Pubic hair(orpubes/ˈpjbz/,/pjbz/) isterminalbody hairthat is found in thegenital areaandpubic regionofadolescentand adult humans. The hair is located on and around thesex organs,and sometimes at the top of the inside of thethighs,even extending down theperineum,and to theanal region.Pubic hair is also found on thescrotumand base of thepenile shaft(in males) and on thevulva(in females). Around thepubis boneand themons pubisthat covers it, it is known as apubic patch,which can be styled.

Pubic hair
Pubic hair of male and female
Details
Identifiers
Latinpubes
TA98A16.0.00.022
TA27062
FMA54319 70754, 54319
Anatomical terminology

Although finevellus hairis present in the area during childhood, pubic hair is considered to be the heavier, longer, coarser hair that develops duringpubertyas an effect of rising levels of hormones:androgensin males andestrogensin females. Pubic hair differs from other hair on the body, and is asecondary sex characteristic.

Many cultures regard pubic hair aserotic,and most cultures associate it with the genitals, which people are expected to keep covered at all times. In some cultures, it is the norm for pubichair to be removed,especially of females;the practice is regarded as part ofpersonal hygiene.In some cultures, the exposure of pubic hair (for example, when wearing a swimsuit) may be regarded as unaesthetic or embarrassing, and is therefore trimmed (or otherwise styled) to avoid it being visible.

Development

Tanner scale – female

Pubic hair forms in response to the increasing levels oftestosteronein both girls and boys. Those hair follicles that are located and stimulated in androgen sensitive areas develop pubic hair.[1]TheTanner scaledescribes and quantifies the development of pubic hair.Before the onset of puberty,the genital area of both boys and girls has very finevellus hair(stage 1).[2]At the onset ofpuberty,the body produces rising levels of thesex hormones,and in response, the skin of the genital area begins to produce thicker and rougher, often curlier, hair with a faster growth rate.[3][4]The onset of pubic hair development is termedpubarche.

In males, the first pubic hair appears as a few sparse hairs that are usually thin on thescrotumor at the upper base of thepenis(stage 2). Within a year, hairs around the base of the penis are abundant (stage 3). Within 3 to 4 years, hair fills the pubic area (stage 4) and becomes much thicker and darker, and by 5 years extends to the near thighs and upwards on the abdomen toward the umbilicus (stage 5).[5]

Tanner scale – male

Other areas of the skin are similarly, though slightly less, sensitive to androgens and androgenic hair typically appears somewhat later. In rough sequence of sensitivity to androgens and appearance of androgenic hair are the armpits (axillae), perianal area, upper lip, preauricular areas (sideburns), periareolar areas (nipples), middle of the chest, neck under the chin, remainder ofchestandbeardarea, limbs and shoulders, back, and buttocks. Although generally considered part of the process of puberty, pubarche is distinct and independent of the process of maturation of thegonadsthat leads to sexual maturation and fertility. Pubic hair can develop from adrenal androgens alone and can develop even when theovariesortestesare defective and nonfunctional. There is little, if any, difference in the capacity of male and female bodies to grow hair in response to androgens.

Pubic hair andunderarm haircan vary in color considerably from the hair of the scalp. In most people, it is darker, although it can also be lighter. In most cases it is most similar in color to a person'seyebrows.[6]

Hair texture varies from tightly curled to entirely straight, not necessarily correlating to the texture of the scalp hair.[6][7]People ofEast Asian heritagetend to have black, wavy pubic hair.[8]

Pubic hair patterns can vary byraceandethnicity.[7]Patterns of pubic hair, known as theescutcheon,vary between both the sexes and individuals. On most females, the pubic patch is triangular and lies over thevulvaandmons pubis.On many males, the pubic patch tapers upwards to a line of hair pointing towards thenavel(seeabdominal hair), roughly a more upward-pointing triangle.[6]As with axillary (armpit) hair, pubic hair is associated with a concentration ofsebaceous glandsin the area.

Clinical significance

Pubic lice

Pubic hair can become infested with pubic lice (also known as crab lice).[9]Adult pubic lice are 1.1–1.8 millimetres (0.043–0.071 in) in length. The pubic hair can usually host up to a dozen on average. Pubic lice are usually found attached to hair in the pubic area but sometimes are found on coarse hair elsewhere on the body (for example,eyebrows,eyelashes,beard,mustache,chest,armpits,etc.). Crab lice attach to pubic hair that is thicker than other body hair because their claws are adapted to the specific diameter of pubic hair.[10]Pubic lice infestations (pthiriasis) are usually spread throughsexual contact.[10][11] The crab louse can travel up to 10 inches on the body. Pubic lice infestation is found worldwide and occurs in all races and ethnic groups and in all economic levels. Pubic lice are usually spread through sexual contact and are most common in adults. Occasionally pubic lice may be spread by close personal contact or contact with articles such as clothing, bed linens, and towels that have been used by an infested person.[9]Pubic lice found on the head or eyelashes of children may be an indication of sexual exposure or abuse. Pubic lice do not transmit disease; however, secondarybacterial infectioncan occur from scratching of the skin. They are much broader in comparison to head and body lice. Adults are found only on the human host and require human blood to survive. If adults are forced off the host, they will die within 48 hours without a blood feeding.[12]

Symptoms of a crab louse infection in the pubic area is intense itching, redness and inflammation. These symptoms cause increased circulation to the skin of the pubic region creating a blood-rich environment for the crab louse. Pubic lice infestation can also be diagnosed by identifying the presence of nits or eggs on the pubic hair.[10]In December 2016NPRreported that "Frequent removal of pubic hair is associated with an increased risk for herpes, syphilis and human papillomavirus".[13]However, the medical community has also seen a recent increase infolliculitis,or infection around the hair follicle, in women who wax or shave their bikini areas.[14]Some of these infections can develop into more serious abscesses that require incision with a scalpel, drainage of the abscess, and antibiotics.Staphylococcus aureusis the most common cause of folliculitis.[15]Burns can result when depilatory wax is used, even according to manufacturer instructions.[16]

Grooming risks

Pubic hair grooming has been associated with injury and infection. It is estimated that about one quarter of the people who groom their pubic hair have had at least one lifetime injury because of the practice.[17]Grooming has also been associated with cutaneoussexually transmitted infections,such asgenital warts,syphilis,andherpes.[18]

Society and culture

According toJohn Ruskin's biographerMary Lutyens,the notable author, artist, and art critic was apparently accustomed only to the hairless nudes portrayed unrealistically in art, never having seen a naked woman before his wedding night. He was allegedly so shocked by his discovery of his wifeEffie's pubic hair that he rejected her, and the marriage was later legallyannulled.He is supposed to have thought his wife was freakish and deformed.[19]Later writers have often followed Lutyens and repeated this version of events. For example,Gene Weingarten,writing in his bookI'm with Stupid(2004) states that "Ruskin had [the marriage] annulled because he was horrified to behold upon his bride a thatch of hair, rough and wild, similar to a man's. He thought her a monster."[20]However, there is no proof for this, and some disagree.Peter Fullerin his bookTheoria: Art and the Absence of Gracewrites, "It has been said that he was frightened on the wedding night by the sight of his wife's pubic hair; more probably, he was perturbed by her menstrual blood." Ruskin's biographers Tim Hilton and John Batchelor also believe that menstruation is the more likely explanation.[21]

At puberty, many girls find the sudden sprouting of pubic hair disturbing, and sometimes as unclean, because in many cases young girls have been screened by their family and by society from the sight of pubic hair.[7]Young boys, on the other hand, tend not to be similarly disturbed by the development of their pubic hair, usually having seen body hair on their fathers.[7]

With the reintroduction of public beaches and pools, bathing in Western Europe and the Mediterranean early in the 20th century, exposure of both sexes' areas near their pubic hair became more common, and after the progressive reduction in the size of female and male swimsuits, especially since the coming into fashion and growth in popularity of thebikiniafter the 1940s, the practice of shaving orbikini waxingof pubic hair off the hem lines also came into vogue.[22]

Grooming practices

Left:Bikini waxingof woman's pubic hair.Right:Shaving of pubic area.
Man's pubic hair, shaving of pubic area.

In some Middle Eastern societies, removal of male and female body hair has been considered proper hygiene, mandated by local customs, for many centuries.[23]Muslim teaching (applicable to males and females) includesIslamic hygienical jurisprudencein which pubic and armpit hair must be pulled out or shaven to be considered asSunnah.Trimming is taught to be considered acceptable.[24]

Womenworking in pornographytypically remove their pubic hair by shaving, a practice that became fashionable in the late 20th century. Shaving is used rather than bikini waxing because it can be performed daily, whereas waxing requires several days of growth before it can be repeated.[25]According to feminist writerCaitlin Moran,the reason for the removal of pubic hair from women in pornography was a matter of "technical considerations of cinematography".[26]Hair removal progressed to full removal.[27]Because of the popularity of pornography, pubic hair shaving was mimicked by women,[28][29]and it is among women outside the pornography industry that waxing became common in the late 20th and 21st century.[25]

The presentation is regarded by some as being erotic and aesthetic, while others consider the style as unnatural. Some people remove pubic hairs for erotic and sexual reasons or because they or their sex partner enjoy the feel of a hairless crotch.[30][31]

According to one academic study, as of 2016, approximately 50% of men in the United States practice regular pubic hair grooming, which can include trimming, shaving and removal. The study found that the prevalence of grooming decreases with age. Of males who groom pubic hair, 87% groom the hair above the penis, 66% groom the scrotum and 57% groom the penile shaft.[32]

Methods

All hair can be removed with wax formulated for that purpose. Some individuals may remove part or all of their pubic hair, axillary hair and facial hair. Pubic hair removal using wax is called bikini waxing. The method of removing hair is calleddepilation(when removing only the hair above the skin) orepilation(when removing the entire hair). Beauty salons often offer various waxing services. It is sometimes referred to as "pubictopiary".[33][34][35]Sugaring,an alternative to waxing, uses a sugar-based paste, which may include lemon, rather than wax. Sugaring removes fewer skin cells than waxing.[36]Other methods of hair removal includelaser hair removalandelectrolysis.

Some women modify their pubic hair, either to fit in with societal trends or as an expression of their own style or lifestyle.[26][29]Styles of pubic hair modification include:

  • Triangle orAmerican wax(pubic hair is shortened from the sides to form a triangle so that pubic hair is hidden while wearingswimwear.The triangle can range from the very edge of the "bikini line" to up to an inch reduction on either side. Remaining hair length can be from an inch and a half to half an inch);
  • Landing strip/French wax(pubic hair removed except for a strip of hair extending from the abdomen to the vulva);
  • PartialBrazilian wax(pubic hair fully removed except for a small triangular strip);
  • FullBrazilian waxor "sphinx" (complete removal of pubic hair); and
  • Freestyle.

There are variations of the Brazilian wax in which a design is formed out of the pubic hair. Stencils for several shapes are available commercially. A controversialGuccicommercial included female pubic hair shaved into a 'G'.[37]

Sexual attraction

A woman or man's decision to grow or shave their pubic hair can play a role in attracting a partner. ACosmopolitanstudy found that a plurality of respondents, both male and female, preferred partners who shave or at least trim their pubic hair. A smaller percentage of 6% of men and 10% of women preferred their partners to go natural and not shave or trim their pubic hair.[38]

In art

Heinrich Aldegrever's Eve, 1540; a rare early example of pubic hair in northern European art

Inancient Egyptian art,female pubic hair is indicated in the form of painted triangles.[39]In medieval and classical European art, pubic hair was very rarely depicted, and male pubic hair was often, but not always, omitted.[40]Sometimes it was portrayed in stylized form, as was the case with Greek graphic art.[41]

In 16th century southern Europe,Michelangeloshowed the maleDavidwith stylized pubic hair,[42]but female bodies were depicted hairless below the head. Nevertheless, Michelangelo's male nudes on theSistine Chapel ceilingdisplay no pubic hair.[citation needed]

In the late 18th century, female pubic hair was openly portrayed in Japaneseshunga(erotica), especially in theukiyo-etradition.[43]Hokusai's pictureThe Dream of the Fisherman's Wife(1814), which depicts a woman having an erotic fantasy, is a well-known example. In Japanese drawings, such ashentai,pubic hair is often omitted, since for a long time the display of pubic hair was not legal. The interpretation of the law has since changed.[44]

L'Origine du monde(1866), by the French artistGustave Courbet,was controversial for its realism, which pushed the limits of what was considered presentable at the time. In contrast to academic painting, which favored smooth, idealized nudes, this painting showed a close-up view of the vulva, with full pubic hair, of a woman lying on a bed with legs spread.

In fashion

In 1985, four weeks before his death,Rudi Gernreichunveiled the pubikini, a topless bathing suit that exposed the wearer'smons pubisand pubic hair.[45][46][47][48][49]It was a thin, V-shaped, thong-style bottom[50]that in the front featured a tiny strip of fabric that exposed the wearer's pubic hair.[48][49]The pubikini was described as apièce de résistancetotally freeing the human body.[51]

In history

Evidence of pubic hair removal in ancient India is thought to date back to 4000 to 3000 BC.[52]According to ethnologist F. Fawcett, writing in 1901, he had observed the removal of body hair, including pubic hair about the vulva, as a custom of women from theHinduNaircaste.[53]

In Western societies, after the spread of Christianity, public exposure of a woman's bare skin between the ankle and waist started to be disapproved of culturally. Upper body exposure due to the use of the popular vestbodicesused in Western Europe from the 15th century to early 20th century, as the widespreaddirndlsused even in more traditionally conservative mountain areas and the more or less loose shirts under these, enabled a permissive view of the shoulders,décolletageand arms allowing a free exposure of upper body hair in women of all classes with less rejection or discrimination than body hair on the sex organs, obviously to conceal by implication. Many people came to consider public exposure of pubic hair to beembarrassing.[22]It may be regarded asimmodestand sometimes asobscene.However, it never came to have a full hold in Western culture in wide tracts of Central Europe, until the encroaching ofProtestantismduring the 16th century on formerly more tolerant customs.[citation needed]

In the 1450s, British prostitutes shaved their pubic hair for purposes of personal hygiene and the combatting ofpubic liceand would donmerkins(or pubic wigs) when their line of work required it.[54][55]

Among the British upper classes during theGeorgian era,pubic hair from one's lover was frequently collected as a souvenir. The curls were, for instance, worn likecockadesin men's hats as potency talismans or exchanged among lovers as tokens of affection.[56]The museum ofSt. Andrews Universityin Scotland has in its collection asnuffboxfull of pubic hair of one of KingGeorge IV's mistresses (possiblyElizabeth Conyngham), which the notoriously licentious monarch donated to theFifesex club,The Beggar's Benison.[56]

In literature

In the erotic novelMy Secret Lifethe narrator "Walter", an evident connoisseur of female pubic hair, talks with clear delight of a fine bush of aScotswoman's thick red pubic hair:

The bush was long and thick, twisting and curling in masses half-way up to her navel, and it spread about up her buttocks, gradually getting shorter there.

In another part of his autobiography Walter remarks that he has seen those "bare of hair, those with but hairy stubble, those with bushes six inches long, covering them from bum bone to navel." And he adds reflectively – "there is not much that I have not seen, felt or tried, with respect to this supreme female article."

In like vein, inThe Memoirs of Dolly Morton,an American erotic classic, the attributes of Miss Dean are noted with some surprise – her spot was covered with a "thick forest of glossy dark brown hair," with locks nearly two inches long. One man remarked:

But Gosh! I've never seen such a fleece between a woman's legs in my life. Darn me if she wouldn't have to be sheared before man could get into her.

See also

Notes

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  2. ^Green 1998,p. 200.
  3. ^"Lawrence S. Neinstein, M.D.: Adolescent Medicine – Children's Hospital Los Angeles".Archived fromthe originalon March 7, 2016.
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  5. ^Neill & Lewis 2009,p. 25.
  6. ^abcSherrow 2006,p. 315.
  7. ^abcdMorris 2007,pp. 192–202.
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  9. ^ab"Pubic" Crab "Lice – Epidemiology & Risk Factors".CDC.gov.September 24, 2013.Archivedfrom the original on December 7, 2018.RetrievedAugust 20,2018.
  10. ^abcHoffman & Williams 2012.
  11. ^"Parasites – Lice".CDC.gov.September 24, 2013.Archivedfrom the original on April 6, 2020.RetrievedAugust 20,2018.
  12. ^"Pubic" Crab "Lice – Biology".CDC.gov.March 17, 2015.Archivedfrom the original on April 6, 2020.RetrievedAugust 20,2018.
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  15. ^"Staphylococcal Infections".MedlinePlus [Internet].Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine, US.Skin infections are the most common. They can look like pimples or boils.
  16. ^Chang, Angela C; Watson, Katherine M; Aston, Tara L; Wagstaff, Marcus JD; Greenwood, John E (May 13, 2011)."Depilatory Wax Burns: Experience and Investigation".ePlasty.11:e25.ISSN1937-5719.PMC3098007.PMID21625616.
  17. ^Truesdale, Matthew D.; Osterberg, E. Charles; Gaither, Thomas W.; Awad, Mohannad A.; Elmer-DeWitt, Molly A.; Sutcliffe, Siobhan; Allen, Isabel; Breyer, Benjamin N. (2017)."Prevalence of Pubic Hair Grooming–Related Injuries and Identification of High-Risk Individuals in the United States"(PDF).JAMA Dermatology.153(11): 1114–1121.doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2017.2815.ISSN2168-6068.PMC5710443.PMID28813560.Archived(PDF)from the original on May 2, 2018.RetrievedMay 2,2018.
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  25. ^abJeffreys, Sheila (2014).Beauty and Misogyny: Harmful cultural practices in the West.Routledge. p. 72.ISBN9781317675440.Archivedfrom the original on April 17, 2023.RetrievedApril 17,2023.
  26. ^abTurner, Beverley (November 15, 2013)."Pubic hair is back".The Daily Telegraph.Archivedfrom the original on January 11, 2022.
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  28. ^Hsu, Christine (November 28, 2012)."French Study Reveals Why an Increasing Number of Women Are Tuning in to Porn".Medical Daily.Archivedfrom the original on November 5, 2019.RetrievedDecember 30,2014.
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  30. ^The Hair Down ThereArchivedJuly 24, 2018, at theWayback Machine.University of California, Santa Barbara's SexInfo. Retrieved May 4, 2007.
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  32. ^Gaither, Thomas W.; Awad, Mohannad A.; Osterberg, E. Charles; Rowen, Tami S.; Shindel, Alan W.; Breyer, Benjamin N. (May 2017)."Prevalence and Motivation: Pubic Hair Grooming Among Men in the United States".American Journal of Men's Health.11(3): 620–640.doi:10.1177/1557988316661315.PMC5675231.PMID27480727.
  33. ^Speer, Richard (December 13, 2005)."The Fuzz That Was".Willamette Week.Archivedfrom the original on August 4, 2020.RetrievedMarch 22,2020.
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  35. ^Matisse, Mistress (August 24, 2006)."Control Tower".The Stranger.Archivedfrom the original on September 23, 2019.RetrievedMarch 22,2020.
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  39. ^Stuckey, Johanna (2007).The "Holy One"ArchivedJanuary 31, 2008, at theWayback Machine.Cross Quarterly for the Goddess Woman.6(4).
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References