Waxing, shaving, grooming. The topic of body hair seems to dominate in the winter months with various shaving abstinence attempts (i.e. No Shave November). Admittedly, I get a little lazier, too! However, the maintenance of pubic hair seems to be making its way into headlines, and it makes me wonder if this is a year of, er, regrowth?
Earlier in 2014, Cameron Diaz began promoting her new book, The Body Book: The Law of Hunger, the Science of Strength and Other Ways to Love Your Amazing Body, which includes a section on pubic hair. This section questions women’s choice to permanently remove hair from their private parts through laser treatments. A few weeks later, American Apparel’s New York store featured mannequins who were less than manicured in their window displays. Is this a classic American Apparel shock tactic, or does this a display reflect the rising resistance against a trend of misrepresentation stemming from the porn industry?
Media leads consumers to believe that hair is imperfect, and furthermore that our obsession with perfection should include that of a women’s privates. Each year, as summer grows closer, ads for waxes and laser treatments circulate radio, magazines and television, and it is shocking to see these parts in their natural state. The taboo nature was aptly demonstrated by the American Apparel stunt, as well as, in Honi Soit, the University of Sydney’s student newspaper, when it ran a story attempting to address the distorted media representations of vaginas, which was quickly censored as obscene material.
On the flip side, one of the leading “spam” e-mail culprits are advertisements for erectile dysfunction and products that claim to enhance or enlarge the male genitalia. However, these ads are not seen as obscene and continue to reinforce the cultural acceptance of the presence of the penis whereas a woman’s vulva is waxed and photoshopped in an asexual manner similar to those on a Barbie.
The point here is that each women is different, and her parts are perfect untouched. Am I against grooming? Absolutely not, however I think it is important to consider that the most important thing is comfort and choice! It is not necessary to wax every few weeks or shave every few days, and it is important to realize that there is no ideal that any girl or woman should feel she needs to conform to.
Cover, Diaz, Wax, american apparel, Wink