Societys gradual rejection of pubic-hair

Society’s gradual rejection of pubic hair can be traced from the full-bearded era (pre-History through 1975) to the hairless late 1990s and the pre-recession 2000s. While no one can be sure who started the practice of female pubic hair removal (probably prostitutes), what is clear is that it was in full swing by the mid 1980s. At this point in history, women were wearing those weird bikinis that went all high over the hips. They were thus forced to have the hair on the sides of their ‘bikini zone’ removed, lest it peek out from their clothing. Additionally, pornography (both in magazines and especially on video) gained in popularity, and, due to increased vaginal visibility, trimming became more prominent.

By the late 1990s and early 2000s, as late night Cinemax (skinemax) and XXX video store rentals were replaced by the internet, pornography became both ubiquitous and entirely hairless. In this era, many men shaved not only their pubic hair, but also their chests and stomachs. Paradoxically, it should be noted, men’s mustaches were expanded into goatees, for reasons that can only be explained by people like Fred Durst and the late Ken Caminitti. As Britney Spears’ “Hit Me Baby One More Time” video brought school-girl fetishism to a high, high school boyfriends everywhere expected their girl’s swimsuit area to be completely bald. This generation, the dominant youth generation from 1999-2005, grew up with the assumption that all vaginas must be hairless, or else they would look totally gross.

The late 2000s recession made the act of shaving or waxing one’s vagina seem vain and childish. It was a sign that one’s priorities were in the wrong place. The prevailing train of thought was that people are if being laid-off, unemployment is high, and you still have money to pay for a wax, you are a bad person. While many of the Spears generation remained sans pubic hair (but with jobs), the younger generation was, arguably, the first generation in history to have more pubic hair than their predecessors. The end of the recession thus leaves us with a new generation who have an incredible amount of options. Seeking professional insight into the art of pubic maintenance in 2011, I spoke to Irina Gordon, owner of Dyanna Spa.

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