DEAR MISS MANNERS: In recent months it seems that more and more men are growing facial hair in a variety of styles.

I first noticed this when my parish priest returned from a sabbatical with a somewhat unflattering growth of beard. Many professional athletes have beards and long hair. Television ads depict men of all ages wearing beards. Even TV anchormen and their guests have beards.

Do you have any thoughts about what is behind this craze?

GENTLE READER? Well, it could be aesthetics, admiration for historical figures, a need for disguise, a yearning for variety, or any number of things that also motivate ladies to change the way they look. Or inertia -- a powerful force that makes for interesting trends.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My son has asked that we not post pictures of our treasured grandbaby on Facebook, a request that we have respected. Neither my son nor my daughter-in-law has a Facebook account.

My problem is, I see that my son's mother-in-law and sister-in-law post pictures of the baby all the time. They even call her by name.

So, do I tell them about the postings, or mind my own business, even knowing how this will upset them when they find out? And they will find out.

GENTLE READER: If they will find out anyway, why invite them to kill the messenger?

If your son and daughter-in-law ask if you have seen these postings, you may say that you didn't want to get involved, which, whether true or not, is hardly blameworthy. You have been handed a rare case in which the problem will solve itself without your intervention. Miss Manners encourages you to take it.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: On many occasions I encounter people I have met five or more times over a one-year period. When I see these people, they say, "Hello, I am such-and-such. Nice to meet you."

Yes, they are being polite; however, after meeting me five times -- don't you even remember that you have met me? Am I just being over-sensitive?

My response is, "We have met several times. It's nice to see you."

If I have said that to you five times or more, wouldn't you remember? My husband says that I am letting these people make me feel inferior. I personally think they are just rude and snobby. However, I don't know how to respond to such people.

GENTLE READER: Are you asking Miss Manners why you are not more memorable?

Granted, it is frustrating that these people can't seem to remember you, but your husband is right, you mustn't take it to heart. There could be a myriad of reasons that people are forgetful. Surely you don't want to hear them, particularly if the explanations involve your relative noteworthiness.

Continue to politely reassure these people that you have indeed met -- and then resolve to make more alert acquaintances.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My spouse and I married out of state in 2010, after several happy years together, because our home state does not recognize same-sex marriage.

He works in the arts; I am a lawyer. We attend many social and artistic events and have a wide circle of accepting friends.

However (ironically, I think, given our respective careers), I am much more apt to introduce him as my spouse with new acquaintances. He either haltingly introduces me as his "partner," or worse yet, ignores me altogether, even when I am standing right next to him.

He has attempted to excuse this by explaining that it is "not personal" and that he does not wish to render uncomfortable people whose views he does not yet know.

I have responded that it is indeed personal, since it is happening to me, and that the potential prejudices of strangers are not to be catered to; if they are offended, they can excuse themselves and find other people with whom to chat.

GENTLE READER: Struggles for civil rights focus their energy first on achieving equality before the law. But as you have discovered, that does not mean the etiquette will automatically follow.

Good manners do not always require that you make those around you comfortable by catering to their possible prejudices. Of course spouses should be introduced as such. Miss Manners hopes that the worst thing your spouse is seeking to avoid by his behavior is a polite but cold response.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: As I'm sure you know, Southerners like myself address everyone we meet that we are not on a first-name basis with as "Sir" or "Ma'am." I travel to the North on business quite a bit and am occasionally joshed about that with good humor and occasionally not-so-good humor. How should I respond to such attempts at correction, or should I respond at all?

GENTLE READER: "Oh, sorry. It's a term of respect, but if you tell me it's not warranted in your case, of course I'll stop."

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a woman who has never married and there is no likelihood of my doing so in the future. I've begun declining wedding invitations, sending a lovely gift, and enjoying not being there.

The weddings I attended in the past were not enjoyable and made me feel distinctly inferior to the couples surrounding me. They have all been focused on the married couples present and their children, and made me want to hide.

I put on a happy face and participated, but in almost all cases, it was clear that my attendance did not add to the couples' joy in the day, and my other relatives did not seem to even realize I was present.

My nieces will be marrying in the next few years. I would much prefer to send a gift and good wishes rather than end up going home feeling like a failure. Would this be a breach of manners?

GENTLE READER: Certainly you may decline these invitations politely. But Miss Manners hardly knows which is sadder: your relatives' wedding behavior, or your inability to forget yourself and be happy for others.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I was taken aback by my elders' reactions to an anecdote about an encounter with a strange man who accosted me in a public place.

I have suddenly found myself to be a young lady, gradually achieving independence in the world, and, I am told, quite attractive. I have been approached by strangers with increasing frequency in the past few years, and as I am usually by myself and on foot, I have made it my policy that a brief exchange of polite conversation is acceptable, but as soon as a stranger calls me beautiful or makes a similar remark about my biology, the talk is over, and I quickly continue my prior business.

This was the end of my story that I related to my parents and my grandmother. My father was, overall, approving that I do not tolerate strange men and amused that I had walked away. This did not surprise me. My mother, on the other hand, suggested that I behave more like my sister, who, armed with a quick tongue and rapier wit, frequently enjoys making sport of her admirers.

My grandmother further shocked me when she said that I was behaving poorly and missing some wonderful opportunities to make friends and connections in the world, and that she frequently stops to have an exchange with strange men who call her lovely.

Miss Manners, I am loath to make contact with lewd young men. If approached as a lady with, perhaps, a comment on our environment, a compliment on an unusual possession or a question for directions, I may be inclined to continue with polite conversation. If a young man cannot think to talk about anything but my physiology, he must have mistaken me for a different kind of woman, and not a young lady who strives to remain respectable.

Were you to inform me that my ways are unduly harsh, I should endeavor to bear such attentions, although I had to this point believed that my behavior would be sanctioned by polite company.

GENTLE READER: Really? Your mother wants you to engage in banter with lewd strangers, and your grandmother believes that encouraging them would enrich your social life?

So much for the wisdom of your elders. When you were little, did they advise you to be friendly to strangers who offered you candy or rides in their cars?

Do they imagine that the remarks you describe are made by gentlemen who hope that they will lead to the discovery that you share an interest in history or art or gardening, and that a friendship or romance might then develop?

Miss Manners can only hope that your mother and grandmother speak from naivete, and be grateful that you have the good sense not to listen.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I received an invitation to attend a birthday celebration for a elderly friend of mine requesting "Lots of presents and gifts are most certainly demanded!" My friends and I would like to know if you think this is a proper way to send out invitations.

GENTLE READER: Now here is someone who keeps up with current trends in rudeness. Was the invitation written in letters cut out from magazines and accompanied by a threat?

If so, you might want to involve the police. If not, it would be generous enough to respond, declining the honor, as if it were a real invitation and not an unseemly demand.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)