I can't figure out why the shaved cat from the Gillette ad was so entertaining, but this one is so creepy. I can feel my skin crawl.

I find the whole pubic hair stencil idea a little creepy. A landing strip, okay, that I can grok. Even shaving outright--that can serve a functional purpose. But a friggin' heart design?

Cheers,

TH

I actually found both "hairless pussy" ads a little gross. Maybe it's because I find that breed of cat kind of disgusting in any context, let alone this one.

What cracks me up is that, somehow, choosing one of their four pre-fab designs is "personalizing" my pubic hair, whereas letting it grow naturally into its own unique formation is not personal.

I find hairless cats... creepy. I think the gilette ad was a little bit moreso, probably because the camera was close enough to where you could see the folds in the cat's skin. *shudder*

I have nothing against pubic grooming -- I shave a little less than once a week. But what I DON'T get is the "ooh, make a design!"... I suppose it's a slightly more clinical thing for me; I have a pathological thing against any hair on my body that isn't in my eyebrows or coming out of my head (long story). So it's either let it grow or get rid of all of it. I don't understand the point (or the effort) unvolved in waxing a pretty design into your pubic hair. I don't even understand the landing strip, frankly. If I'm with someone who needs directions to my pussy there is a serious problem.

I always understood the purpose of a landing strip was mainly swimwear-related--so folks can wear the high cuts without getting a nyuk nyuk from Curly.

But I'm in agreement with EG. I mean, if someone wants to shave a smiley face on her crotch, fine, that's certainly her right. But for these companies to make a big thing out of stenciled pubic hair when there's so much pressure not to just let it do its thing... I don't get that. Either part of it.

But I do think hairless cats are kinda cute. I've actually held a sphinx (one of the hairless cat breeds). Adorable critters.

Cheers,

TH

Hair weave. With braids and Rasta beads. Show that special someone you are batshit crazy.

The landing strip would be fun if you added the runway lights and stuck a little model plane on there. Otherwise it seems kinda pointless.

i'm thinking of crafting a giant middle finger out of my "private" hair,

That would be fucking awesome. You should have her take a picture of it, then put it on a shirt and sell it in the swag hutch.

Oops -- posted this in the old thread at first by accident....

I don't see anything upsetting in the pussy ad -- it's just a simplification of the advertising concept that is beat to death for Men's Body Shaving at http://www.shaveeverywhere.com/

I don't see anything upsetting about women having the option of shaving their pubic hair into landing strips or lightning bolts or the Starbucks logo or whatever. (I'd get a landing strip if I were in the habit of wearing speedos. Of course, I'd need to be about 30 pounds lighter first...) What bothers me is that women are apparently being taught that pubic hair is dirty and needs to be done away with, and we all know where that aesthetic comes from.

Cheers,

TH

And togolosh, your post made me laugh out loud. Seriously, that's brilliant.

Cheers,

TH

I agree a with Tom’s one but last comment, we are being taught that our pubic hair is gross, unfeminine etc. and that’s the problem. God forbid that a few strands should be showing from your bikini, a girlfriend is sure to remind you quickly and whisperingly. The funny thing is that in all of the threads I have seen on “to shave or not to shave� there are always tons of women who defend it as a personal choice, something they do for themselves, compare it to men shaving their face, and try to sell it as cleanliness. I mean how many fucking body parts do we need to shave/wax/pluck just so we look like we never went through puberty? How many hours per day do we need to spend on grooming ourselves to be socially acceptable?

Togolish, do you think a jeri curl or Pippi Longstocking braids would be too much?

I can understand trimming or shaving completely for various reasons, but I just don't see the appeal of pruning your pubes into topiaries.

The funny thing is that in all of the threads I have seen on “to shave or not to shave� there are always tons of women who defend it as a personal choice, something they do for themselves, compare it to men shaving their face, and try to sell it as cleanliness. I mean how many fucking body parts do we need to shave/wax/pluck just so we look like we never went through puberty?

While I would never say that shaving my pussy is like a man shaving his face, I find it interesting that people assume that women do this because they want to look like they aren't women, or that the lack of pubic hair somehow a betrayal of what it means to be female. I also find it interesting that sometimes feminists seem to have as little respect for the female brain as anti-feminists do. What does it say about women if we're so obviously shaving because we've been manipulated into doing so? Gosh, I guess that makes us about as stupid as the religious conservative right believes we are, and that makes the feminist movement about as manipulative and power hungry as the conservative right.

Personally, I would much rather believe that women have brains and the cognitive ability to make a decision for herself whether or not she wants to shave. I'd like to believe that the feminist movement is something founded by those women to say that women have the choice and ability to do anything they want to, as opposed to a movement founded by a few women who are mysteriously exempt from the patriarchal brain washing who can set as all free if we follow their exact example.

I started shaving in high school because, at that point, I had trouble using tampons. During my period my pubic hair would get tangled and matted with blood during the day. It was DISGUSTING. So yes, for me it was a cleanliness thing. Later on, after I found out that my testosterone levels are about double what is clinically normal for a female, it became a patholgoical thing; I've shaved my entire body, partly as a way of reminding myself that I am, indeed, female. I struggled with that for a few years, and have just recently been able to accept it (for one thing my hormone levels give me a phenomenal sex drive, which I have held as part of my identity since before I found out that my hormone levels were helping it along).

Now, after I've figured out the tampon thing, and am much more mentally healthy about my hormonal state, the sense of hygiene that comes with shaving is still there for me. The fact that my husband finds it (logistically) easier to go down on me was an unanticipated side benefit; and I might add that he's completely willing to shave and trim for my oral sex comfort as well.

I'm sorry for being so cranky. I just really thing we need to give women more credit. Yes, there is a lot of patriarchal manipulative shit out there, and yes there are women who buy into it, which is nothing short of depressing. But does that mean that anytime a woman does something aesthetic/hygenic it's because some male-based subliminal message told her to? I really don't think so.

and I just realized that the comment I just left was a lot more personal than it needed to be. My apologies to everyone who didn't need a glimpse into my personal life.

My general question stands, though: are women so easily manipulated and pliable that we can't distinguish between what we want and what society wants us to be?

Meh. I think it's pretty funky actually. I'd rather make my own stencil though. Maybe a woman symbol, that would be cool...

Andrea,

Your comment only verifies what I expected: people come up with personal reasons why they follow a certain fad, or cultural norm. I think those reasons are particularly suspicious when talking about a fad. Your story might be very particular to you with hormones and tampons. This is not a personal attack on you.
And yes, women, as well as men, are influenced by and give in to pressure form the society; it’s either peer pressure or imagery from the media, often both, some people more so than others.
Here is an example: I shave my legs, I feel physically uncomfortable with unshaved legs because the hairs prick me when my legs tough each other. But why doesn’t my boyfriend feel physically uncomfortable with his body hair? This is the only explanation I can think of: I followed a cultural norm and I got so used to it that I feel uncomfortable not following it. I don’t feel guilty about shaving my legs but I can at least bother to recognize the underlying reasons of why I do it.

Sojourner,

I want to first say that I'm sorry for reacting so... personally. I write before I think, if that makes any sense. I certainly don't want to start a fight -- we're on the same side. (this is me trying to be politic; not a specific reaction to your most recent post)

Secondly, I very much agree with you that people should *truthfully* ask themselves about what motivates them to do things -- whether it's to have sex in high school (or not) or to shave (or not). I often assume that people are aware of themselves to answer themselves truthfully. The inherent problem with that, I think, is that a lot of people are painfully anaware of themselves, and seem perfectly happy that way. I just find myself very uncomfortable with the assumption that women can't differentiate between their needs and society's pressures; although as you point out, the two are very closely linked. I think I also assume that a woman who is being manipulated would be somehow unhappy with what she's doing. But that theory goes out the window when you see a girls gone wild commercial.

Perhaps I have such a strong reaction because I myself am still trying to figure out what it means to me to be a woman. :o)

I really believe both Sojourner and Andrea have a point. Every aesthetic choice is valid and we should respect everyone's ability to decide for themselves. However, it is true that we cannot dismiss the influence of the mass media and society. With all that "to shave or not to shave" discussion, I actually found myself wondering if it was really unclean not to trim most of your pubic hair. That reaction was a bit of a shock to me, because I usually never need anyone's approval and am very firm as far as my personal life choices are concerned (which are miles away from traditional gender roles). But I think we're particularly vulnerable in the body image area for 2 reasons: 1. we don't think it's such a big deal to decide whether to shave, pluck our eyebrows, etc., so we might be more open to media pressure in that respect (mainly talking from my point of view here)
2. we're drowned in impossibly-perfect pictures of women every day, being made to feel inadequate and less than worthy if we don't look like those slick images, so it's quite impossible to escape being influenced by the cultural norm of beauty.
But I also think that the ever-growing influence of the porn industry played a part in it. Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against porn per se, I think certain porn movies can be quite arousing, but it seems that more and more people feel they HAVE to do certain things because they can't help comparing their sex lives with the sex acts depicted in those films. Crotch shaving is an example, but I've also seen more and more magazines, for example, referring to sodomy as a rather common practice. I think everyone should have sex the way they want to, but I also believe we have a problem when we get to a point when people (esp. young people) start feeling abnormal if they don't practice sodomy, if they don't swallow, etc. etc. To sum it all up, I have a big problem with "normalisation" and that's exactly what we're seeing here, whether it is in the grooming department or in the bedroom.
Sorry for the lengthy post, but I tried to sum up all my ideas... :-)