awful – Neckbeard a beginners guide

[6] Tumblr – neckbeard

[7] Reddit – /r/neckbeard

[8] Reddit – Did someone say neckbeard?

[9] DeviantArt – Neckbeard Guy

[10] Everything2 – Neckbeard

[11] BuzzFeed – The Ultimate Neckbeard

[12] MMO Champion – Neckbeards

[13] Google Groups – alt.admin.net-abuse.email

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