See images here (warning multiple depictions of Genitalia):
The hair on our bodies have changed and evolved throughout time and throughout different cultures, there is a deep-rooted history of hair being directly linked with beauty. Pubic hair can often be seen as being an unclean nuisance rather than being part of the intricate system of our bodies. It protects from potentially harmful bacteria and removal can in fact cause more of a medical issue than simple trimming. Throughout history, there have been many trends dating as far back as 3000 BCE. Trends fluctuate constantly as we can see in Oscar Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Earnest even Cake can go out of fashion, “Cake is rarely seen at the best houses nowadays.” The focus here will be on how art has influenced how much pubic hair one should or shouldn’t have. Most of these trends have been defined by males in literature, art and of course, science. In western culture, the natural world (including ourselves) is rarely embraced. White Europeans especially, industrialise and colonise nature to fit our new standard. We change the environment to fit us where other animals and indigenous cultures evolve to their surroundings. This applies to pubic hair as well despite the type of hair (terminal hair) being the same as facial and armpit hair.
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The Oxford Companion to the body points to 1450 as the year the ‘malkin’ aka pubic wig derives, this suggests that pubic hair was deemed attractive and popular, so much so that men would write letters complaining about foreign women’s baldness. Women especially would remove their pubic hair for, what they believed, was personal hygiene and to avoid pubic lice and then don the Malkin for aesthetic purposes. Gwerful Machain’s Ode to Pubic Hair was one of the first poems to be published in celebration of a woman’s body by a woman in 1480 only a few decades after Malkin's invention. Although it was quickly swept aside and other male poets took the stage once again. The poem was written as a reaction to love poems written by men and she wanted to “commemorate and describe all the parts they missed out”, including, of course, pubic hair, “a girl’s thick grove, circle of precious greeting, // lovely bush, God save it”. She was one of the few female welsh medieval poets whose work on women’s appreciation survived. However, “A 1626 account suggests that a “bushiness of hair” creates a proliferation of vermin and filth” perhaps showing that not everyone loved the look or feel of pubic hair. Pubic hair became more trivialised when Shakespeare began to write and perform his comedy’s in the early 1600s,
“O thou dissembling cub, what wilt thou be // When time has sowed a grizzle on thy case?” (V.i.161-2).
Orsino, on the surface, means a beard on Cesario’s face, however “case” was also slang for Vagina. Shakespeare’s plays often have innuendo’s such as ‘die’ often having a double meaning of orgasm and ‘sheath’ a double meaning of vagina meaning that a lot of his jokes are at the expense of women or their sexuality. In King Lear, however, Shakespeare descriptions become almost fearful,
Down from the waist they are Centaurs,
Though women all above.
But to the girdle do the gods inherit.
Beneath is all the fiends’; there’s hell, there’s darkness,
There’s the sulphurous pit, burning, scalding,
Stench, consumption! Fie, fie, fie! Pah! pah!
Calling a vagina hell and comparing their orgasms with death. Often on stage, Cordelia is depicted with blonde hair, “the golden one” while Goneril and Regan have dark hair, this would mean that their pubic hair would be dark where Cordelia’s is more likely to meet the feminine ideal and be blonde and therefore pure. However, Shakespeare also wrote extensively praising things about pubic hair,
“Sweet bottom-grass and high delightful plain,
Round rising hillocks, brakes obscure and rough,”
This trend was then continued into works of art, men and women alike were painted with little to no pubic hair (fig.1) or with a cloth draped over them (fig. 2), so it could not be seen. This created the expectation of a ‘bare’ woman when one was courting or to be married. Men did not have the same expectation, truly because they governed all of society and that meant they chose for themselves and for women. From then on, women in Europe began to shave more fervently than ever. The Arts established societal expectations and science had very little to offer. Being mostly run by men at the time, women’s issues were not explored and were viewed as a ‘lesser’ man. Shakespeare, again, often described the vulva as “no thing” alluding to the lack of penis. The research of pubic hair although in existence was aimed at men. With women’s pubic hair being seen as a lack of nobility or beauty. Therefore as women removed hair and men did not, it became masculine to have bodily hair and that, unfortunately still prevails today. In the U.S however, shaving did not become prominent for women until the 1900s.
fig. 1 fig. 2
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Lord Byron was a known eccentric. He would not only write about women but also had relations with men and women alike. After Lady Caroline Lamb sent him her pubic hair it allegedly gave him the idea of keeping clumps of his lovers pubic hair in his publishing house. This could suggest that he had intercourse with many people who did not shave (i.e men, women who weren’t courting and those who were married) or that he manipulated those who didn’t have it into growing out their hair just for him to snip. This type of manipulation was common for Byron, not only in his work but also in his relationships and this is well documented. It was not uncommon for men to keep pubic hair in lockets, boxes or rings as a kind of keepsake. The first razor was invented by William Henson in 1847. In 1895, King Camp Gillette invented the double-edged razor. Although this was only initially targeted and advertised towards men’s facial hair. In Artworks, women were still being depicted as mostly hairless although this was now a reflection of real-life and less likely to be an artistic choice (Fig.3) Although, many women still did not shave as some men found it attractive to have the bushiest hair possible, there was almost no way to know which way a man would prefer. Men, when they were painted which was much less often, became hairier and less smooth than in the 15th and 16th Century (Fig 4).
Fig.4
Fig.3
Art was creating a stigma and an ideal that hairlessness suggests a goddess-like figure. Some women were being painted with full hair but these were ‘life drawings’ it was the depictions of goddesses being hairless that started the war on pubic hair. They also caught on to the idea that they could be more hygienic and less likely to have pubic lice if they cut or burnt their hair off, this is the only case in which it was practical and not only for beauty. At the same time, the beard became much more popular, where hair was beginning to show strength and power and hairlessness was representing youth and purity. In the mid to late 1800s photographs became more popular and it was no longer a choice of the artist to show or not show pubic hair. With photography came the first real image-based pornography and women were often photographed with a lot of pubic hair and this potentially made it attractive to men once again (fig 5). As photographs came into play more and more so did science. As more women attended lectures and gained honours they began to understand their own bodies and selves. Women were being strapped into corsets but they were also starting to understand their rights, the movement was just beginning.
Fig 5
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In 1915, Gilette created the first women’s razor and began to advertise to a before untapped demographic. The idea behind most of these ads was that sex sells. The ads targeted to women were about a dainty gift to “solve embarrassing personal problems''(fig.6). Those targeted at men featured women stroking their cheeks and admiring how smooth they were, “shave in the morning...face smooth in the evening”. As dressing became more revealing women became pressured to shave more of their body hair, they would often wear stockings to avoid having to shave every day. As World War 2 began, however, women began to shave their legs and arms as nylon became scarce but what of the pubic hair? Presumably, it was left alone for a short time as men went to war. As movies and TV began to feature women getting waxes and making jokes about those with pubic hair still intact. The true expectation of modern-day was then created by video pornography, with every woman on screen from the ’80s onward being completely bald and the first salon that offered a Brazilian wax opened in 1987. Although these created terrible stereotypes something else was brewing. The women’s movement was gaining more attention than ever. In 1971, Playboy released their magazine featuring women with obvious pubic hair. This, one would hope, was the start of something exciting. The hype quickly faded over the next thirty years with only some ‘radicals’ choosing not to shave. Throughout this time the LGBT+ community began to emerge on a more loved level and lesbians especially championed pubic hair. Although again this died down again as a study in 2020 said that,
“59 per cent of queer women said they were not willing to have sex with a partner who is ungroomed... they explained that they felt pressured to groom their pubic hair, far more so than men. Around 54 per cent trimmed, and 24 per cent had full or natural pubic hair.”
In the ’80s and ’90s, more women began to let their hair be natural while others were waxing weekly. There was a complete split. In the late ’90s and early 2000s, more literature came out in support of women’s sexual and social liberation. The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler made huge waves and covered multiple topics in an intimate, explicit fashion. Marina Abramovic and Carolee Schneemann also made a breakthrough with multiple pieces of performance art surrounding the vulva (fig.7)
Fig 6 Fig. 7
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Even in the last ten years, much has changed, waxing is still hugely popular and still celebrated among many groups. On the other hand, the rise of social media has allowed for multiple cultures and self-love movements to be enacted worldwide (fig 8). With newer shows like Big mouth and Sex Education, we are able to see the impacts of this history not only on those going through puberty but also on society as a whole,
“I don't know, but it looks like
they've got Chewbacca vag.
Yeah, if my labia looked like that,
I'd, uh, kill myself.
I feel sorry for whoever it is, you know.
You didn't look at it, did you?
For, like, a second, yeah.
Didn't know what it was.
Heh. It looked like a guinea pig
with a bit of ham on it.”
The arts have claimed a freedom and revolution style battle against pubic hair. With multiple artists being dedicated to the natural vulva and penis (fig.9). Some stereotypes are still made about pubic hair, alongside the idea that it should be governed when it is a choice. The razor market is on track to be worth 22.5 Billion dollars by 2030, reaching only 10.2 billion in 2018, with half of that growth being women’s razors. This suggests that although the rise in natural hair is becoming more accepted there is another monster in the closet. Social media influencers are a huge part of young people’s lives. Although we don’t see pubic hair we do see high rise bikinis and smooth legs (fig. 10). It is clear that hair is still seen as a masculine trait and that hairlessness is goddess-like and desired. Especially for women of colour, who often have more visible body hair on their chin, toes and or belly. Pubic hair is natural as you go through puberty and it feels odd that someone would want you to be hairless like you were before puberty. Something that could be addressed more is pubic hair maintenance, although it grows wiry it can be conditioned just like the hair on your head. This can make it more comfortable and more appealing if that was a concern.
fig . 8
fig. 9
fig 10
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Pubic hair has been a taboo subject until very recently, many women may not have known whether to shave their pubic hair or not. That is still the case today with young women and men struggling with two opposing sides. One to tell them it’s unseemly and ugly and the other that it’s liberating to grow it out, with both saying their method is more hygienic. Art and literature will always influence society in this way because although it is supposedly a reflection of society, it can also be what the author wishes society to be. Shaving is not an option for many people, perhaps they have a disability or they don’t have enough time or the means to continue to purchase razors. The question to ask oneself when shaving could be, what is the purpose? Some people shave to keep period blood from getting in their pubic hair, others shave for aesthetic purposes. It’s all about the ‘why’ and making sure you really want to do it and considering the health complications that go along with that.
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I write these pieces in the context of their time and my knowledge. My views and understanding of these topics will likely change and I embrace that. I will not make changes to these unless offensive language was used unintentionally. These pieces are a form of memory and part of my personal history. I want to recognise the mistakes I may have made in the past so that I can continue to learn. I upload it here not to force my views but just to have it somewhere. I acknowledge that sex and gender are complex, multifaceted issues that are subject to ongoing debate and discussion. You are welcome to your own views on these topics and I hope that you continue to look into these topics in your own space. I ask that you do not enquire to those within minority groups to ask for education. Use the tools at your disposal, the internet, books etc.
Thank you