Body hair: aesthetics or social coercion?

Oku-Ula: Short at the top, long at the bottom? A few thoughts on the subject of body hair. What is pubic hair used for? And (how) does a woman actually wear her curly companion?

There it was: My Cara Delevingne armpit hair moment. Your post on the subject of a wig for the armpit gave me a flashback to my youth when I proudly presented my first armpit hair to the world. And yes, that's right: I was so proud of my first armpit hair back then that I really wanted to present it to the world, or at least to my schoolmates.

"Put that away - men don't think that's nice". Well, and that was my moment of complete disillusion. I know that my brother didn't mean to hurt me with his statement, but I felt deeply ashamed when he said it. Minutes beforehand, when I ordered my schnitzel roll, I had raised my arm extra high and almost gouged out the buffet attendant's eye with my bristle.

But what does woman's body hair look like these days? Hairy, completely naked, a little hairy and the rest naked? Or rather body hair á la let nature run its course? And what is our pubic hair good for? I was hooked and wanted to know more …

Tell me, how do you feel about female body hair?

To this day there is still a lot of potential for discussion on the topic of female body hair. Some think that a woman should have all intimate, armpit or leg hair removed for life, while others question the natural growth of hair and put the razor or epilator aside more and more often.

For me personally, it has been clear since my Schnitzelsemmerl buffet experience that this much discussed hair was no business in me. At this point I cannot say whether that was due to what my brother said or whether I took a closer look at my bristle and found it not that sexy.

But what do my friends think about this topic? At the next girls' evening it just gushed out of me: "Tell me, how do you feel about female body hair?". At first they looked at me as if I had brought them the sad news about the death of my beloved pooch. Oppressive silence, disturbed looks.

After a short time, however, a wonderfully refreshing conversation developed around our curious friends. We all agreed on at least one aspect: armpit hair is not our thing now. On the other hand, pubic hair was a controversial topic!

Pubic hair: what do you think of intimate shaving?

While one of them has been devoted to the landing strip for decades, the other regularly went to their laser treatments or waxing sessions to completely declare war on the "annoying" body hairs. So we basically agreed that we weren't big advocates of intimate hair - at least when it came to our bodies.

And because I wanted to know as precisely as possible, I also asked people around me: starting with my boyfriend and brother to friends who, according to their reaction, would have probably wished they had him at first Lost contact with me years ago. The feedback was uniform: They all prefer a "bottom without". Both in women and in yourself.

Study on depilation

In 2008 the University of Leipzig carried out a study on the subject of depilation. The result was clear: of 314 students surveyed, 89 percent of the female participants stated that they regularly declared war on the head of hair - and that on more than 3 parts of the body. But why is that? Are the reasons for this intrinsic or extrinsic in nature?

The main reasons given by the study participants for hair removal were hygiene and appearance. Obviously, until today many people are not even aware that the former is a very wrong belief!

What is the use of our pubic hair?

When it comes to the usefulness of our wonderfully curly friends from the deep south, then it doesn't seem so smart to constantly expose yourself to all these hair removal procedures:

• Pubic hair protect our vagina:They are supposed to keep pathogens from getting into our innermost being.
• Infections from depilation: Every gynecologist preaches it over and over again - we all consider our pubic area! Mild shower gel and water are absolutely sufficient when it comes to intimate hygiene! Oh yes, and you should always have a fresh pair of underpants every morning, so that any bacteria are not spread!
• More sweating through less hair: Yes, it sounds strange at first, but that's how it is. By shaving the hair away, the skin folds lie exactly on top of one another. As a result, women sweat more underneath than if they kept it natural.
• Itching, skin irritation, rashes, abscesses: Ouch! All of this is not necessarily desirable now. So when we shave, we always do it with a fresh, smooth blade. Blunt blades can even lead to an abscess!
• Crazy But Healthy Intimate Hairstyles: Why not just try something new and get a crazy hairstyle in the genital area? The remaining hair would protect the vulva on the one hand, and on the other hand it might even fuel the mood between lovers. After all, new things are always somehow exciting! And if you don't like it, you can always take it off!

More about proper intimate hygiene

Gynecologist Dr. Mirjam Hall also explained in a detailed WOMAN article on the subject of "intimate hygiene" that pubic hair actually has an important protective function. What intimate hairstyles does she see in her patients? "I would say that a good two thirds of the women I see every day are completely hair removed. We rarely see back to nature, the remaining third choose the middle ground. More and more women are moving away from shaving and opting for waxing Sugaring - after all, it lasts longer and the problem with ingrown hairs gets smaller."

Pubic hair will make a comeback - like big eyebrows

Terrifying what Dr. Hall has to say on the subject of social pressure: "I've met men who have never seen a woman with pubic hair - that's a bit crazy. So the pressure on women is certainly great, but it also creates a sense of self Completely different: Many young women only feel good when they have no hair, because hair-free is "in".

In your opinion, will we get away from the trend at some point? I guess so. Just as big eyebrows have become fashionable again at some point, instead of thin tattooed lines, pubic hair will also celebrate its comeback!"

How open are we to strange hairs?

What do the general public say when we stand in the subway in summer and suddenly stare into a fully overgrown armpit? Or a dense, curled bush laughing at us in strange intimate areas in the fitness studio? The AskMen.com portal surveyed more than 5,000 men. First of all: The result does not surprise us very much.

• 41 percent of those surveyed said that a woman should be depilated from the bottom.
• 38 percent would not have any problems with a woman's genital area being fluffy and soft. However, the pubic hair should still be well-groomed and not resemble a natural wild growth. The pure nature variant is a deterrent.
• 91 percent of men - and we are particularly pleased about that - would not break off a date even if the intimate hairstyle of the person they love did not necessarily meet their expectations.

The Insta magazine Vulvalution also deals again and again with the topic of intimate hair and calls for more openness: "Intimate hair becomes cool. It stands for femininity". In her opinion, intimate hairstyles have become as diverse as the vulva underneath.

»You don't need any trends, no specifications. It takes the feeling of coming to terms with your own hair. In the case of intimate hair, being trendy does not mean the hairstyle that everyone wears - but rather being aware that hair is simply a part of adult, female bodies."

Based on the research on this topic, it actually seems that women, by and large, only part with their pubic hair out of social compulsion and not because they themselves perceive it to be more aesthetic. It's just what society expects. Actually, the subject of intimate hair shouldn't be a big deal in this day and age, when there is more and more calls for body positivity! Because when things really get down to business, women have to feel good and be able to switch off their heads! And she can't do that either with a failed hairstyle on it or with an involuntary hair desire in her genital area!

In this sense: Free the pubic hair!Every woman should be allowed to wear her body hair as she perceives it to be beautiful and, above all, comfortable!