The Leaves Fall But The Bush Remains

Okay. So. TMI: My pubes itch like HELL!

Winter is coming and that means my razor is no longer coming with me into the shower. Thus, it is the season of growing out what I shaved for last month’s shorts and swimsuits. My previously semi-bald poon has become this rashy monster with little needles bursting through its surface. I have found myself trying to find ways to secretly scratch at work, on the train and even during sex. 

WHYYYYY! WHY DID I DO IT???? Why do I force myself to take long, laborious showers, bending over backwards attempting to deforest my vulva and then suffer months of scratchy-vag?????

I’m not the only one who performs the vicious shaving cycle. Just over 85% of American women get rid of their pubes. Shaving between the legs isn’t just a fad. Italian Renaissance artists painted hairless female nudes and 2000s playboys ogled smooth women. A new study found that humans have evolved to being sexually attracted to hairlessness. Those who were hairless had a reduced risk of parasites and flies and therefore, a more desirable mate. 

But not once in my life have I shaved to advertise that my body is parasite-free. That concern is obsolete. My choice to continue the long trend of pubic shaving is rooted in misogyny for three MAJOR reasons. Let’s. Go. 

ONE: 

I have had countless discussions about my skin, diet and hair with my closest friends. However, when it comes to my vagina’s health, I’m usually embarrassed to talk. According to the Guardian, “66% of 18-24 year-olds are so shy of muttering those three syllables to their doctor that they are avoiding going to them altogether.” How are people expected to know how to take care of a vagina if we are taught it is something to be ashamed of? 

A lack of discussing vagina health has led to never-ending vaginal health myths; including shaving. A U.S. survey found that 59% of women who groom down there said they did so  because “they thought it would make their vagina ‘cleaner’ or ‘more hygenic.’” It’s actually the opposite: removal of pubic hair irritates and inflames left-over hair follicles, creating microscopic open wounds all over your beaver! To make matters worse, this irritation is then mixed with the warm genital environment creating a factory for bacterial pathogens (namely Group A Streptococcus, Staphylococcus Aureus and other scary long names). 

Fake vaginal health tips (such as douching) continue to reign due to the genital shame many vagina-owners have. A lack of open conversations in classrooms and doctors’ offices has caused susceptibility to false claims.

TWO:

Let’s go back to hairlessness being sexy due to a lack of parasites. Back then, both men and women were attracted to that trait. So, how come women are more likely to shave pubes? That’s rooted in science as well. Prehistoric men commonly chose their sexual mate and therefore women were more obligated to advertise their attractiveness. In this case, having a parasite-free body.

But, now we have the wheel and written language! We don’t have to continue that whole mating selection thing, right? Apparently not…

Many women were taught that hairlessness is sexy from porn. However, in mainstream porn, both men and women are fully waxed. The difference between porn-watching men and women, according to the Guardian, is that men “are not dedicating themselves to full deforestation, writing about it in major publications as though it’s a serious consideration, or putting pressure on other men to do it. Men are not as cowed, self-hating, obedient or biddable as women in this regard.”

Shaving down there has now become an act women perform for men. Most men aren’t going to make the effort to look good if it costs their own comfort. Female submissiveness has once again been labelled as sexy.

Most men play into women being pressured to conform to shaving expectations. 46% of men prefer when their partners go completely bare down there, 40% of men have asked their partners to alter their pubic hair and 30% of men reported that a partner’s pubic hair would make them reconsider the relationship. EW!

Therefore, shaving for the sake of attracting a man plays into the stereotype of men having the power to choose who they mate with, and women begging to be noticed. 

THREE:

Let’s face it, a fully shaved vagina resembles a prepubescent child. This adds a layer to the pressure women feel to always look younger. “It’s like we have been programmed for years to aspire to look younger,” writes Nicki Knickie of The Guardian, “Most of the anti-aging products and gadgets out there are aimed at women (and usually advertised by a teenager who very clearly doesn’t need to use the product) continuing to pedal the idea that youth is what makes us attractive and worthwhile.” 18-24 year-olds are most likely to shave their pubes, proving that even the young people aren’t young enough. Even Teen Vogue offers a guide on how to shave your pubic area. 

Where does this obsession over looking young come from? Danielle Pender at Refinery 29 argues that “the narratives women are repeatedly told about getting older are full of fear, loss and irrelevance and as a result we routinely internalize that one thing a woman should do is not age.”

These narratives could stem from the pressure to be submissive in order to be desirable. After all, what is more innocent than a child who hasn’t gone through puberty? Thus, the pressure to have a younger-looking vagina gives into the stereotype of men looking for an “unravished” woman.

Even though the pressure to shave is rooted in misogyny, that doesn’t mean people should be pressured not to shave. Many women feel more confident in their own skin (no pun intended) with their own pubic shaving designs. Landing strip, lightning bolt, smiley face...they are all somebody’s choice!

But, for me, I have decided to let my lil pocket be like Rapunzel and grow, grow, grow. And not just for the winter. 

My pubic hair has a purpose. It is a cushion against friction that protects me from injury and bacteria. It is a result of me becoming an adult and all of my angsty adolescent hormones. I grew this garden all on my own. I want to let it bloom.