# What do you think about men shaving their armpits? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 22, 2013, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-men-shaving-their-armpits/669426 "2013-09-22T08:37:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-men-shaving-their-armpits/669426/61 "2015-11-02T14:38:33Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I’m totally opposed to any “manscaping” . . . especially when it comes to dainty, pencil-thin eyebrows. Armpit hair? Keep it, along with everything else. Someday this hairless fad will be over, and once again men will look like men. I know I’m responding to an old post, but I want to point out that body hair grooming at various levels from and in various regions of the body has been a significant part of human society since at least the ancient Egyptians. Roman men, who are generally considered pretty manly with all of that conquering and gladiatoring, considered body hair to be distinctly low-class, that’s why so many statues from that era don’t have any. It’s a little silly to call something that people have been doing from the very start of forming civilizations a ‘fad’ that will soon be over. And I doubt that anyone who wants a completely ‘natural’ look is actually big on wild, unkempt beards, though I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-men-shaving-their-armpits/669426/62 "2015-11-02T16:45:23Z")
I gave this at least 30 seconds of concentrated thought and realized I honestly don’t care one way or the other. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-men-shaving-their-armpits/669426/63 "2015-11-02T16:49:06Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > Roman men, who are generally considered pretty manly with all of that conquering and gladiatoring, considered body hair to be distinctly low-class, that’s why so many statues from that era don’t have any. . The other reason could be that it’s very difficult to create a marble statue that accurately depicts a hairy back ---
**Author:** ![bb49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b38774/32.png) [@bb49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bb49)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-men-shaving-their-armpits/669426/64 "2015-11-02T18:25:38Z")
I don’t know of any guys that shave their armpits, and I’ve never heard of any. I suppose if I paid more attention to their armpits, I might notice if they’re doing it. Just seems a little weird to me. I shaved my chest a couple of weeks ago in preparation for some surgery. I thought it would be better if I did it rather than the doctor or his nurse. Now that felt really weird too! Now there is some very short bristles on my chest! Whisker burn? ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-men-shaving-their-armpits/669426/65 "2015-11-02T19:13:29Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > The other reason could be that it’s very difficult to create a marble statue that accurately depicts a hairy back Even if we grant that back hair would be too difficult (I’m not sure it would, but that’s good enough for the sake of argument), they could certainly have included underarm and pubic hair without any more trouble than they did head hair, eyebrows, and beards, but they didn’t. You can even see it on some non-roman statues, it’s definitely a stylistic choice, and not a technical limitation. Plus it is well-documented in writings that Romans believed that body hair on men was low-class and downright barbaric for a large part of the empire’s life, this isn’t just based on how statues look. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-men-shaving-their-armpits/669426/66 "2015-11-03T14:00:20Z")
For me the less body hair a man has, the better. I appreciate it when a man takes the time to do some manscaping. Going down on a man is much more pleasant if I don’t end up with a mouthful of hair. ---
**Author:** ![Vaevictis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f04885/32.png) [@Vaevictis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vaevictis)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-men-shaving-their-armpits/669426/67 "2015-11-04T00:58:11Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > I know I’m responding to an old post, but I want to point out that body hair grooming at various levels from and in various regions of the body has been a significant part of human society since at least the ancient Egyptians. Roman men, who are generally considered pretty manly with all of that conquering and gladiatoring, considered body hair to be distinctly low-class, that’s why so many statues from that era don’t have any. It’s a little silly to call something that people have been doing from the very start of forming civilizations a ‘fad’ that will soon be over. And I doubt that anyone who wants a completely ‘natural’ look is actually big on wild, unkempt beards, though I could be wrong. Maybe we could compare some notes on this. There is a lot of emphasis on depilation being overly effeminate, the mark of the cinaedus. The example that pops to mind is Persius’ treatment of the topic. I don’t think hair and statues are an issue – consider how many statues represent see-through drapery style clothing so well. They were very good at representing things you would never believe they had the technical ability to render in stone. Check out the satyr/aphrodite statue – his hair is detailed in a way that looks natural though the medium is stone [Aphrodite and Satyr | Marble statute of Aphrodite and a saty… | Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/papathy/2425852936). Note that the Romans would draw a big distinction between conquering and gladiatoring. Gladiators were the conquered, the unconquered Romans watched them die for fun. That is why the idea that a free upper class Roman might play at being a gladiator was so controversial. ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-men-shaving-their-armpits/669426/68 "2015-11-04T01:40:54Z")
Nothing whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-men-shaving-their-armpits/669426/69 "2015-11-04T22:10:53Z")
I tried it. It was hard to do without cutting yourself. It got itchy by the end of the day. And it caused streams of sweat to flow down my arms when I got hot. It thus failed to accomplish the only thing I wanted out of it: to maybe not need as much deodorant. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-men-shaving-their-armpits/669426/70 "2015-11-04T22:34:28Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > It thus failed to accomplish the only thing I wanted out of it: to maybe not need as much deodorant. Do you use deodorant or anti-perspirant? I (female) don’t shave anywhere but my armpits, and it’s so that anti-perpspirant will distribute better. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-men-shaving-their-armpits/669426/71 "2015-11-05T02:46:00Z")
Do zombies shave their armpits? As for me … armpits? I still haven’t gotten over the apparent fact that some men shave their balls! ---
**Author:** ![Daithi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@Daithi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-men-shaving-their-armpits/669426/72 "2016-03-25T12:36:59Z")
I will never shave my pit hair. I have a beard and a hairy chest. If I shaved my pits it would look weird having hair everywhere else. So I’m keeping my body hair intact. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-men-shaving-their-armpits/669426/73 "2016-03-25T15:42:57Z")
I don’t care what other malebodied people choose to shave. Their business. I don’t like the overall trend towards hairlessness for either sex. I find it a bit creepy with overtones of antiseptic sterility and infancy and tameness, and of fear of adulthood, being wild, fertility. ETA: I don’t mean it inherently means those things to anyone but me; they evoke that for ME, that’s all. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-men-shaving-their-armpits/669426/74 "2016-03-25T19:12:44Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > I had a rash in one pit and shaved it to get the unguent to work better. I hated it. I suppose it is something one could get used to but I’ll stick with my hair thanks very much. This is an interesting compromise to consider. Shave ONE armpit for the best of both worlds! ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-men-shaving-their-armpits/669426/75 "2016-03-26T12:17:56Z")
> [@Macca26](#): > > I will preface this with my opinion that I think men and women should be able to shave or not shave regardless of anyone else’s preferences. I think that this is a fact, more than anybody’s opinion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-about-men-shaving-their-armpits/669426.md?page=3)