Before then, such relationships, particularly before World War II, were often called “lavender marriages.” Bearding has been around probably forever, but the use of the term “beard” specifically to describe the practice became more widely used in the 1960s. is “merkin,” which is a pubic wig, or in the U.K.“frock” (according to the Internet)) is normally witting and participates in the ruse as a favor to the other person or in return for some benefit. The “beard” (or in the case of a man used by a lesbian for the same purpose, the term used in the U.S. “Bearding” is a slang term describing a conscious attempt by a lesbian or gay man to hide her or his homosexuality from others by appearing to date or marry someone of the opposite sex.
