Warning: R-rated rant

I apologise in advance if the following diatribe about female body hair offends you and suggest that you skip reading my blog today if you are not interested in hearing my views on Brazilian waxing.

With regard to depillation, although I don't live in a glass house I certainly have some extremely large picture windows that make me feel very vulnerable in throwing stones at pubic waxing. I pluck my eyebrows, remove stray hairs on my chin and neck and shave my legs (reasonably) regularly. I also tidy up my bikini line when socially necessary (that is, before going to the beach or a public swimming pool). Some would claim that I am almost all the way along the line that eventually leads to a Brazillian; nevertheless, I take up my stones and begin pitching.

The reason I want to draw a line in the sand (or should I say, wax a line in the pubic hair) and question the idea of a Brazilian wax is that it seems to me that the primary purpose and result of the process is to make a woman look more like a little girl. This horrifies me, with its overtones of infantilisation and undertones of pedophilia. It horrifies me that so many women are prepared to go down this path without thinking about the messages they are sending to their lovers, friends and daughters.

Some of the reasons I have heard women give for having a Brazilian are that "it's cleaner" and "it increases the pleasurable sensations for me and my lover". To both of these excuses I reply: B*%!.S#!*. If you really thought being hairless was next to godliness, you'd shave your head as well. And I fail to see how hair inhibits sensation: in fact, if you ask me, there's more sensation to be felt with hair -- the stirring of the strands by your lover's breath, for instance.

Probably the most disturbing thing about the rise in popularity and acceptance of the Brazilian is that it is becoming the norm. Those starving size 8 darlings in fashion mags seem to have no body hair at all (of course, Photoshop has a lot to answer for here too). And take a look at pornography, if you dare: women with pubic hair is now a "fetish" category along with B&D, nuns, schoolgirls and MILFs. In other words, there is a false perception being created in society that women will be hairless, everywhere, placing yet another demand on women to make their bodies conform to an unnatural ideal.

There is some hope. One friend of mine had a Brazilian as a reaction to the discovery of grey pubic hairs; when she showed her husband the result, his response was, "What did you do that for?" Gotta love a man who's not afraid to love a woman -- a real, hairy woman.

For myself (and the Fun Policeman), I'm proudly maintaining my lush undergrowth.

Hat tip to the Daily Troll and Fluffy Dollars.