Thursday, June 29, 2017

Is the bush back? It's complicated

An interesting and fun documentary piece on CBC's Out in the Open explores the delicate subject of pubic hair and the age-old dilemma of "to shave or not to shave".
In recent years, the fashion trend has been for complete shaves, or Brazilians (why Brazilian, I have no idea). Any random sample of Internet porn - which is an important pubic hair fashion driver, like it or not - will still confirm that. But, more recently, some fashion commentators (notably The New York Times) have suggested, largely on the evidence of a few celebrities from what I can see, that the pendulum is now swinging back to a more natural, hairy look.
Well, interviews with aestheticians, doctors and students (some, at least) suggest that is not the case in the real world (or at least in Canada). Women still feel a distinct social pressure to shave, and many have convinced themselves that it "feels" cleaner and more hygienic (even if there is no real correlation between hairlessness and hygiene), and even somehow more feminine.
Not everyone waxes, of course, and older people and those who consider themselves strong feminists are more likely to sport a bush. Apparent there is something called the "full bush Brazilian", which is a full bush on top with a shaved "undercarriage", but, like the "landing strip" fashion which had its moment a few years ago, this seems to be very much a minority trend.
So, there you have it. The bush is back. Or not. It's complicated.

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