Beard (companion)

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For other uses, see Beard (disambiguation).

Beard is a slang term describing a person who poses as a false date or romantic partner to mislead others about the nature of a relationship, and/or to conceal someone's sexual orientation.

Analogous to a fake beard for a gay man, a male acting as a beard for a lesbian is sometimes called a merkin which is a fake pubic hair piece employed theatrically.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Concealing infidelity

In early usage of the term, a beard scenario involved concealing infidelity in a monogamous relationship.

In a typical scenario, X and Y are in a supposedly exclusive relationship, but X is actually cheating with Z. However, to keep Y from learning about X's infidelity, W, the "beard", pretends to be paired with Z.

Such a scenario is a central premise of Woody Allen's 1984 film Broadway Danny Rose. The titular talent agent is the beard, pretending to date Tina, a single woman who is actually having an affair with married singer Lou Canova. By posing as Tina's date, Danny can bring her to Lou's performances without drawing attention from Lou's suspicious wife. The term "beard" is a running gag, used four times (e.g., "I'm only the beard") when Tina's relatives assume Danny is Tina's previously mysterious lover.

[edit] Concealing sexual orientation

Another recognized usage of "beard" applies to a person who serves to camouflage another's sexual orientation. An example is a gay man pretending to date a woman, in an effort to conceal his sexuality. Though beard entered wider use in the 1960s,^{[citation needed]} many of the reported lavender marriages of 1920s in Hollywood, and the similar reported romantic marriage of Rock Hudson (mid-1950s) employed the same usage. In Hudson's case, Phyllis Gates acted as his beard, to avert the perceived damage that the disclosure of Hudson's homosexuality might have on his career.

More recently, as in ABC's dramedy series Ugly Betty, where Amanda Tanen is Marc St. James' beard in order to keep the truth from his parents. In the Seinfeld episode "The Beard", Elaine Benes acts as the beard for a gay friend, to suggest that they have a romantic relationship. In The Simpsons episode "A Fish Called Selma", Troy McClure, who is implied as having a sexual obsession with fish, uses Selma Bouvier as his beard.

The television series The L Word portrays Niki Stevens, a closeted lesbian actress, using her co-star Greg as a merkin for a film premiere. The character's management pressures her to do this to counter widespread press speculation that she is a lesbian.