Anyone else hate the expectation to shave down there?

YES! I feel much cleaner, less sweaty, and get less smelly if I leave my body hair to do it's thing. clean body hair keeps you dry, comfortable and stops you getting stinky.
last time I shaved my armpits I got so slimy and smelly and overheated. I swore, never again. been much more comfortable since. and my hair is soft and silky, rather than sharp and stubbly and itchy.

I'm part Spanish.
when I waxed my legs, there was stubble before the blotchiness went away. not worth it.

I wear sleeveless tops and dresses and I don't shave. and I wear skirts that show my hairy shins.
I got to a point when I realised, nobody is entitled not to see womens body hair. if it bothers them to see womens leg or armpit hair, maybe leaving the house isn't for them.
if my husband can wear shorts without shaving his legs, so can I.

pubes are fine. never been a problem for me.
and I don't shave my armpits, because last time I did, I got so slippery and stinky and overheated. I couldn't wait for it to grow back. never done it since. the most I've done since is trimmed it short for a formal occasion in a sleeveless dress. hated the prickly feeling until it grew back in to being soft and silky.

when I was first getting the hang of them, I pinged my flaps something awful when it opened too soon coming out. really made my eyes water.
hair has never been an issue with my cups

This is a weird thread.

It's about the pressure to be bald with endless posts about how women don't feel pressure and their dh's prefer their hair.

Then what's the issue? Where's the pressure?

Unless the issue is that not everyone likes body hair? And those of who don't are apparently wrong?

Unless you're in my bed though I don't think my pubic hair or lack of it affects you?

Big bums have certainly been in depending on where you're from.

Baby Got Back made that clear.

White women/men might not have found big bums attractive but being black having an ass was always desirable as long as I can remember and I'm 47.

I actually find the comparison of pubic hair to hair on the head racist.

Black hair doesn't look or feel like pubic hair! Do people really think that? It's not the same at all.

Curly black hair is NOT the same as pubic hair. The fact some people saw the comparison as racist seems more racist to me.

And to answer the question of if my partner didn't shave would that have been a deal breaker?

Of course not. I'm in love. I still have a preference though. I still prefer to go down on people without hair.

Also most of the men I've dated did remove their pubic hair, or at least trim it down a lot.

They also removed their chest hair and I never thought they looked like children.

I mean Shemar Moore is bald and has no chest hair. Any one think he looks like a child?

That man is hot and I can't imagine anyone feeling like a pedophile if he had no pubic hair.

I think it's weird people connect pubic hair with children so much.

I have a gorgeous friend who never developed breasts. She has breast hypoplasia. Shes married. Is her DH a pedophile for finding her sexy? Or for that matter lots of people because she is absolutely bloody gorgeous.

Or does this just apply to pubic hair?

Or women who have very narrow hips and tiny boobs? Are men or women who find them attractive perverts?

Attraction involves a lot more than pubic hair.

Presumably most of us have sex with people we are attracted to? If someone wants to have sex with me it's not because I look like a child even with a bald vulva.

@Gloriia
"However we need to stop with all the shaming that women are controlled by porn or people who like a trimmed look are thinking of pre pubescent dc, such an absolutely offensive comparison to make"

I don't think anyone has said either of those things. However it is inportabt to think about where the trend comes from.

There is, however, plenty of shaming women who do not shave as dirty, smelly, lazy.....

I don't shave there.

However, I really dislike under-arm hair and have removed mine since the very first hair appeared.

Each to their own.

I didn’t say there was masses of body hair just that it was present. Most women keep it tidy and had the bikini line waxed. Under arm hair was generally removed along with eyebrows.
Now we have the reverse bushy eyebrows and no pubic hair. Also a huge arse was definitely not desirable. It is nice to see that younger men are now wearing jeans that show off their bums rather than them hanging out or so tight that they look ridiculous. There is an interesting theory that men stick with the style of trousers they were wearing at around the age of 28. I’m so glad that DH was wearing classic Levi 501s at 28 and has continued with that style although his arse is a bit non existent now.
DS was wearing skin tight in his early teens but found an old pair of 501s in DH’s wardrobe, at 16/17, that his then girlfriend fell in love with. He has worn the style with great success since then, although is now wearing a slightly baggier style but still high waisted.
Clothing is all about enhancing the body shape. Unfortunately not every body shape lends itself to fashion.

Shaving is actually really bad for you, go for a wax. It's not as bad as everyone says and actually does thin things down there.

' takes all kinds to make a world and vive la difference'

Totally agree.

However we need to stop with all the shaming that women are controlled by porn or people who like a trimmed look are thinking of pre pubescent dc, such an absolutely offensive comparison to make.

I don’t shave, anywhere. I don’t iron either. I’ve not used an iron since I left home aged 18, prior to which, I’d been doing the family’s ironing for 10 years. Thanks mother. Put me off for life.
Shaving is a generational thing, I think. At least ‘down there’ as per thread title. It’s not dirty not to. I felt dirty when I did. I wasn’t but it felt so. Sticky and sweaty and itchy as hell. Plus the re growth was actually painful as the very short hair trapped in the weave of my knickers and pulled as I walked. Ok..maybe I should have worn loose bloomers , 🤣but I didn’t think of that at the time. 3 weeks of discomfort, anyway and bristly, scratchy complaints from OH.
It’s the same with men and beards. Rare when I was young. Everywhere now. But when the stubbly look was in..yuk it looked, to me, so scruffy, gave my face a rash with kissing , yet many seemed to find it attractive.
Personal choices are just that. Neither is unhygienic. Some people are hairier than others..oh and not everyone gets changes post menopause. My hair is still the same, 20 years on, though starting to grey and everything else functions as it did years before menopause.
As for ‘no one likes pubes’ That is wrong. Men , many men, love pubes and I for one think a hairless male looks weird and I find their hair vital to my pleasure.

It takes all kinds to make a world and vive la difference

However there are a great many who have shit between their ears when it comes to personal freedom of choice.

Your hair (head) doesn’t have a period or vaginal discharge 🤷🏼‍♀️ and you don’t shit out your ears

I feel cleaner to have it removed. It’s a personal preference and has no bearing on how I feel about the cleanliness of others who do/dont remove.

The only reason that posters come back at you (general, the hair-keepers) is because of the continual, moronic statements of wanting to be child-like. Stop doing that and the retaliation will stop.

We're all influenced by something. I bought a Renault Clio (terrible car) because, Thierry Henry. I don't watch porn and it's irritating to keep being told that this is why I remove my pubic hair.

Women who remove their hair really tend not to care what other women do with theirs. Much better that way, live and let live.

I doubt whether many women were getting labioplasties for aesthetics prior to the mainstreamification of porn also.

Porn has definitely sterilised sex and warped peoples views around it, especially men’s unrealistic expectations from women, in regards to sex. But I’m any case, porn dehumanises women, without a doubt.

I don't think porn has sterilised anything. As you say masses of body hair was very present in porn years ago. Now, it isn't as trends change.

No, it's because the porn industry blew up thanks to the internet. Removal of pubes became ubiquitous in porn as it allowed clearer vision of the action, and this then filtered through to general trends.

Porn was an almost quaintly unsophisticated thing a few decades ago.

We'll have mumsnetters complaining in 10yrs that porn is responsible for an upsurge in body hair as it will no doubt come full circle.

When will that be? I thought that too but no, the bald trend continues. This has been going on since high cut leotards and swimsuits became popular in the 80's. That was 40 years ago!

I don't think porn has sterilised anything. As you say masses of body hair was very present in porn years ago. Now, it isn't as trends change. Men and women have discovered they prefer the trimmed or even hairless look/feel. It is fine.

We'll have mumsnetters complaining in 10yrs that porn is responsible for an upsurge in body hair as it will no doubt come full circle.

This is interesting, because to an extent I like the area to be bald and not hidden with hair to show it off, I suppose. The comment above about modesty is interesting as well.

I like to think that my pubic hair frames my vulva.

I like the way it softens the look of the whole area. Like if I'm naked standing up, all you'll see is my little triangle of fluff, and not the actual genitals. For me personally, bald looks a bit full on.