Spring is here which means summer is approaching, the season of bikinis and the activity we all know and love: hair removal. Specifically, pubic hair removal. How much hair a person chooses to have on their body is a choice entirely up to them to make and is a choice completely valid despite what the societal norms say. In recent years, female celebrities like Lady Gaga, Amber Rose, Ashley Graham, and Cameron Diaz have announced their support for sporting pubic hair. Janelle Monáe’s recent ‘PYNK’ music video shows her rocking a full bush. It seems like the bush is back, or that pubic hair has become less of a taboo due to cultural changes and new waves of feminism in recent years. Having a hairless body, especially for women, isn’t the norm anymore. So, what are the benefits of ditching the razor and wax for a month or so?
1. The Hair is There for a Reason
Pubic hair acts as a barrier to infections and diseases from entering the body, and shaving regularly can lead to damage and skin irritation. “It [may act] as a gatekeeper for preventing dirt from entering the vagina,” says Sherry Ross, M.D., an ob/gyn at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, in an interview with Self.com. Pubic hair might also serve as a cushion to protect against friction from sex or other forms of exercise, or even keeping those parts covering it warm. Men and women who groom their pubic hair have higher rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) according to a 2016 study published online from the Sexually Transmitted Infections Journal. The study found that people who shaved, waxed, trimmed or plucked their pubic hair frequently were found to be twice as likely to have skin-related STIs like herpes and 70% more likely to have secretory STIs like Chlamydia that spread through bodily fluids. The only benefit of shaving your pubic hair is decreasing the chance of contracting pubic lice.
2. More Hair, More Money
We already spend tons of money on menstrual products, razors, shampoo, and makeup every month– a bikini wax adds another $30-$35 on to that bill, and possibly $55 or more for a full Brazilian. Mia Russo, a twenty-year-old college student at the Fashion Institute of Technology and former avid groomer said one of the reasons she has started to let her pubic hair grow is to save money. “Waxing costs a lot of money, it’s expensive as hell,” said Russo. “Recently I was planning on getting a wax, but then I thought you know what, I enjoy my hair as it is now, and I could use the money for something else,” she added. Say you are a committed waxer, and you might get a wax every six weeks. That’s nine times out of the year, and you could end up spending about $315 a year on bikini waxes, or about $500 on Brazilians.
3. No More Hassle
Ingrown hairs, bumps, rashes, infections, irritability are all side effects of shaving pubic hair. In a 2014 study from the American Journal of Obstetricians and Gynecology, researchers studied the complications related to pubic hair removal. Of the 44 women who reported that they used to shave, but were not currently or had stopped, 41% cited that they disliked the side effects of shaving: stubble, bumps, rashes, or ingrown hairs. 25% cited shaving and waxing had become too much hassle. A bush is not only cost-effective but time effective.
4. Because It’s Ultimately Your Choice.
The media, specifically pornography, has reinforced the idea that a desirable woman is one with a hairless vagina. It is an idea most girls who have grown up in the last two decades, have been instilled with. “I started shaving in the 7th grade,” said Russo. “I started shaving because I had a boyfriend– it was because of a male, and I thought I had to impress him.” However, shaving or not shaving can both be acts of feminism, says. Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Ph.D. and Associate Professor of History at the New School. “Feminism has become so multifaceted that one can interpret the popularity of pubic hair removal as a feminist victory or just the opposite.” On one hand, not shaving can be seen as a rejection of patriarchal expectations around women’s self-presentation, particularly given some evidence that porn, usually considered to be a genre focused on male pleasure, has inspired this shift. On the other hand, the era of the 1990s, when Brazilian waxing really went mainstream, also coincided with the rise of a new chapter of sex-positive, sometimes consumerist, feminism. Women unapologetically spending money on the pursuit of sexual pleasure was framed as empowering. “Like makeup, hair removal can be, and absolutely is, both a requirement of ladyhood that props up sexist assumptions and systems, and a tool of self-expression that women use to challenge them,” says Petrzela.
Everyone has a different preference for how they want it to look down there, and every which way is completely fine. The first step into any type of grooming is to put your comfort first and to keep your body safe and healthy. At the end of the day, it’s your body– not your partner’s, not your friend’s, and not society’s.