Like Mary Janes, bell bottoms, or flannel shirts, pubic hair preferences go in and out of fashion, and what's popular one decade is suddenly (and often inexplicably) disavowed the next.
Back in Ancient Egypt, pubic hair removal was de rigueur, while in Elizabethan England, keeping a full bush was central to sexual success. Centuries later, the 1990s brought the Brazilian wax into America's popular imagination, but across the Pacific, Korean women still shell out big bucks to make sure their below-the-belt coiffures are extra full. Despite the ebb and flow of trends deciding what's hot and what's not down there, plenty of folks pay little mind to the whims of the pubic hair style police.
Having body hair — be it in full bloom, dyed, or shaped to perfection — is entirely your prerogative, yet those on the feminine spectrum are frequently told that we aren't desirable unless we wax or shave it all away. Thanks to the rise of body-positive feminism online, however, there are more advocates baring all to let us know that we don't have to be bare — unless we want to be.
Recently, Cosmopolitan surveyed 4,146 people ages 18 to 35 about their genital grooming habits to find out what's in and what's out. Here are five statistics about contemporary pube preferences:
1Few Folks Go Au Naturel — Or Are Scared To Admit They Do
According to Cosmo's pubic hair survey, only 10 percent of men and six percent of women say that they leave their bush as is. IMO, this statistic seems extremely low, so it might be that certain respondents weren't entirely honest when answering. Genital hair stigma is very real, after all, and can influence even the most radical of folks.
2Over Half Of Women Go Bare
It's no shocker that falling in line with accepted grooming standards is popular. Going fully bare down there ranked highest in Cosmo's survey, as 57 percent of women admitted to removing all of their pubic hair. This practice isn't only for the ladies, however, as 17 percent of men also follow suit.
3Dudes Don't Like Chicks To Have Pubes
What's that you say? Many men aren't into female body hair? Unsurprisingly, 46 percent of dudes surveyed by Cosmo preferred their partners to be hair free below-the-belt, and a whopping 40 percent had even asked their partners to adjust their pubic hair to please them.
4Women Are More Forgiving About Male Pubes
Female respondents in Cosmo's survey were a bit more forgiving when it came to male pubic hair. Seventy percent said they desired a manscaped area, but did not require all hair to be removed, and only 23 percent had talked to their partner about fixing his fuzz.
5Genital Grooming Can Be A Dealbreaker
It might sound absurd that one tiny factor like pubic hair grooming could make or break a relationship or sexual encounter, but apparently it happens. Thirty percent of men and 19 percent of women admitted that pubes could be a major deal-breaker if said pubes differed from their ideal.
The takeaway? Pubes can be a point of contention, and humans are seemingly invested in what's going on down there as much as the clothing they wear.
