Nicola Alpe: Why it's time for pubic hair to make a comeback

Women are told that having hair down there is "unfeminine" and unattractive. It's time for that to change, writes Nicola Alpe. Photo / 123rf

OPINION:

Let's talk pubic hair. I was an early adopter of the Brazilian wax, which was avant garde when it first hit our shores. My first was in 2002.

Years later, I mastered the art of administering the Hollywood, upon myself. Requiring a reasonable pain threshold and a flexible spine, I saved myself sums of money with my plucky DIY attitude.

Heavily pregnant in 2015, I lumbered into an LA salon to tidy myself up a week before my due date, because it makes all the difference to the birthing experience. Heavy sarcasm. It was one of the last times I would submit to this as ensuing months were taken up with other things. I didn't need to give pubic hair much thought.

I was in the bath one day when my daughter pointed to my pubic hair and laughed. It is kind of funny looking. But then I pondered that mine is the first adult female body that my daughter will see, and I decided it's important that she learns the changes that happen to our bodies, that have done for centuries and will continue to do so, are entirely natural, and more importantly, are normal. I became a champion for pubes.

In recent years I've heard whisperings of pubic hair making a comeback, but the murmurings haven't gained much steam. Gwyneth Paltrow, whom I love for unapologetically being herself and saying bugger off to the naysayers, appears to have a proclivity for pubes, as in her own words, she "rocks a 70s vibe". I thought we all knew that look, but it appears nowadays, there are great populations of young women and men who don't.

Conducting research on pubic hair was difficult. Everywhere I asked, I came up bare. Friends my age are still in an exclusive relationship with the Brazilian/Hollywood, give or take inevitable lockdown growth. I cast my net wider, to friends from their 20s to their late 50s. No joy.

I contacted friends whom I knew in years past had told me they kept things neat and tidy but natural. It appears they too have come to shun pubes. I even joined a Facebook group where any mention of pubic hair was roundly set upon by other women offering innovative ways to remove it to keep boyfriends happy.

Pubic hair removal happened in some ancient civilisations and happens today within some religious groups. I can't speak to those, but I can speak to the expectations put upon women's bodies. I can't reassure my daughter the changes that will occur in her body are natural and normal if I rip my pubic hairs out the second they reach the required length.

How many more women would keep theirs if they could shut out the voices we've heard so many times they are now our subconscious, telling us that pubic hair is unfeminine and unattractive? Disturbingly, those voices come from other women just as much as they do men. Wouldn't it be nice if boys grew up knowing that women are entitled to pubic hair just as much as men are?

It's time for pubic hair to rise again. Keep a little fluff for yourself and join me, in defence of pubic hair.