Is pubic hair a feminist issue?

True!

But also - building up drawing skills via knowledge of muscle layers etc was part of the classical tool box - why obscure all that skill with a hairy chest?!

Of course women should be free to remove their pubic hair if they want to. But they should do it in the full knowledge that it is a profoundly anti feminist choice. Thwt doesn't mean they shouldn't do it. But there is complex history and politics involved which they should be aware of.

It is a feminist issue.

I am single and have been for a while. I am currently sporting a full bush. I like it. I don't feel 'unhygienic '. I also haven't shaved my legs before Christmas. I find I quite like having hairy legs too.

Will I be brave enough to leave my body hair as it is if I go swimming or start dating again? Sadly, probably not. I do find it distressing the amount of younger people who seem to find female public hair 'disgusting' (most recent discussion was on my cousin's FB page last week).

That's true Yonic. I think pubic hair is difficult to paint.

I meant to add that I think the desire to remove all pubic hair - for both sexes is IMO down to the pornification of society. Sex sells and it's easier to sell sex if all the hair is gone and you can really get a good look at all the anatomy. [blink]

Men in art are also largely hair free Turn.

I think that if the driver had been decided by women because it felt 'fresher' the discovery would have been made before the huge change in availability of porn (with VCR in 1980s).

I think men are under pressure now too. I challenged a young female relative on Facebook when she made a comment about pubic hair on women being gross and I asked why is it not considered gross on men and she replied that it is also disgusting on men. Lots of people commented expressing surprise that I thought it was acceptable on either sex. Apparently men now shave or wax. If I wasn't married I think I would be celibate because I can't be bothered with all this shit.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that there is such a huge divide between the past and now - I'm pretty sure (although I'm absolutely prepared to be proven wrong) that throughout the ages, for many hundreds of years, women's body hair just was. We had hair on our legs, same as men, hairy armpits, hair wherever it grew, pubic hair - it was all just there. I doubt housemaids, farm workers, factory workers could afford razors (and safety razors weren't even invented so I can't imagine women were using straight razors to shave their genitals to feel cleaner or to ensure no hair got caught in their bloomers) or even gave it a thought...and neither did the men!

Women in art were all pretty hair free though so that's an interesting point.

\streamofconscience

Yes, I agree there is a bit of pressure on men now.

*where as - fuck autocorrect!

At the risk of being "what about the menz" about it, there IS greater pressure on men to get rid of their pubic hair, back hair, arse hair than ever before.

I recently dated a man in his 50's who shaved his nuts. It was all a bit itchy on the face (heavens to Betsy) for me and unutterably itchy and uncomfortable for him - so the tide is turning in a small way towards men being feeling as shit as women do about their natural body hair. I don't mind men having hairy chests, backs, arms, legs, balls or arses...why I can't translate that into men not giving a fuck about my body hair is probably because I have suffered years and years of social conditioning where's men are just starting to feel the effects.

TurnItIn Interesting post. It seems your own perspective has evolved. But I suppose in any case as time goes on people change opinions, and do all sorts of things differently from how they did when younger.

Why are women expected to put themselves through so much pain on a regular basis through waxing?

The Caitlin Moran rule of thumb
As to is this a feminist issue applies - "are women worrying about this shit when men are not?"

Yes it is. Doesn't mean women who wax aren't feminists, or that those who don't are.

How interesting! It used to be the case that a full-frontal nude, with pubic hair, was the ultimate in sexy photos! I recall boys from school getting hold of their dads' or elder brothers' copies of Playboy or somesuch and oohing and ahhing over the photos that showed women with pubic hair! It was a sign of being an adult. Girls aspired to it! As teens, we wanted to look like adults. Having no pubic hair wold have been considered very childlike and undeveloped, a bit like having no boobs.

Of course it's a feminist issue.

Women are under incredible pressure to remove all hair that is deemed "unsexy" so we shave our legs and armpits and have done for many decades. When I was young (I'm 43) I never even considered my pubic hair at all. I shaved my legs and armpits from around 11 but never even thought about my pubic hair. In my twenties I shaved my bikini line when I was going swimming or going on holiday (and I remember vividly some ill advised adventures with hair removal cream that just melted my pubes a bit and created a stench that turned the stomach) but never thought about my undercarriage - nor had any complaints from any men I had encounters with.

In my early thirties I started having my bikini line waxed before holidays, in my late thirties I started having Brazilians and in my early forties I started having Hollywood waxes. I am currently sporting a brilliant "1970's" powerbush. Currently single

I think I'm fairly representative of the changes over the past couple of decades for MY generation, and I am completely aware of the societal changes that I have bowed to. I hold my hands up, I am a feminist and I wax sometimes. I don't do it because I feel cleaner, or because I like to be hair free, or because my pubic hair gets caught in my knicker elastic (ha!), or for any other reason than society tells me that if I wax I am more attractive, cunnilingus is more likely, I am less likely to feel embarrassed by my hairy minge if I get rid of it when seeking a shag.

[sigh]

Conditioning is a powerful force. The thing is that I am well aware that waxing/shaving the pubes creates tiny cuts in the genital area which leads to a higher risk of infection, but I still do it. I also wash my vulva with feminine (doncha love it?) wash as I've somehow convinced myself that this is better than the quick swipe I used to do with shower gel (it probably is but I know I'd be better leaving it alone completely and just swishing some water around the area)

IN CONCLUSION. It's all fucked up.