Lately my friends and I have noticed a spike in one male grooming trend -- guys shaving or trimming their down-there hair almost all the way off.I'm all for keeping the manscape neat and tidy, but why the boy-Brazilians? Guys will say that it's just being polite to the "lady." What? Try taking a shower! That will get rid of all the loose hair if you're so concerned about burdening your "lady."
Others may depilate under the porn-fueled delusion that it makes their bathing-suit-area parts look bigger. But for most women, getting intimate with a bare front-bottom is an experience that's more "sex offender" than "porn star."
Nothing turns me off more than to get into a man's pants and find that he trims or shaves. I personally like 'em au natural. I had a boyfriend for a few years who liked to trim his very short. It kind of matched his goatee, come to think about it. It took me at least a year to get used to it. It's just not masculine to me.
My Twitter friends don't agree. @Colberobsessed said, "I despise hair, I'm all for trimming the hedges." And @DanielStessen said, "I don't think you can go wrong once you're there ... I certainly fancy the trim myself." And I think all of my gay friends agree that an unkempt garden is gross to them.
But for some reason, it creeps me out. Facebook friends seemed to agree with me. Kara said, "Shaving is odd, I agree feminine ... and makes thing kind of rough ... word of advice from a man whom I know did such a thing ... never use Nair!"
Philips (creator of this suggestive campaign) has a site devoted to the Bodygroom Manalogues, where you can watch comedian Bryan Callen perform various pieces written by men who like to ruminate on the topic of "trim and tidy."
Tell us! What do you think of guys who shave down there? Does it improve things for you? For him?
CJ Arabia is a frequent contributor to Lemondrop.
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Wednesday 21 January
By jackie bitters
i had a personal trainer that shaved his arm hair off.
however, he wasn't too neat about it and one day when i had to use his arms during an exercise, i got stabbed by the stubble.
after i made some kind of lude comment, he made sure to keep his arms clean shaven.
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Wednesday 21 January
By Troy
I had a neighbor once whose yard was overgrown with ivy, harboring rats, spiders and vermin of every stripe.
Another had a gravel yard without a blade of grass that looked positively awful.
I tend to meet in the middle on their landscaping philosophies. And that's all THIS gentleman has to say about that.
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Wednesday 21 January
By Buns and Chou Chou
It's gay...not that there's anything wrong with that.
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Wednesday 21 January
By Mita
I am soo glad that someone has finally "shed" light on this strange habit. The first and only time that I was a mower guy, I have to say I didnt even know what to say. Um thats nice? He was a baseball player, or at least trying to be. Anyway not only would he shave all his area, but on a occasion and he would actually shave it in shapes? triangles, circle-ish,rectangle. It started to creep me out. And after being with him for a few years I tried to make seem like it was no big deal. But in the end and I mean the bitter end.. I told him its not a bush dude, and its not attractive and I question what the fuck your really do it for. eww I vote for natural/maybe a little trim... but I draw the line at shapes!
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Wednesday 21 January
By Colin
CJ, though you do touch on a few good points, eg, the 'porn star mentality' with making 'that certain part of the male anatomy' (to quote late night infomercials), which I guess works for those who ahem...need that reassurance... and yes, Mita, shapes are strange, there is definitely a certain need of maintenance, the 'manscaping' to nothing, that must be a straight thing. Gays love their hair, but do require or expect a certain amount of consideration (this does not include the bear community, which as the name implies, do not own razors). After all, the amount of time spent in that region for a gay man's partner...extending him the courtesy of removing potentially choking hairballs can do all but ruin a perfectly romantic oral moment. And who wants that?
Signed,
Hairy, yes, but carefully controlled
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Wednesday 21 January
By lswannygrl
I think there should still be hair, but I don't want to have to search through the hair to find what I'm after either....if you know what I mean!:) There's gotta be some manscaping but not too much!
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Thursday 22 January
By Mita
I agree with Lisa too. you shouldnt have to go thru a jungle to get to the prize either. but i do like the happy trail its a nice yellow brick road to see the wizard..ahem.. if **** city!
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Monday 26 January
By Turtle
As a guy i feel that it is important to maintain your area, but too much IS too creepy, and not enough is just gross. I think with some maintenance and a bit of patience all can be fine, not only that ask your partner what they prefer. It really isn't that hard.
T.
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Thursday 22 January
By Tim
As a gay guy, I think trimming/shaving/waxing is disgusting. I'm a guy. I happen to be attracted to MEN. Not men who want to be girls. Bleagh. The furrier the better. Mmmm. Furrry.....
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Friday 23 January
By caraJ
I am glad you put this out there. It it NOT COOL FOR GUYS shave down there. It feels about as good as rubbing your genitals on a bed of nails.
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Friday 13 February
By temp.secretary
seriously, who would ever want that disgusting hair in their mouth while performing oral sex on their partner (girl or guy). just that reason alone is justification enough. i mean its not even nice looking/feeling hair. i get annoyed when the hair from my girl friends head gets in my mouth while making out, and it even smells like flowers. do you really want to be pulling that gross pubic hair out of your mouth? have you ever seen the way pubic hair looks when its sitting on the rim of a toilet bowl or urinal? it's repulsive. i feel the same way about it when its still attached to the person as well. do people sit there and run their fingers through pubic hair and enjoy it? just like you would the hair on their head? would you be into that? do they shampoo or condition? that hair sits there all day and collects the gross sweat from down under. ALL day. so men shaving things if feminine? why? let people do whatever they want. should i just let my facial hair just grow out infinitely? would shaving it be too girly? i might be considered prissy if i keep up with regular haircuts as well. i should just be a man, and let that shit grow out to its fullest, most masculine potential. might as well. i've got something to prove after all. and btw. as for the ladies... you shave everything. legs, arm pits, maybe that little bit of a stache you got goin on, sometimes even your arms. clearly women hate hair on themselves. so you're in the shower and you start shaving your legs from the ankle up. what goes through your head when you get to the top? "you know what, i think i'm just going to have a hairy vagina!" i mean you take off everything else, and then stop there. have you ever seen pubic hair hanging out the side of a bikini at the beach? i'm not even going to go any further.
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Friday 13 February
By CJ
I'm sorry, you didn't win me over but you did crack me up. Hilarious. Best comment so far.
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Tuesday 24 February
By Felicia
Haha, this is by far the most outrageous conversation! but I agree with temp. secretary...pubic hair is nasty, nobody wants that in their mouth. But if a guy shaves it completely, its really uncomfortable for a girl...i had a boyfriend who shaved his area, and the friction from the rubbing left me red and swollen.
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Thursday 26 February
By groomed
Funny -- I guess this topic should have tangentially covered chest grooming as well, as that is a relatively similar topic and extremely common these days. Anyway, I was originally of the "men should be (hairy) men" philosophy, until I started repeatedly hearing about "male grooming" -- as in, for straight guys ( I really don't know what the others are into). So I tried it out, a little at first and increasing over time -- eventually, working my way to being smooth "below" and about a 1/2 inch above. To each their own regarding the appearance aspect. Also, trimming seems to soften the courseness, and you can always rub a little shampoo or conditioner there if you desire. I have to say, my wife really prefers it now (no, she's not a porn star) and my personal sensitivity in the entire area is significantly increased. Because of that, and so long as guys (as with women) don't allow it to get to that stubbly and scratchy in-between length, then I think it's definitely the way to go: smooth balls and shaft, and a "soft" 1/4-1/2 inch length above provides the most sensitivity and pleasure to BOTH parties -- try it, you'll see!
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Thursday 05 March
By Nancie
I think trimming it off isn't bad at all cause if the guy is really bushy, his little friends might escape and find itself in or on the outside of you, pretty gross. (bad experience)
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Tuesday 10 March
By Lindsey
I don't think it's wrong at all if thats what they want to do.. Personally I like when they trim but every man and women is different..
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Tuesday 10 March
By Hector Ayala
About 10 years ago, I went in for a Vasectomy. They had to shave all the hair off my balls. A couple of days later, I stepped out of the shower and my wife was using the Sink. I asked her what she thought of all my hair gone from the bottom and hair only on top. Kind of like a Groucho Marx Mustache ! She said I should shave it all off and let it grow back even. I shaved it all off, and both her and I kind of preferred it! To this day, my private area has been as clean and fresh as a Baby's behind!
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Monday 29 June
By Bill
As a male getting older, I was starting to grow hair where I did not want it - directly on my penis. The kicker for me was when I had to have some urinary tests because of prostate issues and those required that tape be used on my penis. Needless to say, it was no pleasure removing the tape (it flat out hurt). After that I got a male "Brazilian" and I am very glad I did. Now my penis and my scrotum is pretty much free of hair, but that patch of hair above my penis is untouched. I do like to keep it trimmed, though, but not so short that it feels like stubble. We do, afterall, trim our hair and our face. I would think that women would appreciate a penis free from hair (scrotum, too). Am I right?
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Tuesday 04 August
By Ed Zactly
Why should grooming be limited to the head/face? Do you trim/clip your fingernails, but not toenails? Do you wash your shirt/pants, but not your underwear? Do you comb your hair, but not in the rear? Do you wash your hands after relieving yourself, but don't use wet wipes for your rear to remove bacteria? Etc.
It's not a gay or porn thing (well, maybe for some), it's a hygiene or detail-oriented thing. Most women with maturity (as opposed to mature women) appreciate the consideration.
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