The opinions were strong and varied and led to an eighty comment debate on the appropriate way to wax your pubic area, if there even is an appropriate way to do that. So with all that backlash, we thought it might be a good idea to create a post that attempts to dive into some of these issues as well as attempt to determine why such a personal choice has become such a public issue at all.

So really, we’re not answering any of your questions, we’re just trying to understand them. This post is not trying to sway you one way or the other. I’m just laying out some differing opinions and creating a forum for discussion. And I thought the best way to do that would be to go straight to your comments. So why is this such a big issue? Why do women have such differing opinions on it? And should we even be attempting to justify something that we ourselves have called medieval torture?  Let’s find out.

Comment # 1: Shaving down there is no worse than shaving ur legs or ur arm pits for that matter. It’s all in what u (as a woman) like. 

Can it be that simple? Can it be as easy as girls, to do what you want to do because you want to do it, whether that means living with an entire forest or going bare. Be comfortable and confident in your decision and just go with it. Don’t worry about what other men or women think. It’s a nice thought, but that’s easier said than done, especially after reading comments like the one below.

Comment #2:  Shaven is the best. Anyone who says anything else is lying. men love it and if women do it, the men will be better men.

The question every woman asks herself about pretty much everything. Am I doing this because I want to or because I know it’s what someone else wants and I’ve convinced myself it’s what I want to? Is that what something like this comes down to? A secret voice telling you that this is what the guy wants? Or for some women is that voice less secret. They openly hate it,  but choose to do it anyway. Is that okay? Or should we be saying…

Comment # 3: Any man who will be a “better man” if his girlfriend shaves down there is a total douche.

This comment raises a good point. If that’s what it takes to get the guy is it worth it? Aren’t we always saying if a man doesn’t like you for you who are then he’s not the man for you. Is this the same sort of situation? Should women really feel pressured to wax their pubic hair? I mean with comments like the above how can women not feel pressured to do so, and if that’s the case, how can we stand for it?

And finally, one last issue to address.

Comment # 4: Why are women being advised to go hairless like a child? That is really gross and nasty. I understand no one wants a wild forest but hairless is too much like a pedophile’s dream.

Is it the Brazilian bikini wax that’s giving all waxing a bad name? And is that bad name justified? Does going bare make women seem childlike? Is it indulging pedophilia? And if one gets a normal wax instead of a Brazilian does that take this issue off the table?

This is obviously a very complicated issue that requires we take a lot of different things into consideration. But I doubt most of you spend you time contemplating the question: to wax or not to wax, and if you wax how much should you wax.

So here’s your chance. Leave a comment and let us know what you think and why you feel that way

When it comes to wooing the opposite sex, men have it easy. As far as I know, they approach you and whip out the pick-up line. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.

Women on the other hand, play a whole different game. Sometimes it seems as if our entire existence is based on impressing a guy. And it’s exhausting. We don’t think about it often (or we argue that we’re doing these things for ourselves as much as for the men), but when you stop and take notice of all the things we do to woo the gentlemen, well, it’s absurd:

1. Padded Bras
Guys have been trained to like a nice set of boobs, and women have been trained to do anything to give them to them. Hell, that must be Victoria’s Secret. But push-up bras are often uncomfortable, expensive and so. effing. hard. to wash without totally ruining them. And yet we wear them. All the time. In fact, you’re probably wearing one right now.

2. High Heels
Although I do enjoy how I feel when I slip on some pumps and strut my shiz at the bar, I don’t enjoy the throbbing blisters that plague me. And they always plague me. But I wear those torture devices every weekend anyway, because while it would be far more comfortable, there’s nothing sexy to the campus boys about a pair of worn-in sweatpants and some flip flops.

3. Waiting to Respond
In a feeble attempt to seem mysterious/extremely busy/cool, girls will often wait to respond to a text or a phone call from a guy. Although realistically, we’re counting down every waking minute as we run through a million response options, asking our friends (again and again) which one would be the wittiest/cutest to send when the time is right. And then asking them when that time actually is so we don’t seem either pathetic or like we’re blowing them off.

4. Eating Salad (Instead of Something Tastier)
I love me a good burger, but I know I think twice before ordering one on a first date with a guy. We want guys to think we are dainty little things who eat like bunnies, not like frat boys, so we sacrifice our own culinary happiness. And only eat half. Then we go home and scarf down a bag of chips in the privacy of our own bedroom while dissecting the entire evening with our girlfriends.

5. Brazilians
Let’s be honest, we aren’t letting someone wax in there for our own benefit.

6. Playing the Jealousy Game
Even though he is the only man for us, we don’t want him to think he’s the only man who can have us. So we go out of our way to flirt with other guys and make sure he see’s it. It’ll make him want us more, right?

7. Pretending to Like His Music/TV Shows/Sports Team
To you, watching professional baseball is like watching paint dry. And you think Dave Matthews is the most over-rated songwriter on earth. And Indian food? You’d rather eat ramen noodles than even try some of that curry stuff. But once Mr. Right walks in, you’re chowing down on Na’an while studying the Yankees line-up with DMB playing in the background just so you can keep up the ruse.

Get it? Got it? Good. Want some more? Don’t worry, there are plenty more faves where this came from.

For most of us, bikini waxing is a summertime requirement, along the lines of flip flops and SPF 15. You can’t go to the beach with a fur skirt, right? But did you know that how you landscape says a lot about who you are? It’s true – guys can read your vajay like a book. I asked a couple of dudes what they think when they come face to…er….vajeen.

What kind of story is your bikini line telling?

Goin’ Natural:
If a guy can get some booty, he usually doesn’t care what’s happening south of the border, but that doesn’t mean he’s not paying attention. A woman who lets her forest grow wild is either totally inexperienced in the bedroom or super hippie-dippie-trippie and lets that stuff grow everywhere. “I’m afraid to see what her armpits look like,” says dude #1.

The Traditional Clean Up:
So, you take care of anything that might poke out of the bikini bottoms and do some basic trimming everywhere else. What does this say? “She’s considerate, but probably not going to let me flip her around in bed.”

Landing Strip:
Leaving a little patch is a big turn on for guys. Duh. Dude numero 3 tells me: “She takes care of herself and knows what a guy wants. I’d be willing to ask for some more adventurous sexcapades from her.” Dude #1 chimes in, “The landing strip is the holy grail. When I discover it, I almost can’t control myself. Instant turn on.” (As if he really needed one at that point…)

Baring it All:
If you’re daring enough to go totally bare (and I commend you – OUCH!), guys don’t really know what to think. “I feel like a pedophile when there’s nothing down there,” said one guy. Another can’t stop wondering if it was a “shaving incident gone awry.” But there are some that like it. Guy #2 explained: “I’m much more willing to take myself downtown if there is no worry of coughing up a hairball later. And a girl who gets rid of it all is most definitely a freak in the sheets.”

Fun With Shapes:
Yes, there are women out there who treat their vajays like a work of art. Butterflies, hearts and arrows (?!) are some of the more common shapes women will shave into their nether regions. But what do guys think? “Do not enter. That woman gets around.” Guy #3 agreed: “Like a hot dog in a diseased hallway.”

Do you think guys are “reading” us right?

[This story was originally posted by one of the fantabulous CC Editors. That's hard hitting journalism, people.]

Likey? Don’t worry, there are plenty more faves where this came from.

My roomie once said, in a conversation that I very much regret missing, “You know, I could see why you would trim your bush if it got a little out of hand…but I don’t know why the hell you would cut the whole thing down. It just makes your lawn look funny!” And, no, we were not talking about horticulture.

Au naturale doesn’t really seem to be the method of style in female nether regions. It supposedly looks neater when it’s taken care of. I know a lot of girls who keep themselves trimmed, and quite a few who wax. It’s easier than shaving, I’ve heard said. You don’t get the obnoxious bumps that you normally get when you shave that inevitably leads to impromptu itchy dances. Not to mention it’s a lot neater and it takes longer to grow back. I never really supported it; it didn’t even seem like it was worth the effort to me and I’m still not sure how I feel about men who want their women’s parts to look prepubescent.

Still, I’d heard so much…

And so, in another one of my infamously stupid ideas, I decided to get a full Brazilian wax last summer. For those who don’t know, there’s a difference between Brazilian waxes and bikini waxes. Bikini waxes are really more like a neat little trimming so that, as the name suggests, you can wear a bikini confidently. Brazilian waxes are when you get everything – EVERYTHING – waxed off. Mind you, no one was going to be seeing the result of this wax except for me. It was nothing but curiosity.

And yes, curiosity really does kill the cat. Warning: this gets a little graphic from here on. 

When it comes to wooing the opposite sex, men have it easy. As far as I know, they approach you and whip out the pick-up line. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.

Women on the other hand, play a whole different game. Sometimes it seems as if our entire existence is based on impressing a guy. And it’s exhausting. We don’t think about it often (or we argue that we’re doing these things for ourselves as much as for the men), but when you stop and take notice of all the things we do to woo the gentlemen, well, it’s absurd:

1. Padded Bras
Guys have been trained to like a nice set of boobs, and women have been trained to do anything to give them to them. Hell, that must be Victoria’s Secret. But push-up bras are often uncomfortable, expensive and so. effing. hard. to wash without totally ruining them. And yet we wear them. All the time. In fact, you’re probably wearing one right now.

2. High Heels
Although I do enjoy how I feel when I slip on some pumps and strut my shiz at the bar, I don’t enjoy the throbbing blisters that plague me. And they always plague me. But I wear those torture devices every weekend anyway, because while it would be far more comfortable, there’s nothing sexy to the campus boys about a pair of worn-in sweatpants and some flip flops.

3. Waiting to Respond
In a feeble attempt to seem mysterious/extremely busy/cool, girls will often wait to respond to a text or a phone call from a guy. Although realistically, we’re counting down every waking minute as we run through a million response options, asking our friends (again and again) which one would be the wittiest/cutest to send when the time is right. And then asking them when that time actually is so we don’t seem either pathetic or like we’re blowing them off.

4. Eating Salad (Instead of Something Tastier)
I love me a good burger, but I know I think twice before ordering one on a first date with a guy. We want guys to think we are dainty little things who eat like bunnies, not like frat boys, so we sacrifice our own culinary happiness. And only eat half. Then we go home and scarf down a bag of chips in the privacy of our own bedroom while disecting the entire evening with our girlfriends.

5. Brazilians
Let’s be honest, we aren’t letting someone wax in there for our own benefit.

6. Playing the Jealousy Game
Even though he is the only man for us, we don’t want him to think he’s the only man who can have us. So we go out of our way to flirt with other guys and make sure he see’s it. It’ll make him want us more, right?

7. Pretending to Like His Music/TV Shows/Sports Team
To you, watching professional baseball is like watching paint dry. And you think Dave Matthews is the most over-rated songwriter on earth. And Indian food? You’d rather eat ramen noodles than even try some of that curry stuff. But once Mr. Right walks in, you’re chowing down on Na’an while studying the Yankees line-up with DMB playing in the background just so you can keep up the ruse.

Beautify. Nothing like cruising into a new semester of classes feeling like hot sh*t. Book your appointments early for those caterpillar eyebrows, exposed roots, and crusty feet.

Prepare for potential hanky-panky. (Yep, I did just call it hanky-panky.) Visit to the gyno? Check. Birth control stockpile? Check. Brazilian wax? Check. Stop trying to salvage period-stained panties — as my motto goes, new school year, new lacy underthings.

Buy new dorm / apartment / house décor! Draw some inspiration from Apartment Therapy and go to town. May we suggest wall decals, some choice picture frames and scented candles?

Pick up a new planner. Steal one from freshman orientation if you have to, and then neatly pencil in important dates (your boyfriend’s grandmother’s birthday, any club meeting with free food, the three-year anniversary to the day you got your v-card swiped, etc.) There’s nothing quite like touching a spankin’ new notebook — devoid of uncompleted to-do lists — for the very first time.

Evaluate your finances. If you’re anything like me, you’ve all but avoided checking your banking account for a summers’ worth of glorious sales, extravagant dining and uninhibited bar-hopping — but it is, my friends, something that must be done. Pay off your outstanding bills and determine your budget for the upcoming year so you know exactly how many hours you have to slave away at Applebee’s this fall.

Speaking of jobs… update your resume. ‘Cause let’s face it, you’re not going to even want to think about cleverly crafting bullet points about your summer of servitude well into Welcome Week. Or Rush Week. Or Recovery from Rush Week. Or any of the subsequent weeks after that, really. Get it out of the way now so the moment you encounter the perfect side-job to finance your weekend boozing, you’ll be ready-for-hire.

Do a massive overhaul of your wardrobe. Barring the sentimentally priceless — though really, it’s time to part with the chocolate-stained denim capris that remind you of your high school summer camp fling — donate or eBay the stuff you don’t wear. It goes without saying, but gauchos are not coming back in this lifetime. Head to American Apparel (or Targét — that’s how I roll) to stock up on your favorite basics. Reorganize your jewelry, and splurge on one pair of fabulous, fabulous heels.

Catch up on old seasons of your favorite trashy television. This is obviously the most crucial on the list. Between TiVo and internet video, there are no excuses to be made anymore — because God forbid you watch the Gossip Girl premiere without having seen the one where Serena dies. What? Yeah, see?

What kind of story is your bikini line telling?

Goin’ Natural:
If a guy can get some booty, he usually doesn’t care what’s happening south of the border, but that doesn’t mean he’s not paying attention. A woman who lets her forest grow wild is either totally inexperienced in the bedroom or super hippie-dippie-trippie and lets that stuff grow everywhere. “I’m afraid to see what her armpits look like,” says dude #1.

The Traditional Clean Up:
So, you take care of anything that might poke out of the bikini bottoms and do some basic trimming everywhere else. What does this say? “She’s considerate, but probably not going to let me flip her around in bed.”

Landing Strip:
Leaving a little patch is a big turn on for guys. Duh. Dude numero 3 tells me: “She takes care of herself and knows what a guy wants. I’d be willing to ask for some more adventurous sexcapades from her.” Dude #1 chimes in, “The landing strip is the holy grail. When I discover it, I almost can’t control myself. Instant turn on.” (As if he really needed one at that point…)

Baring it All:
If you’re daring enough to go totally bare (and I commend you – OUCH!), guys don’t really know what to think. “I feel like a pedophile when there’s nothing down there,” said one guy. Another can’t stop wondering if it was a “shaving incident gone awry.” But there are some that like it. Guy #2 explained: “I’m much more willing to take myself downtown if there is no worry of coughing up a hairball later. And a girl who gets rid of it all is most definitely a freak in the sheets.”

Fun With Shapes:
Yes, there are women out there who treat their vajays like a work of art. Butterflies, hearts and arrows (?!) are some of the more common shapes women will shave into their nether regions. But what do guys think? “Do not enter. That woman gets around.” Guy #3 agreed: “Like a hot dog in a diseased hallway.”

Do you think guys are “reading” us right?

You see, I am not your typical girl who is always on the man-hunt. Don’t get me wrong – it’s not that I don’t want to meet someone, or enjoy flirting at the bar and the like – it’s just that there are things I L.O.V.E about being a single lady. Things that I’m not so keen on giving up. Things I want to enjoy for as long as possible now before I get married to some dude who thinks a fun weeknight involves South Park and Dutch Oven-ing me.

So here is this weeks Love List: Why all my single ladies love being single.

1) My legs keep me a lot warmer in the winter than my taken friends. I live in Chicago and it is COLD. Actually cold doesn’t even describe it – it’s like an arctic tundra (do those words even go together?). And being single makes that not-s0-bad. How? I love that I don’t have to shave my legs in the winter if I don’t want to. Is it a little embarrassing in yoga when my teacher happens to see that my ankle hair could be braided and beaded like I just spent a week in Jamaica? Sure, but at least my legs keep me warmer than those soft Jergened up legs of yours.

2) I can wear grandma undies whenever I want to. Call me what you will but I am not a fan of thongs and Hanky Pankys are just uncomfortable (yes I said it). I am a happier camper in regular undies and thanks to my single status, there is no one to impress with a lacey piece of floss up my butt.

3) After a long day I can come home, sit on my couch, watch my girly TV shows and my chick flicks without someone saying I have no taste in TV. I can shop online and spend ‘that long’ debating over which color I should get those wedges in. I can play around with makeup, throw different products on my face and spend all day watching The Millionaire Matchmaker while reading fashion magazines and not feel guilty about making someone else do it with me. And I don’t have to pretend that I care about No Country for Old Men. Or knowing every line in Anchorman and quoting it like a religious person quotes the bible.  Because I don’t. I really, really don’t.

4) No Bikini Waxes! (Unless I plan on wearing a bathing suit). This really needs no explanation. Which leads me to my next point…

5) I save a whole lot of moolah which can be used for other things than the painfulness that is overpriced Brazilian waxes. $60 can buy me a lot of things (like said shoes mentioned in #3) so for that I LOVE being single. Sure I may be a little hairier, but I’m also a little bit richer.

What do you LOVE about being single?

Things were busy over here, too. We discovered the guys not worth holding onto, and the perfect vibrator that is. We began to understand why crazy sex positions are totally worth it, and why sex on the beach is a must-do for 2009.

We found a totally hot new band that will change the way you think about music, learned the 14 truths about men, and laughed with the funniest ladies out there.

We found out that guys get Brazilians (?), argued the merit of leggings, and filled our entire closet with new clothes….for free!

We took our first trip to the gyno, learned a ton of new euphemisms for sex, and sought out some not-so-obvious places to meet a man. We looked back at our favorite things from middle school.

We hated/loved Facebook.

And we dipped our toes in the Cougar pool.

2008 was a good year. Here’s hoping 2009 can be as much fun (both in the bedroom and out of it).

Listen up fellas!! It is National Men Make Dinner Day…so get your cute butts to cookin’.

The Brazilian wax never goes out of style.

Sarah Silverman’s boy toy, Jimmy, exposes Sarah’s past.

Buckle down the hatches…A storm is coming!

The election is now over (thank goodness)…so here is a 50% sale on Obama goodies!

There is nothing like running freely through Central Park with it all hanging out. Thanks Steve Guttenberg for the visual.

Is the person sitting next to you on the airplane driving you crazy? Well, just duct tape her down, duh!

Dying to play the new Left 4 Dead game? The demo will be out tomorrow. Game on!

Photo courtesy of photobucket.com