Most women shave their nether regions for hygiene; doctors facepalm

First nationally representative study reveals ladies’ grooming habits and motivations.

Read the whole story

 

[mrvco]

But seriously... I'd love to see this study correlated with the increase in popularity of labiaplasty in recent years. Keeping your nether regions neat and tidy (trimming is not the same as shaving, did they differentiate in the survey?) is great news when discovered, but willingly reducing your junk? I don't see this catching on with the male population... except maybe by the SJW / LCD crowd.

 

[unwesen]

"shear act"?

/me groans

 

[Max(IT)]

Wow am I really reading this on Ars Technica? Lol....


Btw I like it !

 

[bluevaping]

As a guy I don't all the whys in that department. Thanks for throwing in some science and statics to what is popular today with women's hygiene. The more you know...

 

[Mikuz]

Ostracus[/url]":v82nzpmz]

(On the other hand, a clean shave may help prevent pubic lice.)

Ladies. Don't share your underwear.

Also this study would be more interesting if it studied various cultures across the globe.

I wish ladies sharing underwear was actually a problem.

 

[marf]

Could be worse ladies, your parents could cut off your flappy hoody parts when you're a baby in the name of hygiene because they don't trust you to wash yourself properly as grown ass woman.

And on that note

mrvco[/url]":21hg3n31]But seriously... I'd love to see this study correlated with the increase in popularity of labiaplasty in recent years. Keeping your nether regions neat and tidy (trimming is not the same as shaving, did they differentiate in the survey?) is great news when discovered, but willingly reducing your junk? I don't see this catching on with the male population... except maybe by the SJW / LCD crowd.

Most american men have already had their junk reduced, just not willingly in the vast majority of cases... rates are reducing though, but I take your point that most gentlemen who have their original equipment would not opt for being de-hooded.

 

[Nostromo21]

lewax00[/url]":34ovggdh]

What about male grooming? Does that follow similar lines or is it simply in hopes of appearing longer?

Well I dated a girl who would only perform a certain act if I did, so there's that motivation too...

So it was a Crying Game type scenario then...?

 

[Deleted member 192806]

soulsabr[/url]":1027a7yw]

Corporate Serf[/url]":1027a7yw]I am the adventurous kind of man who does not fear braving the southern jungles.

A fool? A madman? Who is to say ...

Pft, I've yet to hear of a guy running regardless of the state of the southern border.

There's a reason the eyes are on the opposite end from one's junk.

 

[GreyAreaUK]

Providing her nether follicles don't have Viking braids that reach her knees then I'm generally ok.

And even then I'd be curious.

 

[infected]

BloodNinja[/url]":gft2x45s]The collection of euphemisms in this article is sensational.

"Southern hairstyles" is the clear winner imo.

 

[infected]

Doc Spector[/url]":2vyoygii]

Shavano[/url]":2vyoygii]

guntherv[/url]":2vyoygii]Well, I do appreciate some "housekeeping" done by my GF , the 70's bush style is simply not my "taste"..

And she appreciates the fact that I show her that I appreciate it.

An unshaved pubic area is no more a style than not plucking your eyebrows. And it's not a "70's" thing. It's all times prior to that and in virtually every place women have existed.

Here's a hint: Anyone who talks about "70s bush" is talking about porn (80's bush and 90's bush are both about George, Sr.)

And if you can see a fair amount of people facepalming quietly, they're probably talking about Bush jnr.

 

[jnk1000]

TheSmartGuy[/url]":2cj4uq3a]I might be wrong, but "southern hairstyle" seems to mean something else. I googled for it, and couldn't find any hits for just that meaning in both text and image search. And I do have the safe search option disabled.

Just go with it.

From now until the day I die, "Southern Hairstyle" means exactly what it means in this article. We have Beth to thank.

 

[Grashnak]

perrosdelaguerra[/url]":3ju8g2vy]I lost it at "southern hairstyles."

I'm not sure what mullets have to do with any of this.

 

[Rosyna]

CraigJ[/url]":a9s2msxm]Well, sure. No one wants to see Craig's mom's bush on the internets!

I'll admit to a polite interest.

 

[Carewolf]

perrosdelaguerra[/url]":1ban11n4]I lost it at "southern hairstyles."

I guess some men find it pleasent to gaze upon a well-groomed "southern belle".

 

[Borgmeister]

Best article on Ars. Ever.

 

[giantbee]

Boskone[/url]":56gkx5mq]

I just add a dose of something with talc for hiking. It's also nice on your feet (reduce hot spots) and under your pack straps/belt (reduce chafing). Then on multiday hikes you don't have to worry about 5 o'clock shadow around your sundial, which I can only imagine being terribly unpleasant.

For biking I use a mix of talc for most bits, and chamois butt'r for my butt and groin.

"Based on limited evidence from human studies of a link to ovarian cancer, IARC classifies the perineal (genital) use of talc-based body powder as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”"

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercaus ... and-cancer

 

[symphony3]

I read "reasons of personal hygiene" and immediately thought it wasn't much of a stretch to categorize it that way. After all, if a person goes somewhere to enjoy a delicious dessert and gets a hair in their mouth, the Health Dept would lecture the chef about their personal hygiene.

 

[undulat]

My experience is that ladies shave 'because it makes me feel better'. So more of a general feeling and I'm sceptical of the precise 'hygiene' reason given - it smacks of after-the-fact rationalisation and giving the "correct" answer to a survey question.
Me I like that my gf is shaved and I like to be pretty smooth too. In fact I shaved my gf just yesterday, it's a nice thing to do with your so.

 

[AcesNEights]

SiberX[/url]":6b92p8at]

Moreover, the shear act of grooming can pose some health risks.

Not sure if typo or amazing pun

Nah. The only reason a person adds unnecessary words to a sentence is to make themselves appear more authoritative.

 

[AcesNEights]

Interesting.. "Bacteria and yeast love a moist and warm environment," says Doerthe Brueggmann, M.D. .. Hair serves to insulate so it would seem logical to assume that shedding the coat would reduce bacteria and yeast.

Not only that but who likes to come back from a trip downtown with a mouth full of pubes?

 

[Chaedog]

My wife doesn't like to shave down there, but she doesn't want it to be a jungle either because she thinks its unattractive. So usually once a month I'll shave down there for her. I won't completely get rid of it all, just take off the top layer really quick.

As for me I usually shave down there every 3 months or so. I'm a chef and it gets hot in the kitchen and it especially gets hot around crotch level so I feel as though I hardly chaff at all if I'm shaved where as if I has teh bush it gets sweaty very quickly down there. I did completely remove all my hair once when I was bored, man did that look weird...

 

[Rosyna]

giantbee[/url]":74lr7hvf]

Boskone[/url]":74lr7hvf]

I just add a dose of something with talc for hiking. It's also nice on your feet (reduce hot spots) and under your pack straps/belt (reduce chafing). Then on multiday hikes you don't have to worry about 5 o'clock shadow around your sundial, which I can only imagine being terribly unpleasant.

For biking I use a mix of talc for most bits, and chamois butt'r for my butt and groin.

"Based on limited evidence from human studies of a link to ovarian cancer, IARC classifies the perineal (genital) use of talc-based body powder as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”"

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercaus ... and-cancer

Yes, but the IARC also classifies cell phone radiation as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" despite the fact it would violate the laws of physics. So take things in that category with a grain of salt (WHO classifies things as if correlation implies causation, even if there is no hypothetical causal mechanism)

 

[ED(I)]

Pubic hair is a feature, not a bug in women. Aestheticallly I do prefer the East Asian bush rather the Western forest, but either is better than grasslands and desert. Western Barbie Porn is gross and women should be fighting that hideous ideal stemming from lice infested whoremongers rather than embracing it.

 

[foljs]

Boskone[/url]":1t45i1u2]
I just add a dose of something with talc for hiking. It's also nice on your feet (reduce hot spots) and under your pack straps/belt (reduce chafing). Then on multiday hikes you don't have to worry about 5 o'clock shadow around your sundial, which I can only imagine being terribly unpleasant.

For biking I use a mix of talc for most bits, and chamois butt'r for my butt and groin.

Hmmm, there's this cancer thing:

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercaus ... and-cancer

 

[Starway]

FF22[/url]":21yvnfjz]First rule of women: when it comes to _anything_ related to sex, they never say the truth. So, if this survey is based on self-reporting, then it's pretty much useless. Women do not shave their private parts for what they say they're shaving it.

This is not limited to women surveyed about grooming. People surveyed for anything tend to tell the survey taker what they think the taker wants to hear, or they reply with the ideal answer they wish they could have but don't.

So everybody surveyed ends up eating far less McDonalds than they actually do, making more money than they actually do (well OF COURSE I am worth twice what I actually make, so I will put down that answer), and they claim to walk more and exercise more and watch less TV than they actually do, and they claim to groom more than they really do.

Surveys are supposed to compensate for this bias but I've seen plenty where the results are still so out of whack with observable results that it is clear the surveyed people are not being accurate.

 

[vaporland]

when I first saw the headline on Google News, I thought some new fetish called "public grooming" was sweeping the nation...

 

[bittybee]

I had surgery for skin cancer on my mons pubis about 8 years ago. Since then, I get a full wax every month as a way to better monitor the skin in that area for signs of new skin growths. I've only had one mole begin to form in the intervening years, which I promptly went to the OB/GYN to have removed as a precaution.

And no, before anyone asks, that part of my skin never saw daylight. My skin is white with pink undertones, so as a general rule I stay out of the sun. The cancers were flat, black spots that grew very rapidly; one the size of a dime and the other a quarter at the time of the surgery. I jokingly referred to it as my Frankentwat afterward, but the appearance and pain were brutal. Now that region has a slight rolling hillside appearance and an obvious, paler-than-pale scar, but I wear it like a badge of honor.

 

[NinjaNerd56]

samred[/url]":37vrxob0]

teknik[/url]":37vrxob0]What about male grooming? Does that follow similar lines or is it simply in hopes of appearing longer?

We at Ars look forward to your heavily researched answer to your own question.

Cutting to the chase, it's known as the porn star maneuver.

Men thinking "Hygiene!" = 0 percent

Men thinking "Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close up" = 100 percent

 

[vaporland]

symphony3[/url]":2pce5cef]I read "reasons of personal hygiene" and immediately thought it wasn't much of a stretch to categorize it that way. After all, if a person goes somewhere to enjoy a delicious dessert and gets a hair in their mouth, the Health Dept would lecture the chef about their personal hygiene.

what is the sound of a public hair hitting the floor.....?

"pfffffth!"

 

[NinjaNerd56]

bittybee[/url]":13wf9k5e]I had surgery for skin cancer on my mons pubis about 8 years ago. Since then, I get a full wax every month as a way to better monitor the skin in that area for signs of new skin growths. I've only had one mole begin to form in the intervening years, which I promptly went to the OB/GYN to have removed as a precaution.

And no, before anyone asks, that part of my skin never saw daylight. My skin is white with pink undertones, so as a general rule I stay out of the sun. The cancers were flat, black spots that grew very rapidly; one the size of a dime and the other a quarter at the time of the surgery. I jokingly referred to it as my Frankentwat afterward, but the appearance and pain were brutal. Now that region has a slight rolling hillside appearance and an obvious, paler-than-pale scar, but I wear it like a badge of honor.

Your last sentence made a naked Julie Andrews singing "The Sound Of Music" pop into my head...

 

[NinjaNerd56]

AcesNEights[/url]":1jb1mbe6]Interesting.. "Bacteria and yeast love a moist and warm environment," says Doerthe Brueggmann, M.D. .. Hair serves to insulate so it would seem logical to assume that shedding the coat would reduce bacteria and yeast.

Not only that but who likes to come back from a trip downtown with a mouth full of pubes?

Well the reason pubic hair is curly is so it won't poke you in the eye.

In the future, we will evolve so it tastes yummy.

 

[syntaks]

teknik[/url]":1ab569m2]What about male grooming? Does that follow similar lines or is it simply in hopes of appearing longer?

I heard Adam Carolla once say, "The penis begins where the pubic hair ends."

Always found it quite amusing since it's kind of true!

 

[ampet]

My ex girlfriend used to shave pits and body but never her groin, exactly for "hygiene reasons". In this regard she got things right, I suppose. She used to trim it, but never shave. She was completely against the idea. On the other hand, one of my former sex partners regularly shaved everything right away. Not exactly a fan of the look. Grown women have pubic hair. Little girls don't. I find it somewhat gross without anything at all. Besides, oral sex a few days after the shave is a bit like licking sandpaper. (Enough with the euphemisms already). She has since stopped, these days she finds it gross too.

Anyway, I'm always a bit wary of the results of these studies. How honestly do people respond? Sex is still a somewhat "shameful" subject, or at least something to keep private. If true, though, this is just a relatively harmless manifestation of a wider phenomenon regarding health myths. For example, there's this trend of keeping the placenta connected to the newborn (not severing the umbilical cord, basically) because the placenta is supposed to provide "essential nutrients" to the infant. Apart from being patently false, it's gross, it's disgusting but most of all it's really dangerous.

 

[GenocideOwl]

Ostracus[/url]":2cr2lp1l]

(On the other hand, a clean shave may help prevent pubic lice.)

Ladies. Don't share your underwear.

Also this study would be more interesting if it studied various cultures across the globe.

I always found it interesting that in Brazil it is semi-popular to bleach leg hair instead of shaving it.

 

[GenocideOwl]

bittybee[/url]":58uwhdsh]I had surgery for skin cancer on my mons pubis about 8 years ago. Since then, I get a full wax every month as a way to better monitor the skin in that area for signs of new skin growths. I've only had one mole begin to form in the intervening years, which I promptly went to the OB/GYN to have removed as a precaution.

And no, before anyone asks, that part of my skin never saw daylight. My skin is white with pink undertones, so as a general rule I stay out of the sun. The cancers were flat, black spots that grew very rapidly; one the size of a dime and the other a quarter at the time of the surgery. I jokingly referred to it as my Frankentwat afterward, but the appearance and pain were brutal. Now that region has a slight rolling hillside appearance and an obvious, paler-than-pale scar, but I wear it like a badge of honor.

if you are that on top of keeping the area super hair free, why not just go get laser hair removal and never worry about it again?

 

[sapphir8]

I prefer a well-groomed bush on my wife. Bald isn't for me. No 70's shit. I shouldn't have to use it as floss.

 

[dtabb]

My wife is 60 and has white/gray/red hair on her head, but down there it's still pure red. I'm not sure why that is, but I'd hate to see it go away.

 

[Boskone]

GenocideOwl[/url]":r70dok3l]

bittybee[/url]":r70dok3l]I had surgery for skin cancer on my mons pubis about 8 years ago. Since then, I get a full wax every month as a way to better monitor the skin in that area for signs of new skin growths. I've only had one mole begin to form in the intervening years, which I promptly went to the OB/GYN to have removed as a precaution.

And no, before anyone asks, that part of my skin never saw daylight. My skin is white with pink undertones, so as a general rule I stay out of the sun. The cancers were flat, black spots that grew very rapidly; one the size of a dime and the other a quarter at the time of the surgery. I jokingly referred to it as my Frankentwat afterward, but the appearance and pain were brutal. Now that region has a slight rolling hillside appearance and an obvious, paler-than-pale scar, but I wear it like a badge of honor.

if you are that on top of keeping the area super hair free, why not just go get laser hair removal and never worry about it again?

Anecdotally, laser hair removal doesn't work. A couple guys at work tried it, and for their investment now have to shave more often because all it did was make their beard patchy.