Is having pubic hair deemed unhygienic

[taylor74]

Just following on from another thread.
Do people see others who don't shave or wax down below as unhygienic.
Personally I'm smooth below but that's my preference.
What's others views on this?

Time, I think maybe ear-piercing is a good comparison?

It is - no getting away from it - mutilation; we know there's a slight risk of infections when you do it and if you wear earrings and they're torn out, it will tear your ear. But then ... it's so ingrained in our culture that it is pretty and decorative, it's been around so long, and it doesn't hurt very much, so lots of us do it (including men).

Ear-piercing is a one time painful activity and doesn't require further maintenance, so I don't think it's that similar.

I also think that the hair removal is just as important to femininity as the being hairless is. It's beauty work, to keep us busy.

That might be true - but then, would you think it was ok if someone (I cannot say how much I am wincing at this next bit, I am a huge wuss) got their fanjo lasered hairless? I'm guessing not?

I think you're right about the business thought - it's nice on this thread that people like SDTG commented, who don't really care what the rest of us do, because often people seem to want to shame you into doing the same amount of maintenance as them, as if you're letting the side down.

People don't pierce their ears so that they stay looking pre pubescent.

I would still think that lasering it all off would be infantilising and a permanent disfigurement to boot.

Also, because the business is the important thing, something else would come up to replace the waxing/shaving of pubic hair.
The arm hairs or short eyelashes might become a preoccupation.
Anal bleaching, false toenails, liposuction, liquid diets.
Busy, busy, busy.

Nice summary SWC!

seeker - true, but plenty of people don't think they shave to look child-like, that's the point isn't it? It's become normalized, just as ear-piercing has become normalized so we don't think 'gosh, that woman has just cut a hole through her own skin and flesh and stuck metal in it'.

All sorts of things are normalized; doesn't mean we should smile and nod and not acknowledge what we're doing to our bodies.

I have a fanny like a bear trappers hat (lifted verbatim from a comedy show)
IMO, each to their own, if you want a 10 YO pudenda, go for it.

Sleepywombat - I shave myself because I prefer the way it feels. I didn't do it because dh asked me to - I didn't consult with him at all before the first time I did it. He liked it, and still does, but I keep it shaven because I like it. If I hadn't liked it, I would have let it grow again, even though he liked it.

Why is it so hard for you to believe that those of us who chose to shave are intelligent, independant women? It is pretty insulting to imply that we are simply bimbos, modifying our bodies just to please our men!!

Seeker - you are doing something similar. I made a conscious choice to shave down there, liked it, felt cleaner having done it, and decided to carry on - why is it so hard to accept that? Why must I be rationalising after the fact?

And TimeWasting - please note that I have not said that shaving is more hygienic, or that having an unshaven muff is unhygienic. I've already said it's down to washing regularly. But I don't think my shaven muff is any less hygienic than an unshaven one - and that is what you implied and what I took offence to. Do you still believe I am less hygienic because I shave?

5DollarShake - I accept that I am only one woman, and therefore not a great statistical sample, but I have been shaving my muff for nigh on 17.5 years, and in that time have noted that I no longer get thrush, which I used to be very prone to, and haven't had any other infections that I'm aware of - anecdotal, I know, but doesn't that count for something, in this debate?

'Well I would like to exercise my choice not to live amongst people who are so bonkers as to believe ripping out pubes by the roots is a sane thing to do.'

that's a bit extreme! Where would you move to to get away from it?

Agree with everything SDTG said above.

Of course, STDG, since you shave down below you no longer have a 'muff'. You have something quite different.

I find this trend really disturbing and, while I'm all for freedom of choice etc, I still think it's an odd thing to think about doing spontaneously. I'm a liberal woman who matured before this fashion took off and I have to say I've never once thought, "Why don't I shave my pubic hair off and see whether I like it better that way?"

Retires baffled....

Though, in fairness to smallwhitecat, I should say that I am utterly bonkers. It's a fact of life that my children point out to me on a regular basis. Though maybe I am saner than I thought, because I don't rip my pubes out by the roots - I just hack them off with a sharp blade. That has to be better - right??!

I'm 40 and don't shave my pubes at all, apart from the bikini line area when I'm going to go swimming.

Checked with my DH on his opinion on pubes and he says he'd rather walk over hot knives than have sex with a shaved woman, as it just looks all wrong to him.

Of course that wouldn't stop me if I wanted to do it. I shave under my arms, even though he'd prefer I didn't.

I just don't want to shave my pubes. I look in the mirror and see my nice dark triangle and like it. It's decoration as much as anything else.

SDTG, I don't know how hygienic your specific vulva is. I'm talking generally.

There are plenty of intelligent, independent women do plenty of crazy shit all the time without realising the underlying socialisation/peer pressure etc.
Most of us at some point. I'm sure I do too.
I think it's important to challenge it in discussions of this sort though.

Yes, you were talking generally, and I think that such generalisations are silly - unless you actually go round inspecting people's vulvas and keeping some sort of record of level of hairiness and odour/ hygiene. Otherwise it is just prejudice talking, isn't it.

And yes, challenge things in discussions - that's important - but it is also important, imo, to recognise that differing opinions from yours are not neccessarily wrong, nor do they mean that the holder of that opinion is doing crazy shit. There have been some intelligent and sensible posts on both sides of this debate, and it is good to acknowledge the validity of both. It does sometimes seem, though, as if some people make a judgement (ie, a woman is only going to shave her fanjo for her man or because she wants to look like a little girl), and then refuse point blank to accept that anyone who says different might be speaking truthfully and isn't some dimwitted dupe who doesn't understand the arguments properly.

The point about societal influence is that we usually don't notice it happening.
Do you really think there's some odd coincidence happening that is leading thousands of women and girls to suddenly decide of their free will and separate to all outside influences to shave off their pubic hair?
Perhaps you as an individual haven't been influenced in that way, however unlikely that may be, but surely you can see that most people are?

Pubic hair traps possible contaminants, keeping them from entering the body while simultaneously holding the odours that sexually mature adults produce to attract each other.
I don't think that you are smelly or dirty. I do think that pubic hair fulfills a functional role in human physiology. And anyone who thinks that removing it is hygienic deluding themselves. Which is what the thread is about.

And I do accept that I might be wrong. When someone proves me wrong I am more than willing to accept it. Taste is a different matter. I don't expect everyone to like the same things, but that's not what we're arguing about here.