Is the bush back?

[lightnesspixie]

So just watched last night's cha4 show about why women largely now remove all body hair. As a 53 year old - I trim/tidy as routine and bikini wax before holidays. I have in the past had a Hollywood and a Brazilian with a landing strip but that was in my 30s/40s. However, I understand going bare is a young thing. Out of interest - what are you guys all doing with your foofoos? And have any of you encountered judging by men?

My Bush never went!

Bikini line before holidays & when swimming regularly. Never had brazilian or hollywood.

My body, my choice.🤷‍♀️

I know women who've permanently removed their pubic hair using IPL. Can't fathom that.

If you spend £35/£40 every month having a professional wax anyway then IPL is a long term investment

Bush removal became popular when I was about 20, and I tried a few variations when I was younger. I could never really get past the fact that it wasn't very effective, it was labour intensive and uncomfortable and the results didn't last or even look all that good fresh. Mostly now it's pretty naturally, I just trim sometimes especially right before I get my period.

As far as the overall trend, I have also heard that many young men do it now, which TBH grosses me out. But I have noticed that with women the demographic has changed a bit. When I was younger lots of middle class university girls did it, but while many still do, that group seems less likely to do so than previously, where working class girls are more wedded to it. I don't have a sense if this is also the case with the men.

You wonder where it all goes?

There is talk in angling circles of a 'hairy-mary' tied fly which lures the fish with the pheremones left on the hairs by the former owner's fertility.

Could be just a fisherman's tale.

I trim, not because of the appearance at all, but because I find it a bit hot and sweaty in the knicker area if I don't. But no shaving or waxing ever.

There had been a lot of threads on this. There is definitely an element of class divide here. When I was younger (don’t really tend to discuss pubic grooming with friends these days) it was deemed tasteless to remove all of it. Likewise the only men I’ve slept with who removed body hair/expected me to do so were lower class. The long standing association with porn culture has made hair removal quite shameful as posters on mumsnet often illustrate.

The long standing association with porn culture has made hair removal quite shameful as posters on mumsnet often illustrate.

Wow, judgey much?! My hair removal choices gave fuck all to do with porn thanks.

I am very hirsute but have been going swimming without any grooming whatsoever. Hairy legs and pubes. No one looks. If they do and they don’t like what they see then that’s a pity.

It’s taken years to accept my body. It’s not easy and I still feel ashamed but not enough to spend time faffing around with razors or wax.

I must have seen about fifteen thousand naked women on operating tables and in labour suites during my NHS career. I could never understand why so many of them removed their pubic hair - they always had spots, in grown hairs, etc and looked like the parson’s nose on a plucked chicken! I suppose opinions vary, but I think clean glossy hair is far more attractive, and normal for adult humans.

My bush never went away either. I realise older women don't count though.

I'll be pleased if young women can fight back against yet another attractiveness diktat.

I think social conventions around grooming are inevitable. But why have one that has such a poor result? I don't think being clean shaven would be so popular for men if most ended up with rashy faces that inch like crazy and end up with ingrown hairs. I don't think that's particularly a sexist thing, btw, more that because faces are right in front of us all the time, we can see if they look irritated. Whereas people don't have to look at their own, or others, nether regions most of the time. (I am aware of course that there are men who have to shave and it gives them trouble, but I think it's less common than trouble with removing pubes.)

Mine never went anywhere. I did try years ago as I felt the pressure but ended up with ingrown hairs etc and as I’ve been with dh for years, and he doesn’t seem bothered, I’ve just kept to a trim with scissors every now and then.
It just another reason I’m glad I’m not single.

I'm sure I read somewhere (probably on here!) that the female elite cyclists were advised to keep their bushes due to unfortunate chafing otherwise.

It bothers me that its always assumed that women, like myself, only shave because of 'pressure' or 'society'. I shave regularly even though nobody is going to be seeing it, because I feel cleaner and more comfortable that way. To me, the idea that women only do so because men expect it feeds into the belief that women can't make a decision for themselves.

Women don't only do it because men expect it. It's just a general trend. I've heard from plenty of women on MN talking about men wanting them to be de-bushed, but also more indirectly, things becainse a "fashion" and women will be influenced by other women to try it, or just because they've heard of it.

You probably wouldn't have been doing it 300 years ago because it "just felt cleaner" or whatever. Why not? Because it wouldn't have been a thing and wouldn't have occurred to you.

If having no hair down there is cleaner why aren't we all bald as well!

littlealexhorne I don't think women only do things because men expect them to. I think we all do a lot of stuff because other people in society expect us to. I wonder what made you think of doing it in the first place, if you are willing to share that, (you honestly do not need to).

I shaved my armpits and legs when younger and I am fairly sure I did that because it was social convention. But it is social convention for women to shave there and men not to, so it does have some elements in a societal 'rule' for one sex. If you see what I mean. Which I must have bought into. Though now, I do wonder why.

bald as well - on our heads I mean...

I shave everywhere.

I am dark haired and very hairy, legs, armpits, underneath, my arms. I shave armpits every day and have to shave legs/underneath every over day. Arms once a month or so.

I like feeling smooth and I also like to tan so it stops me being patchy or uneven but I think every woman should just do what they feel comfortable with.

DH couldn't care less if I had hairy legs or a bush!

I should also add that I use the Venus sensitive razor with the soap attached which gives the best smoothness with no cuts or ingrown hairs.

My Mum was appalled when it came up in conversation and I said I was completely bald down there! She said for hygiene reasons/infection control you should have hair and I agree to some extent but I've always used femfresh wash down there and I've never had a problem with infections of any kind so each to their own.

Mine never went anywhere.........in fact none of the women in my family shave. Other than trimming the bikini line for stragglers. We are very, dark and hairy tho. If full on bushes ever come back in we'll be well ahead of the trend.

If having no hair down there is cleaner why aren't we all bald as well!

TBH I think saying it feels cleaner isn't the same as saying it is cleaner.

I'll be pleased if young women can fight back against yet another attractiveness diktat.

Me too. Excellently put by Antibles. I think by the time we are older most of us are big and hairy enough to do whatever we like with our body hair and not have to think about it that much. It’s girls, teenagers and young adults without that confidence or that blessed absence of fucks to give that have this hard.

Obviously not only re pubes- but the general stress and cost and time and fuss and comparing and judgement and need for every personal inch of self to be well presented for partner approval or for self-acceptance. It’s always been there to an extent but it feels relentless now. (Thanks porn. Thanks social media and camera phones. Thanks late stage capitalism commodifying and monetising basically every fucking thing..)

I spent a short time recently with a few 11 year old girls and the whole social chat and activity was around taking good pictures of themselves for others (who were not present) and gossiping about who had commented what on pictures they’d posted. It was the normal teenage competitiveness and insecurity and testing things out but many, many, magnitudes greater. There was also this very wierd (to me) sense of not only living in the moment but also constantly performing for some unseen panel of judges.

I felt shit for them and can only hope that there will be increasing numbers of young women getting angry and sick of it all soon - hopefully the upside of social media will be that they will find each other quickly.

Sorry to ramble on in a thread about pubes

'TBH I think saying it feels cleaner isn't the same as saying it is cleaner.' I completely agree.

ChattyLion you are completely right. Your post is spot on.

If having no hair down there is cleaner why aren't we all bald as well!

In addition, if we all do what we like with our pubic hair and don't give a fuck about what others think, why do we cut our head hair at all?