In being surprised that apparently 98% of UK women under 25 have no pubic hair at all?

[Longstocking2]

Is that true?

A friend who is a practice nurse says she presumes it's just a fashion. None of her women under 25 who come for smear tests have any pubic hair.. all shaved, shorn, waxed to nada.

Obviously that's fine but it seems a little universal to me. Aren't there any rebels out there?
Is it just for the boys they do it?

Does the image not come from porn originally?

{shock]

would love to be enlightened!
Clearly I'm over 25

Libero, firstly we're all hypocritical in one way or another, and you're hypocritical for criticising the rest of us .

Secondly I believe it is correct to say that the roots of muff shaving in THIS culture ARE in porn.

Oh what a depressing thread. Life is too short to get involved in the grooming equivalent of painting the Forth Bridge. It grows back because it's meant to be there. Pubes are not itchy, although fanny stubble must be hideously so, and I can't imagine anything worse hygiene wise than a clammy minge. Urgh. If my DH was so put off by the appearance of my wooded glade I'd hand him a razor anytime he fancied passing that way. He's never bothered so far. I really hope this silly fad ends soon.

"Life is too short to get involved in the grooming equivalent of painting the Forth Bridge."

Isn't most grooming like that?

You cut your hair, it grows back.
You shave any part of you, it grows back.
You cut your nails, they grow back.
etc.

Or do you not do any of those things?

Kaloki, yes I like the feeling of fabric against shaved skin, but I still don't bother most of the time.

If shops sold special leg hair shampoo and conditioner, Scarlett Johanssen gave interviews to Grazia describing how her partners love to comb her leg hair (with photoshoot including windmachine-ruffled ankle hair), and men shouted 'Oi baldy' if young women dared to go out with shaven legs, then I would believe that we shaved legs for ourselves, tbh.

at Riven. If I don't cut my nails they turn into evil looking serrated things.

aren't we naturally disposed to value youth? big eyes, baby blonde hair etc. It comes out in psychological research that these things are attractive.

So I'm not surprised about taking this to the extreme of body hair to be 'more attractive'.

Maybe it's a psychological imperative that goes back a lot further than internet porn?

When I suggested a few months ago on a thread on here that I thought removing pubes was the norm I was totally shot down for my opinions. Where were all you fellow-brazilianed ladies then?

I had a hollywood since my teens. My current DP likes a big bush. I agreed to compromise with a Brazilian, but I would still prefer it all gone.

You could get a massage for an hour every 6 weeks instead Nikki. I get my hair cut back to shoulder length (just long enough so I can get it into a ponytail out of the way) off every 6 months or so because it gets too heavy otherwise and trim my nails when they start to get in the way.

This stuff is not important, why does it matter if women have hair on their legs (or anywhere else), why?

I don't actually think there is anything wrong with removing pubic hair (or anything else for that matter, as long as it's consensual) to please one's partner. I did. And hated it. So I didn't do it again.

It saddens me to think however that young people have such a distorted view of what "normal" looks like that anything other than a bare pudenda with neat little labia is seen negatively.

I think I spend enough time on areas such as my hair and nails (equating to about an hour a week ) to really not worry about my pubic/leg hair. So I am really with Riven on this!

I will occassionally shave the old legs and even more rarely (read once every three years, perhaps, if the moon is in line with the sune etc) apply a razor to the very edges of my bush so that they don't peek out of a swimming costume. But in the main I get a costume that doesn't let pubic hair peek out! Problem solved! Or quite frankly I just don't care. It is only hair - it's supposed to be there - the problem is with other people.

It disturbs me greatly for some reason to think that all these women are shaving their pubic hair off in the name of fashion/porn whatever the reason. It isn't wholly for themelves that's for sure. There are too many influences such as porn, fashion magazines for that to be the case. We are cultural beings and we are all shaped to a greater or lesser extent by how society views us, after all. Unfortunately, in this particular instance I really do think that younger women and slebs/media are being influenced by men through porn. Pornland by Gail Dines is a difficult but good read that covers this area very well.

Nag, yes, our brains are wired to be drawn to youth, but our culture soft-wires that into obsession. The two are distinct.

FWIW it's over-busyness that limits me to 1 minute showers these days with only rare pit shaves. On the rare occasions that I get to the pool, it's eek! Bush! And a quick tuck into my cossie. I reckon anyone nosy enough to bend down and peer close enough to see my LG poking out deserves a sharp knee to the nose as they straighten up again.

I do think a lot (in a not very sophisticated way) about the interface between capitalism and feminism. Clearly from capitalism's point of view, a moment not spent buying something is a moment wasted, and once everyone is buying grooming products, for growth you have to up the ante to a more complicated type of grooming, then to paying an expert to use grooming products on you. What would be the next level? Oh, follicle microsurgery using nanorobots I guess? Ooh, I quite like the sound of that.

SnowyGonzale, how is criticizing hypocritical? You can say that it is close minded, narrow minded, judgmental, critical etc - just not hypocritical.

Secondly, this culture that you speak of is an amalgamation of several cultures. The roots of muff shaving in this culture are not wholly restricted to porn - I was born in England and would consider myself as English/British as anyone else and can definitively say that removal of my pubic hair has nothing to do with porn or the country in which my parents were born - I did it for the first time when I was 9 years old and found that I quite liked/preferred having no hair down there (the same way depilating my legs and underarms felt which, incidentally, I also started when I was 9). You could argue that it was because I wanted to remain a child, but rather, it was because I decided to shave my legs and then figured why not go the whole hog and see how it all looked/felt. No direction taken or required from porn or my parents. I liked it and have kept it that way ever since. And I am of an age where modern-day porn could not have been a contributing factor.

People depilate for a variety of reasons - cultural, pornographic, exploratory, sensory etc. To claim that there is one sole reason (be that men, porn, culture etc) is rather ignorant and/or condescending, to say the least.

Why don't we all just agree to each her own rather than trying to pigeonhole each other? Long live the Hollywood, Brazilian, trim and rainforest! Life would be boring without variety

Wow, I had no idea keeping a smooth undercarriage was such a high-maintenance project. Never let it be said that MN is less than educational.

I've never shaved or trimmed my own pubes, but I'd have to admit they're fair and neat by nature and I might feel differently if I had more of a forest. I'm inclined to neglect armpit and leg hair as well, though I do shave those a couple of times a year. My DH would be happy if I never removed any hair at all, but I'm occasionally influenced by what other women might say if they had a close look (they'd have to peer) and saw a few wisps under my arms. Horrors.

Libero - but culture covers all those things like porn & exploratory reasons. In addition as maktaitai said - capitalism also has a massive influence and is part of our culture. That is what people against this are saying. Culture is changing and women are changing how they perceive their bodies with it.

I never could be arsed to keep on top of it all but my man prefers it shaven down and as a teen many of my boyfriends said I should shave it all off. I do it once in a while now for my partner but I honestly couldn't care less.

But most young women do it cos it looks more appealing and attractive compared to having a massive overgrown monster living in your underwear.

Libero keep your hair on! [guffaw!] My wink said the comment was tongue-in-cheek! Besides, you missed the point - if we're all hypocrites, and you're criticising us for being hypocrites, that makes you a...! See now?!

Re culture, how interesting that you decided to shave so young. Why do you not think this was a desire to revert to your girlish state? It seems quite obvious to me that at age 9 this would have been the primary motivation, whether or not you were aware of it. You started puberty early, found it overwhelming, and tried to do something about it. Is this possibly true?

Re culture, regardless of what's happened elsewhere, this thread had presented a great deal of evidence that the current popularity for bare muffs in this country is due to the influence of porn.

''But most young women do it cos it looks more appealing and attractive compared to having a massive overgrown monster living in your underwear.''
Mine is more like a soft very strokable pussy cat.

what with all the grey hairs, mine is more like an elderly badger.

I shave but just because I prefer it that way. It feels more comfortable for me too. I can't believe some of the posts about wanting to look like little girls. What about the women who shave there armpits. Is that to look like a little girl too? no because you prefer to be hair-less there

I don't judge people who like to leave it bushy etc as someone else said each to there own :) and PMSL'ing at fanny-fro!

Oh I'm 28 btw.......