Personally, when with a new partner, I always shave down there. However, that is only because it makes me feel more confident, I feel as though there’s just something sexy about being completely naked, bare, and exposed. However, that isn’t the case 100% of the time. I’m sure many other females can relate. Plus, removing hair can cause bumps, ingrown hairs, cuts etc… it’s a sensitive area (for both genders) and you need to look after it.

On the other hand, I can’t help but notice that not many men remove their hair down there? But of course, every woman they go with is expected to be pristine. Personally, I don’t really notice that much of a difference as to whether a man has shaved or not, but regardless it’s the same principle – pubic hair is still on your privates.

So just WHY are men so bothered about a woman being shaved/waxed, yet women seemingly… don’t care? Maybe porn has a part to play, in their vision of what a ‘perfect naked body’ should look like. Why is it that most porn star’s are bald down there? Do women maintain a bush primarily to defy modern society’s standards of what’s sexy? Or is it because they want one? And just why are women SO judged about this?!

The Female Bush

The female bush has been sexualized for years, and more so in the 70s where it was deemed as fashionable, which began influencing people’s sexual preferences. The bush was celebrated in every single porn magazine, meanwhile now it’s merely a section amongst many porn categories – I’d say pubic hair is regarded as more of a fetish nowadays.

Beauty standards surrounding pubic hair have come a long way in the last few years. Once viewed as taboo, having anything other than a Brazilian is finally losing its stigma. Shave, wax, trim, do nothing—the point is, the choice is yours.

But why do women want a bush? Yes, it’s less maintenance – but come on now – let’s talk about the real stuff. Speaking as a woman, a woman like many others, who has wondered what it would be like to have a ‘bush’ – just how do you do it?

How to Grow a Bush?

For those interested in growing a bush, Refinery29.com states that (obviously) you must stop shaving and waxing completely in order for the hair to grow. In order to maintain your bush, you can buy pubic hair oils or even beard oils to condition the hair making it smooth, but you must avoid using standard hair conditioning products.

Upon reflection, we should probably all stop shaving and let our hair grow out, but a bush isn’t always a possibility for some people. Not everyone can grow a bush! Having wanted to feel the sense of empowerment a bush can apparently give you, and being able to avoid shaving bumps, a writer for Medium.com tried to grow out a bush. The result? She couldn’t. Not everyone can. Read her bush journey here.

The Pro’s and Con’s of the Bush

Having a bush is actually very beneficial in terms of your health, New York City–based holistic gynecologist Dr. Eden Fromberg says to Vogue, “Pubic hair exists to protect our delicate areas and encourages a diverse and often quite healthy microbiome, which keeps us in balance while preventing infection.”

Growing a bush will also save you huge amounts of money, by not having to buy razors or book in for waxing treatments. Plus, it’s one less thing you have to maintain.

We all know that shaving can cause lumps, bumps, rashes and sometimes ingrown hairs, but your hair grows there to act as a protective layer. Having hair down there can reduce the risk of catching some STI’s, and avoids problems of unsanitary salons all together. Plus, if you’re not constantly shaving down there, you avoid the spiky regrowth stage!

According to Heathline.com, on the other side of things, having a bush can increase the risk of pubic lice, which are apparently now ‘going extinct’ due to the amount of people maintaining a full Hollywood and excessively grooming downstairs. The only other downside of having a bush is that those who groom are probably more likely to engage in, or receive oral sex. (However this isn’t necessarily true).

Removing Pubic Hair

Your genitals are an extremely sensitive area, which is why – in hindsight – you should leave it to its own devices. However, some of us gain confidence and a sexual prowess from being completely bald down there, but like anything you should be aware of the risks.

Clinical Professor at Yale University of Medicine, Dr. Mary Jane Minkin states that if you want to try grooming down there, always use a sharp razor on wet skin to lessen the chances of cutting yourself or getting razor burn. Also, you must NEVER use Nair or chemical hair removal creams around your genitals unless they’re specifically formulated for that area.

According to Heathline.com, 73 percent of guys and 55.6 percent of women favor hair removal before sex, and this really doesn’t surprise me. However, if shaving it bare before doing the tango makes you feel sexy, confident and free who is anyone to judge? Likewise, if growing your hair out makes you feel sexy, confident and free, who am I or anybody else to judge?

Some doctors even say that pubic hair acts like our vagina’s eyelashes or eyebrows in the way that it keeps unwanted dirt or bacteria from entering the body. It also acts as a barrier between the sensitive skin down there and friction-causing activities i.e. sex.

Is the Bush Making a Comeback?!

According to Glamour Magazine, a lot of celebrities have spoken out about their grooming habits in recent years due to the stigma attached to pubic hair decreasing. Celebrities such as, Amber Rose, Ashley Graham, Emma Watson, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Cameron Diaz, have all revealed they like to grow out their lady gardens.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s bush had to take a quick vacay when she wore a sheer dress to the Iron Man 3 premiere. “Well, let’s just say everyone went scrambling for a razor,” she shared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2013. “I work a ’70s vibe…You know what I mean?“

Sex icon Cameron Diaz is also a pubic hair advocate, Diaz’s ‘The Body Book’, devotes an entire chapter to pubic hair, aptly titled “In Praise of Pubes.”

But while it seems that the au natural look is back, it is far more than a fad or trend resurrected from the ’70s. For many women in 2020, body hair has inherent social implications that range from self-love to fighting the patriarchy. The bush is deemed as a sense of female empowerment to do what YOU want to do with your body, whilst simultaneously embracing your natural-born sexuality. Who knew pubes could be so political?

P.s. Whilst bored in quarantine why not take a quiz to see ‘What Bush is Right for You?’ or read my most recent article about Anal Sex: Shit Happens. If you have any topics you would like to be covered on the blog, or any questions – don’t hesitate to get in touch or e-mail. All conversations are confidential and will be kept anonymous – shithappenstothebestofus@gmail.com