Beard

A beard is a person who dates or marries someone gay or closeted so that partner can appear straight in public. The beard is often a woman paired with a closeted man, though the roles can flip. The arrangement is sometimes mutual and fully understood by both people, and sometimes the beard has no idea of the true purpose. The term reflects a long history of social, professional, and legal pressure that pushed LGBTQ+ people to hide who they were. Bearding has been documented throughout 20th-century Hollywood and public life, where a same-sex attraction could end a career. The word is still used today, though openly the practice is less common than it once was.