[Avodah] Why are beards considers so choshuv?

[Zev Sero]

T613K at aol.com wrote:
  
> 3.  Shaving off the beard is considered a denial and denigration of 
> one's masculinity -- it is a sort of "feminizing" thing to do, making 
> one's face look more womanly and less manly, so that's one reason it's 
> frowned upon in certain frum circles.

And in fact the Tzemach Tzedek holds that this is an actual issur, in
*addition* to the issur of shaving with a razor.

-- 
Zev Sero                      The trouble with socialism is that you
zev at sero.name                 eventually run out of other people’s money
                                                     - Margaret Thatcher