Body hair – for good reason – is a topic not often discussed. For one thing, there are far more interesting topics to talk about (like cupcakes, for example) than the unfortunate sprouting under your arms. For another, what is there really to discuss? It is pretty much understood that body hair needs to go away. End of discussion.

But, being a single woman who happens to be quite lazy when it comes to body hair maintenance, I really needed to know a few things. You see, I have found myself a precarious situation many times; I am invited back to someone’s house, sex is inevitable, but as I take his hand and follow him out to the cab I realize that I haven’t shaved my legs. In 4 weeks.

Is this a deal breaker? Do I tell him? Do I offer a rain check on the (what is sure to be amazing) sex? Do we swing by CVS on the way home to pick up a Quattro?

I asked my resident male advice-giver to give it to me straight. First he looked at me blankly. Then he asked my feelings on beards. Then he had this to say.

He Said:

In America, unlike France and most third world countries, we like our women as hairless as possible. And despite all the time, money and pain that goes into the hair-removal process, women prep themselves daily to avoid the humiliation of being caught in public with even a few wispy strands on their legs, or–heaven forbid!–a miniscule tuft emerging from their armpits. Not even eyebrows are allowed a moment of unruliness.

Men don’t often realize how much time women put into looking hot, each and every day. When getting ready to leave the house, all guys do is shower (maybe), shave our faces (sometimes) and throw on some pants (reluctantly). Because of this, we forget how much work goes into having a perfectly groomed bikini line, or hairless legs. And because we forget, seeing hair in places we don’t expect definitely surprises us, sometimes turning us off altogether. Read More »

Let’s face it. Not all of your boyfriends are going to be bronzed Adonis’s, chiseled-like statues and ripe to become Calvin’s next boxer-brief model.

Nope… just like you girls, every single guy carries a unique body, and among the variables that you’re apt to come across are the various amounts of body hair.

Of all of men’s body features, body hair is the one that seems to conjure up the most dissension among women. Some girls actually like body hair, think it denotes manliness, and enjoy playing with it when they are frolicking around with a guy. Some girls really couldn’t care less either way, which I admire.

But there are quite a few girls who think body hair is among the more disgusting features that a guy can have, and would rather die than get close with a guy who’s showing even the slightest bit of chest hair through his button down shirt.

However, despite the fact that some girls are OK with body hair, hair appearing on a guy’s back is almost universally reviled. And as a long time member of the incredibly exclusive Hairy Back Club (I’ll actually be announcing my candidacy to be its next president sometime in the near future), I don’t really get this massive aversion.

Sure, I guess it’s unsightly, but it’s not like it’s different hair than what’s on a guy’s chest, legs or arms. Moreover, as far as I can tell, there doesn’t seem to be some new movement that I’m unaware of which involves making out with a guy’s back, nor do our backs feature any major erogenous zones, so aesthetic reasons aside, there’s really no good explanation. Read More »