Why are ass cracks hairy?

[The Controvert]

What advantage does it serve to have hair in the ass crack and arm pit? When I was a kid, I did just fine without any hair there.

[Uncommon Sense]

To prevent chafing? Seems like a good answer as any.

[Larry Mudd]

What advantage does it serve to have hair in the ass crack and arm pit?You're looking for a teleological argument?

Rather out of fashion, those.

Sometimes things are utterly purposeless.

[lieu]

I don't know... but at least they're right next to the blowdryer.

[Quiddity Glomfuster]

Probably anti-chafing measures in all those places since they're the spots where moist body bits interface with each other. As for armpits and groin at least, hair traps pheromones and helps to dissipate them. The same must be true of hair on chests.

The hair that does seem useless is that found on arms and legs, where there's no chafing. I don't think arm and leg hair trap pheromones either.

[KneadToKnow]

The Master speaks:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_064a.html

Granted, he is specifically addressing pubic hair, but (a) I have to think that ass crack hair is merely an extension of pubic hair and (b) he also mentions armpit hair.

[BrainGlutton]

Could be the same reason we have pubic hair, (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=181402) whatever that reason is.

[Ludovic]

Probably anti-chafing measures in all those places since they're the spots where moist body bits interface with each other. As for armpits and groin at least, hair traps pheromones and helps to dissipate them. The same must be true of hair on chests.

The hair that does seem useless is that found on arms and legs, where there's no chafing. I don't think arm and leg hair trap pheromones either.Naw, I think hair on chests (and backs!) serves as an insulator as men usually have less body fat than women.

[BrainGlutton]

Which raises another question: Why do women have pubic hair but not, in most cases, asscrack hair?

[BrainGlutton]

See also this (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=377494) thread.

[Zsofia]

Which raises another question: Why do women have pubic hair but not, in most cases, asscrack hair?
Women have ass crack hair. I'd wager almost all women. They just don't let you know.

[BrainGlutton]

Women have ass crack hair. I'd wager almost all women. They just don't let you know.

. . . Never seen . . . do they wax? :eek:

[Autolycus]

Apparently without the hair, the ass cheeks can get sealed together for a short time by sweat and friction. Does anyone have a link to the "Best of Craigslist" article that described this phenomenon?

[Uncommon Sense]

Apparently without the hair, the ass cheeks can get sealed together for a short time by sweat and friction. Does anyone have a link to the "Best of Craigslist" article that described this phenomenon?
Haven't read that one yet, maybe you can find it in this list. (http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/all/?q=ass+crack+hair)
I searched for ass+crack+hair and got twenty or so threads!
Please find it.

[betenoir]

Women have ass crack hair. I'd wager almost all women. They just don't let you know.

Cite??? I've seen more male ass cracks than female but I've seen a few, including my own. No hair. Not all guys do but very few woman do. Do you really think we wake up in the morning and shave our asses? Do we shave our chests and our faces every day? We are merly less hirsute then you Y chomosome types.

Why? Hormones. Why? I don't know.

[Zany Zeolite Zipper]

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/lax/35274458.html

This is the Craig's List Ass-Crack-Hair story.

[melondeca]

Cite??? I've seen more male ass cracks than female but I've seen a few, including my own. No hair. Not all guys do but very few woman do. Do you really think we wake up in the morning and shave our asses? Do we shave our chests and our faces every day? We are merly less hirsute then you Y chomosome types.

Why? Hormones. Why? I don't know.


What kind of cite do you want? Should I send you a picture of my ass crack before I remove the hair? :p

[goldenmean1975]

This thread is too funny! I was shocked the first time I saw male ass crack hair. Thats because I don't have any myself, and no I don't shave my ass crack. It would be very uncomfortable when it started growing back!

[sunacres]

Cite??? I've seen more male ass cracks than female but I've seen a few, including my own. No hair. Not all guys do but very few woman do. Do you really think we wake up in the morning and shave our asses? Do we shave our chests and our faces every day? We are merly less hirsute then you Y chomosome types.

Why? Hormones. Why? I don't know.Massage therapist checking in. Males certainly have hairy ass cheeks more commonly than females, but the distribution of ass crack hair is just about the same. Some are bald, some have a fringe, and some have a thicket. Just about equally between men and women.

[Quiddity Glomfuster]

Naw, I think hair on chests (and backs!) serves as an insulator as men usually have less body fat than women.
Bury your nose in some chest hair sometime. I suspect you'll notice that it's not just for warmth.

[RedRosesForMe]

I was nervous about posting here- would I be banished from Womanhood forever for admitting that I have a few hairs in my ass crack? Or would I merely be mocked and ridiculed because women don't have ass crack hair and I'm a freak?

I'm glad braver souls than I posted first. Yes, I have hair in what may be construed as my ass crack- it is an extension of the pubic hair, and really doesn't continue all the way to the top of my ass crack. It's not a lot of hair, but I have noticed a few when I had that horrible ass crack itch that required aggressive means of scratching.

No partner of mine will probably believe that I have ass crack hair unless I spread my cheeks and shoved it in his protesting face. Like I said, it's not a lot of hair, but it does exist.

[betenoir]

What kind of cite do you want? Should I send you a picture of my ass crack before I remove the hair? :p

Well that would be anecdotal information.

Altough I'll take a look at it. Not much else to do tonight.

[betenoir]

Massage therapist checking in. Males certainly have hairy ass cheeks more commonly than females, but the distribution of ass crack hair is just about the same. Some are bald, some have a fringe, and some have a thicket. Just about equally between men and women.

This is a little more comprehensive. I've never seen it but I'll take your word for it.

[Madd Maxx]

Ass Crack Hair or A.C.H. acts as a baffle to slow the movement of air caused by excessive flatulence. Remove this baffle and the speed of the escaping air can cause a vertex in the ass crack itself that creates a vacuum in between the butt cheeks which causes the underwear to be sucked into your butt-crack. This is the leading cause of "skid-marks" or "tracks of the fecal monkey" as it's called in some places. Women don't have as pronounced A.C.H., as we all know girls don't fart.

[Enter the Flagon]

Women don't have as pronounced A.C.H., as we all know girls don't fart.

"Though they sometimes sit next to dogs who do." -- Buddy Hackett



Which, of course, is why dogs have hairy ass cracks. :)

[Cat Whisperer]

I feel so close to all of you. Maybe a little too close. How am I supposed to keep a straight face when meeting strangers that I know all about their ass cracks already?


:D

(Tracks of the fecal monkey, indeed.)

[chowder]

ACH is really to catch and retain dingleberries.

Apart from that I know nuffink

[toadbriar]

Ass cracks are hairy so as to make them distinguishable from breast cleavage.

Otherwise you'd be confusing one for the other all the time.

[chowder]

Ass cracks are hairy so as to make them distinguishable from breast cleavage.

Otherwise you'd be confusing one for the other all the time.

You might, most of us wouldn't.

Incidentally, have you seen an optician recently :D

[Zsofia]

I was nervous about posting here- would I be banished from Womanhood forever for admitting that I have a few hairs in my ass crack? Or would I merely be mocked and ridiculed because women don't have ass crack hair and I'm a freak?

I'm glad braver souls than I posted first. Yes, I have hair in what may be construed as my ass crack- it is an extension of the pubic hair, and really doesn't continue all the way to the top of my ass crack. It's not a lot of hair, but I have noticed a few when I had that horrible ass crack itch that required aggressive means of scratching.

No partner of mine will probably believe that I have ass crack hair unless I spread my cheeks and shoved it in his protesting face. Like I said, it's not a lot of hair, but it does exist.
Whew! I was starting to feel very alone here. :) Yeah, I mean, we're not talking about a giant forest here, but hair exists.

[Chasing Dreams]

I think ass crack hair is left over from our caveman days to prevent the anus from freezing shut in cold whether. This would be especially important for men because they would have to wander off to hunt. Being exposed to the elements and trying to use the loo at the same time is not a good combination. Thus, you need extra insulation there. The guys who had hairless cracks would get frozen anuses, constipation, and eventually die from a lack of nutrients.

[Cabin_Fever]

I can't believe I'm posting in a thread about ass crack hair. My mother would faint if she knew...

My GF has more hair down there than I do, and I have a fairly populated forest myself.
She says all her sisters have hairy butt cracks too.
I didn't ask how she knew that particular fact, though I've been dying to ask.

[Cat Whisperer]

"Hairy Butt Crack." I would join a band just to have this as the name. Or maybe "Frozen Anus."

[RedRosesForMe]

OK, perhaps others have noticed, but the ads I'm getting at the bottom are

Concrete Repair

Meet Hairy Men

Hairy Cell Leukemia

Basement Crack Repair.

Just thought I'd share.... Incidentally, do people want to "find hot hairy guys locally online?"

[yBeayf]

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/lax/35274458.html

This is the Craig's List Ass-Crack-Hair story.
What the...

Whoever posted that to Craigslist plagiarized it. I remember reading that on alt.tasteless back in the mid-90's.

[Larry Borgia]

You're looking for a teleological argument?

Rather out of fashion, those.

Sometimes things are utterly purposeless.While I can't answer this specific question, there's nothing teleological about asking what purpose a given feature serves.

[Cat Whisperer]

While I can't answer this specific question, there's nothing teleological about asking what purpose a given feature serves.
"It's not a bug, it's a feature!"

[Litoris]

To keep you from going ass-to-mouth.

You never go ass-to-mouth!

[Larry Mudd]

While I can't answer this specific question, there's nothing teleological about asking what purpose a given feature serves.That may be true of asking if there's any advantage to having ass-crack hair, but the the OP's assumption that the hair there must exist to serve some purpose is purely teleological thinking.

[betenoir]

I think ass crack hair is left over from our caveman days to prevent the anus from freezing shut in cold

:dubious: Then why are some of the hairier asses I've seen are on black guys (who I assume get there DNA from Africa which is mostly pretty warm.)

[Chasing Dreams]

:dubious: Then why are some of the hairier asses I've seen are on black guys (who I assume get there DNA from Africa which is mostly pretty warm.)

They are in the process of evolving into hairy humans in order to look bigger in front of the hairy lions and tigers. The hair starts in the butt crack and spreads outwards. :D

[Larry Borgia]

That may be true of asking if there's any advantage to having ass-crack hair, but the the OP's assumption that the hair there must exist to serve some purpose is purely teleological thinking.Yeah, I take your point, but asking "why is that like that" isn't always a bad question. Evolution does do design work, in its own blind way.

I think there's sometimes a misconception that evolution precludes asking any why questions.

[betenoir]

They are in the process of evolving into hairy humans in order to look bigger in front of the hairy lions and tigers. The hair starts in the butt crack and spreads outwards. :D


:dubious: :dubious: :dubious: Are you sugesrting black guys need more evolsution???? They can be pretty frighting without fur :) . I think they are terrifying....although one huge guy I knew I still think was Klingon (well he spoke it).

(Sorry about the bad spelling. I'm not feeling well and I'm not sure I can spell my own name at the moment)

[Quiddity Glomfuster]

OK, perhaps others have noticed, but the ads I'm getting at the bottom are

Concrete Repair

Meet Hairy Men

Hairy Cell Leukemia

Basement Crack Repair.

Just thought I'd share.... Incidentally, do people want to "find hot hairy guys locally online?"
Sure! I like the boys furry :D However, apparently, the message to me is 'get lost' or 'get out of town' since my ads are
Romania Childcare Help

Volunteer in Patagonia

Adventures in Missions

Thailand Student Programs

:(

/hijack

[Ludovic]

Yeah, I take your point, but asking "why is that like that" isn't always a bad question. Evolution does do design work, in its own blind way.

I think there's sometimes a misconception that evolution precludes asking any why questions.As long as everyone is clear on it, I see no harm with phrasing the question "why is [particular biological phenomenon] that way" as shorthand for "what were the evolutionary advantages, if any, that led to the development and/or retention of this characteristic?"

[Ignatz]

For the same reason we have nose hairs - to keep the bugs from crawling up. ?

[betenoir]

For the same reason we have nose hairs - to keep the bugs from crawling up. ?

Wouldn't that just give them something to crawl up on on their way in?

Ok now I've grossed myself out.

[Rysdad]

My ads are:

Pubic Hair Removal
Emjoi Tweeze Hair Remover
Shaver for Women
Beyond Laser Hair Removal

I think that last one is just a blowtorch.

[Eltanin]

As long as everyone is clear on it, I see no harm with phrasing the question "why is [particular biological phenomenon] that way" as shorthand for "what were the evolutionary advantages, if any, that led to the development and/or retention of this characteristic?"

And I don't see why there should be any confusion about the OP, since "What advantage does it serve...?" is precisely what was asked.

[CaerieD]

Cite??? I've seen more male ass cracks than female but I've seen a few, including my own. No hair. Not all guys do but very few woman do. Do you really think we wake up in the morning and shave our asses? Do we shave our chests and our faces every day? We are merly less hirsute then you Y chomosome types.

Why? Hormones. Why? I don't know.

Others have chimed in on this already, but having discussed various forms of hair removal with my female friends before (shaving or waxing or laser hair removal, oh my!) I can be quite assured of the fact that ass crack hair is not something only men have. I haven't gone around inspecting female asses pre-hair removal, but considering how often "and then I had to spread my butt cheeks" gets mentioned in a waxing story...yeah, it's quite common.