Last week a few news outlets picked up a blog post written by a physician titled "The war on pubic hair must end." The post seems to be old, and I'm not sure what brought it to the media's attention, but there's something in the response to it that feels misguided.
The post itself is clear enough, a doctor is wondering why so many people want to remove hair from their bodies, particularly pubic hair. She suggests that there are good reasons to keep your hair down there, like reducing the chances of infections (e they transmitted sexually or otherwise) and argues that doctors owe it to their patients to point this out.
I think that's great. I'm all for doctors talking more with patients, particularly about something we're usually silent about, like pubic hair. I wish doctors had a little more knowledge and training about the ways that our experience of something like our hair intersects with things like gender and race, such that these conversations didn't always seem to be only about gender normative white women, and I'd like to think that unless the doctor knows the research (and assuming there is good research to know) that this would be more of a conversation than a prescription. But in any case it's nice to see a physician raising this issue.
Having said that, I do think there's a problem with the suggestion that it's wrong to remove hair from your body and that people shouldn't do it. If we're going to say that people have the right to bodily integrity, the right to choose what to do and not do with their body, and the choice of how to present their body in the world (providing those choices don't involve doing harm or violence to others) then I'm not sure we can pick and choose which choices they get to make. Why is it okay for someone to get a tattoo but not for someone to shave their pubic hair? Or why is it okay for someone to get a breast reduction but not a breast enlargement? These decisions aren't the same, I understand that. But it's impossible to know the details of every decision people make, and so, if we're fighting for anything, I think it's more tenable, and less hypocritical, for us to fight for people's right to choose, and not fight for a particular choice they make.
Read More: KevinMD.com - The war on pubic hair must end ; Independent - Physician calls for an end to bikini waxing.
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I agree with the doctor (not really).
I plan to never get another haircut, shave my face, take a bath, trim my fingernails/toenails, wear glasses, or anything else that is against my natural body integrity.
Then I will go through my medicine cabinet and clear it all away.
Isn’t it all the same thing?
I see this as grooming.
I do not agree with the Doctor recommendations. Trimming or removing pubic hair in both sexes is a good thing for sanitary and look reasons. I do not see why we should discourage that.
What about those who shave their arm pit too. Please give me a break.
I believe Gay men were the first to start the body-shaving craze, and will be the last to let it go. Among our tribe I associate body-shaving with three things: (1) either anxiousness that one’s gym efforts might go unnoticed, or (2) treatment of a skin disease (ringworm, e.g.), or (3) confusion over one’s own sexual identity and whether perhaps one should investigate options such as re-classifying one’s self from Gay to transgender. Personally I find it loathsome in men to find, after the disrobing, that he is shaved in important areas which leave him with a plucked-chicken-skin appearance, or has caused him to contract a severe (or even mild) case of acne from improper shaving technique. As for the “odor control” aspect some shaving advocates purport, any man who showers or bathes daily has only the natural scent of a living human and we’re not any longer a nation of farmers, cattle ranchers or factory workers. I know scores of men and women who not only appreciate a natural smell, but are extremely aroused by it. And most forums one reads indicate that shaving is, at last, on the way out and at best considered very déclassé! Thank the gods!
I think we turn everything into “It’s my RIGHT to do x or y to my body.” No one is sayiong you don’t have the right. But not everything that’s your right is intelligent. (Apostle Paul: “All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful.”) The physician’s article about the tiny open wounds on continuously shaved pubic regions and their increased susceptibility to infections is a reasonable warning. Thank you. Res ipsa loquitor.
I groom my pubic hair, but I don’t shave it. I just trim it shorter. Keeps long pieces out of people’s mouths during oral. From an aesthetic point of view? I don’t mind what choices other people make; if it makes them happy and is hygenic, it’s all the same to me.
Equally with beards (admittedly I like those), long head hair, and any hair that isn’t painful and can be kept hygenically.
Pubic hair color , texture , design is individual
as the hair on our heads .. It can be trimmed , colored,
styled and artsy … or bald .. Pubics also act as a home
for sex pheromes stimulating attraction while unscented
…A dry lubricant for mons contact ..And looks great
…Just one bimm’s opinion ..Freedom rules
I hate getting hair between my teeth.
Though I have no vested interest one way or the other, a couple of thoughts are that, shaving can be aesthetically, sensually pleasing, and practical (choking on a pube as your partner is nearing climax can pose a difficult choice). Pubic hair, especially for women, is a first line of defense against infection. By providing an air layer, the skin stays drier, which discourages bacteria from enjoying the warm, moist environment they so love. These bacteria can cause urinary tract infections and, less frequently, bladder infections.
I actually rather enjoy getting some pubic hair in my teeth – it shows that I’ve been at it vigorously and that I enjoyed myself greatly. That ought to also mean that my lover enjoyed my giving head to him immensely. I take note of stray hairs and trim a bit on occasion; would never think of sweeping it all away though.
If my lover shaved I think I’d enjoy my blow jobs a little bit less.
I think the point is being missed here. I think the doctor is trying to point out that there are benefits to leaving your pubic hair intact, not suggest that you don’t have a choice but instead make an informed choice. And is that not part of what we demand from the medical community?
The only way that we know about the positives and the negatives is to discuss them openly, point out the cons as well as the pros and then each person can make the choice that they feel is most appropriate to them.
It all started at the beach whereby an embarrassment will happen with hair sticking out of the bikinis!
I say shave it all for frequent beach-goers who like to dress up thin and keep it natural for naturalists…..after all we all prioritise self-hygeine and the turn-on preference is pretty much an individual’s.
I read the physician’s blog and I am glad that I now have the medical facts needed to make an informed decision. Thanks doc!