Why so many of us are bare down there – commentary on pubic hair shaving and waxing
At a recent national adolescent health conference, I struck up a conversation with a physician from South Carolina about pubic hair. He estimated that 75-80% of his patients (male and female) had removed hair from their pubic areas, often all of it. In fact, several conference attendees reported similar findings in their practices. Apparently, it’s become rare to see anyone in the 16-35 year old range displaying full pubic hair growth.
Bikini waxing or the removal of the patches of hair that would otherwise reveal themselves along the edges of our underwear and bathing suits is nothing new. What is new is the shift in public unacceptability of any pubic hair at all. If we look at the history of leg and underarm hair removal for women, this trend towards hairlessness may in fact, be difficult to reverse. Apparently, once hairlessness is in, it’s in for good.
Like other types of body modification, for many people, landscaping their pubic areas is a means of self-expression. Some people claim greater sensitivity. Some say they feel sexier hairless. Some say that removing pubic hair allows a person (or persons) to have a purer sensory experience of the genital area – sight, smell and taste no longer hindered by a barrier of hair.
There are, however, a few downsides to hairlessness. First, it takes a lot of time. Men and women are spending an inordinate amount of time shaving, trimming, waxing and plucking their body hair. For many, it’s a daily routine. Imagine if we spent that much time engaged in some other, more productive activity like learning a new language, volunteering, picking up litter, spending time with our friends and family or blogging.
It’s also incredibly expensive to remove hair. Whether you pay a professional to remove it or you stock up on industrial size hair removal products to carry out the task yourself, it costs a lot of money to get bare. There is a multi-billion dollar industry that is just itching (pun intended) to help you get rid of your naturally-occurring hair and to treat the subsequent razor burn, ingrown hairs and rashes that result from its removal. In one year, Gillette made more than $8 billion on the sale of razors alone. Imagine if we spent that much money on something more beneficial like feeding hungry people, buying school supplies, repairing roads or paying bloggers.
It’s healthy to have hair. Pubic hair helps to protect our more vulnerable parts. Shaving and harsh chemical treatments can result in rashes, cuts, broken skin and infections – conditions that are not only painful, but can also present opportunities for other germs (like sexually transmitted diseases, for example) to more easily infect our bodies. And while it’s fine to prefer to be hairless, the message is that it’s not okay to have hair. That body hair is dirty, ugly or a sign of poor hygiene. Those that choose not to shave, may fear they will be ostracized or teased.
Humans are one of the only mammals who remove our own hair, and one could argue that we are the only animals who remove our hair purely for vanity sake. This is particularly strange considering that the purpose of much of the body hair that we remove (under our arms, on our legs and near our genitals) is actually to facilitate attraction and mate selection. Body hair helps to transmit our natural pheromones, hence its placement near our bodies major scent glands.
Whatever your preference – hairless, bushy, landing strip or intricately patterned – pubic hair trends are bound to impact all of us at some point. Whether it’s on our own body, the bodies of our partners, or that guy at the beach whose bathing suit is way too small – we can’t escape the fact that pubic hair is on everyone’s mind these days, even if it’s not on their crotch.
Posted by Jenn on May 1, 2006 2:19 PM
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The hair removal trend is in full force. I personally trim and partially wax my pubic hair, but that is because I am exceptionally hairy. I don't believe that one (male or female) should remove all their body hair because it's dirty,etc. I do it to avoid unnecessary social embarrassment.
Jennifer
-- Posted by: Hair Remover at May 25, 2006 7:25 PMreluctant hair remover