Wax On/Wax Off: Sexual Health, Body Image, & A Few Words in Defense of Pubes

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A SYTYCB entry

Recently, Dr. Emily Gibson, family physician and Medical Director of Western Washington University’s Student Health Center, become an advocate for women’s pubic hair and I am here to lend my support to the cause. I have long been a supporter of pubic hair for a number of reasons, none of which are the medical reasons noted by Dr. Gibson. In her article published on KevinMD.com, she argues that removal of pubic hair increases the risk of STDs and infection.

A lot of women shave, wax, or do whatever else to their pubes to feel sexier or because they like smooth texture. I am okay with people trying to feel sexy, but I still support a woman’s right to pubes and here are a few reasons why:

1. Don’t ever let anyone tell you your vagina is ugly (Sorry Katie Roiphe, I said vagina again)

 If you do feel the need to remove your pubes, just stop for a moment and ask yourself why. Is it because once upon a time somebody told you they were ugly? Well that person was a jerk. There are too many products and “services” out there today that are designed to make women feel unnecessarily self-conscious about their perfectly healthy lady-parts. There are products like scented wipes and douches to make you smell like you sprouted flowers down there. And then there is Labiaplasty to make the exterior look more “attractive.” YOUR VAGINA IS FINE. IT DOESN’T NEED ALL THAT. The lasers and waxes designed to rip hair out of your pubic region are doing the same thing. They claim to make feel more confident and sexier, but what they are really telling you is that your vagina is ugly and it needs to be fixed.

So let me say right now, a hairy vagina is not ugly. It is supposed to look that way.

2. Ouch! The battle against pubes is too much work. It’s too much money. And it hurts too much to make a regular habit of it. That area contains some of the most sensitive skin on your body, and it doesn’t need to go through extreme pain to get the pleasure it deserves.

3. The hair will always win. No matter how often you shave, wax, or get it zapped off, it always grows back. It is a Sisyphean effort. You will never be rid of it, so just give in and learn to embrace your curly little friends.

4. They come with your boobs. Boobs and pubes are a package deal. They are both a sign of maturation and womanhood. Why embrace one and reject the other? I don’t want my vagina to resemble that of a prepubescent girl, I am a woman goddamnit!

5. It creates unhealthy ideas about what is sexy. This is tied to the one above, but addresses the serious implications of portraying a trait that is characteristic of sexually immature girls as sexy. As a culture, we should not be sexualizing traits of young girls. It is unhealthy and creates dangerous expectations for men and women and boys and girls alike. Why don’t we start portraying maturity (and all the hair that goes with it) as sexy instead?

6. Do you remember that scene from Wayne’s World 2? The one where Garth finally got pubes? He was proud to have finally achieved an adult right of passage. Garth is a great reminder that we grow up, and we grow into our bodies, and we should embrace the changes that come.

These are my reasons. I’m sure everybody has their own for maintaining their bodies the way that they do. And I am not completely against maintenance. If you have a bathing suit that you love but that is a bit revealing feel free to trim up the sides. There is still a lot of flesh/hair that the fabric covers up thus rendering shaving unnecessary.

Most importantly, it is important that women ask themselves before they wax or shave: Am I doing this for me or and I doing it for somebody else? If you go through this ordeal on a regular basis to please/impress others and not yourself, you might want to reconsider.

Here now, bringing the debate to life are the great Taiwanese animators at NMAtv. Enjoy.

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