# When is the zeitgeist going to swing back to women having a full, natural bush? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 10, 2008, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364 "2008-10-10T19:05:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/61 "2008-10-11T11:26:13Z")
> [@Carson\_O\_Genic](#): > > I don’t know what era Playboys your father read, but the beginning years downplayed body hair, whether by airbrush or razor. It wasn’t until Penthouse started sapping market share coincident with later 60s counter culture co-opting that Hefner and his directors started printing the more natural look. I was born in '74, and by the time I was interested, the stack in the bathroom was about 3 feet high. If this was in GQ, you’d have half a dozen math Dopers in to figure out the average width of a Playboy and give you a date range, but I think seventies and early eighties covers it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/62 "2008-10-11T12:01:39Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > \*I don’t want to hear “it has nothing to do with porn, I just like it trimmed/bald.” No. Do you think that 100+ years ago - before men saw images of bald crotches regularly from age 13 on - that men preferred it trimmed, or asked their women to trim? I doubt it even crossed their minds. It’s just ingrained in modern mens’ minds because the first naked woman they ever see in a sexually provocative light (Playboy, porn, whatever) is shaved, and most subsequent naked women they see are shaved, so anything that is different is odd/strange/a turn-off to them (except for enlightened men like my boyfriend!!) Total bullshit, but keep convincing yourself of that. If it helps you sleep at night to believe it’s the media and corporations brainwashing us into thinking your primitive jungle growth is unattractive, then so be it. In reality–as people have already pointed out–it’s not a new creation of modern porn. Both the first nudie mags I ever looked at _and_ the first porno I ever watched had bushier women. Not to mention all the 80s movies that showed women bottomless. (“We’ve got bush! Weee’ve got bush!”) So that blows your “first naked woman” theory out of the water. It wasn’t until years later that I saw a picture of clean shaven or ultra-trimmed girls. My first real life “in your face” vaginas all were surrounded by hair. Exposure to clean shaven and ultra-trimmed woman did not come until _years_ later. And like a new flavor of ice cream, I preferred it. I wasn’t brainwashed by years of corporate anti-bush propaganda and forced exposure to hairless crotch. It was a new thing that I immediately preferred upon my first exposure to it. But go ahead and keep believing otherwise. As to the OP, probably never. Like clean shaven legs and pits, I think it’s here to stay. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/63 "2008-10-11T12:50:07Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Total bullshit, but keep convincing yourself of that. If it helps you sleep at night to believe it’s the media and corporations brainwashing us into thinking your primitive jungle growth is unattractive, then so be it. In reality–as people have already pointed out–it’s not a new creation of modern porn. > > Both the first nudie mags I ever looked at _and_ the first porno I ever watched had bushier women. Not to mention all the 80s movies that showed women bottomless. (“We’ve got bush! Weee’ve got bush!”) So that blows your “first naked woman” theory out of the water. It wasn’t until years later that I saw a picture of clean shaven or ultra-trimmed girls. My first real life “in your face” vaginas all were surrounded by hair. > Exposure to clean shaven and ultra-trimmed woman did not come until _years_ later. And like a new flavor of ice cream, I preferred it. I wasn’t brainwashed by years of corporate anti-bush propaganda and forced exposure to hairless crotch. It was a new thing that I immediately preferred upon my first exposure to it. > > But go ahead and keep believing otherwise. > > As to the OP, probably never. Like clean shaven legs and pits, I think it’s here to stay. This. Twenty-five years ago, shaved pussies were extremely rare in top-shelf general-issue magazines; also in real life. I mean, I’m no Don Juan, but I saw the occasional snatch in my young adulthood, and they were mostly hairy. I disagree politely on the paedo thing too; shaven adult pussies do not look like little girls’ peeholes. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/64 "2008-10-11T13:43:02Z")
I think those that are saying “probably never” don’t have any more basis than someone who says “someday soon.” After all, in the last year I have noticed that a few models in _Penthouse_ and _Club_ are starting to show bush, although, very often they hold a hand over it. The age of complete baldness being more or less mandatory seems to be fading a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/65 "2008-10-11T13:59:40Z")
> [@CutterJohn](#): > > _sigh_ > > All these comments about too much/little hair down south, and here I’m 29 and my beard still grows in patches, which is the absolute _worst_. I _have_ to shave because my au natural look is, shall we say, repulsive inbred trailer trash? > > What i wouldnt give to have the option to shave or not! > > Apologies for my temporary lapse into self pity. In regards to bush, i’m not a die hard fan of bald kitties, but its not a turn off either. Wildly overgrown bush makes me gag a bit though. > > Ideally, there would be a modest amount. Not bald, or even a landing strip, but also not buckwheat on a bad hair day. > > So no, I would prefer not to go back to the 70s. 80s, ok. > Btw.. do fans of natural bush also prefer that the guys/girls not get haircuts at all either? Just curious. I call that a Summer Beard…Summer here, and Summer over here. I once went for three our four weeks, just to see what would happen and it ended up with about 80% coverage. I looked permanently like ‘That beard will look good when it finishes growing in.’ It was also weird feeling the hair blow about in the breeze. Double weird when it tickled my lips. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Stilettos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/66 "2008-10-11T14:05:46Z")
I hope it comes back soon. Like a few other women in this thread, I can wear a bathing suit with no maintenance. The few times that I’ve tried trimming or shaving, it has been very uncomfortable. Granted, my boyfriend at the time thought it was great, but it made sex so itchy and prickly that I didn’t want to do it. So, that kind of backfired for him. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/67 "2008-10-11T15:02:18Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > I’m glad I don’t have to go through this unnecessary grooming ritual to cater to mens’ strange hangups which they develop by watching too much modern porn\*. > > \*I don’t want to hear “it has nothing to do with porn, I just like it trimmed/bald.” No. Do you think that 100+ years ago - before men saw images of bald crotches regularly from age 13 on - that men preferred it trimmed, or asked their women to trim? I don’t think it has all that much to do with men’s preferences, any more than facial shaving is dictated by women’s - but yes, pubic grooming (for men and women) predates “modern” pornography, being well-documented virtually everywhere. Apart from specific documentation of these practices (such as depictions of depilation on ancient Greek urns,) you may find that you can stroll through the catalogs of most civilizations nude art without hardly ever having Gene Shalit called to mind. ---
**Author:** ![jtsPimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@jtsPimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtsPimp)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/68 "2008-10-11T15:08:03Z")
This thread made me laugh! I think it’s a cultural thing. ALL women in Florida shave their bits, no exceptions! They say it’s the heat, but I think that’s nonsense. I think they’re more concerned about the smell of their bits and how noticable it is. I wonder if in colder climes it is less common for women to groom?! I recall playing badminton in a church hall with some German girl when I was about 10 or 11 years old. She was a bit older and had notiable armpit hair. I thought it was a bit wierd that she didn’t shave it at the time, but then looking back on it now, that’s totally up to the individual. I believe its the cultural norm in Germany for the ladies not to worry to much about their armpits… In the end, a woman’s body is her own business and good luck to them. When I like a woman, I like a woman because of who she is, not for her appearance or grooming habits. But in response to the question, I lke both - groomed or ungroomed. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Unsquare\_Dance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b3f665/32.png) [@Unsquare\_Dance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unsquare_Dance)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/69 "2008-10-11T16:11:58Z")
> [@jtsPimp](#): > > I wonder if in colder climes it is less common for women to groom?! Yes, it is for me anyway. But only with things like legs. I will always shave my armpits, regardless of climate. But my hair is light blonde/brown on my legs, so I don’t see the point of shaving them when I wear pants all winter long. As far as the body part in question, I do about the same all year long. Frankly, I’m just not that hairy. My hair stops growing after a certain point. In the summer, I shave more often, but I don’t wear shorts, so there’s not too much reason to do it. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/70 "2008-10-11T16:35:19Z")
> [@Some\_FNG](#): > > Bald is beautiful! I find it disturbing. I don’t care if it’s full but there has to be SOMETHING there. No…it isn’t a dealbreaker but rest assured I’ll be complaining to my friends later. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/71 "2008-10-11T18:00:19Z")
I definitley like the 80s bush best. Trimmed around the edges, fine. A crew cut is ok (shorter but not whittled away to a strip). Shaving around the labia is ok, but I really like to see the “delta” pattern on top. Porn has gotten much for the worse with the bald trend. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/72 "2008-10-11T18:27:48Z")
I’m pretty near obsessive about removal of hair from other parts of the body–legs, arms, tummy, underarms–those get waxed year round. I guess the reason why I don’t think there needs to be a trend for…down there is because no one really ever sees that. Except for a sex partner, and buddy if you’re complaining about that, you can get the hell out of Dodge right now. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2008, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/73 "2008-10-11T18:46:06Z")
> [@jtsPimp](#): > > I think it’s a cultural thing. ALL women in Florida shave their bits, no exceptions! They say it’s the heat, but I think that’s nonsense. > \ > I wonder if in colder climes it is less common for women to groom?! Unless you have a sample of every single woman in Florida, you can’t really say that. Speaking as someone from a cold climate (although I no longer live there), no it isn’t less common for women to remove bodily hair than it would be for women elsewhere. Some women I know do not shave their legs during the winter, others do it just as often. ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/74 "2008-10-12T12:31:04Z")
I’ve lived in a colder climate and a warm one and I prefer shaved armpits and trimmed pubic hair. It feels better. Armpit hair retains funk, and nobody likes funk. :eek: I’m not nearly as fussy about my leg hair, because there isn’t that much of it. I trim my pubic hair with scissors, since shaving makes me itchy and waxing isn’t in the budget. ---
**Author:** ![Peanut\_Gallery](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/838e76/32.png) [@Peanut\_Gallery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanut_Gallery)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/75 "2008-10-12T14:21:33Z")
The biggest problem is the swimsuit issue. So when we make this change, we need to switch to mandatory skinnydipping at the same time. Just to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Stilettos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/76 "2008-10-12T14:39:47Z")
> [@Peanut\_Gallery](#): > > The biggest problem is the swimsuit issue. So when we make this change, we need to switch to mandatory skinnydipping at the same time. Just to be sure. 🆒 I like you. You should post more often. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/77 "2008-10-12T14:43:40Z")
> [@cowgirl](#): > > Same here. I am very hairy. Fortunately I don’t go swimming much, and since I managed to find a boy-short bathing suit with a little leg coverage, I don’t need to worry about it. > > I gave up on the hair removal thing once I realized that I only seem to date guys who prefer the natural thing (and yes, there are lots of those). Now I shave my legs only before weddings (the only time I wear fancy shoes and bare legs), trim pits and pubes when they get too unbearable, and otherwise I grow free all the time. > > The last time anyone expressed any dissatisfaction with this was in 1999, and I have had … um … several lovers since then. > > In fact I have had more than one discussion IRL along these lines. Each time, I have wondered aloud whether men who concern themselves with these things take the time to trim around the bushes themselves. Each time, I have been subsequently taken aside and thanked by the girlfriend of one of the men I addressed the comment to. That’s… hot. I’m serious. I wish more women were like you. Complete baldness is repulsive to me. Women: you are beautiful, and so is everything you grew in your adolescence! ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/78 "2008-10-12T21:19:36Z")
Trends be damned, I have always shaved because it feels better to me. I feel cleaner and more sensitive. That’s just me and I wouldn’t care if 70s bush was all the rage. I started shaving it all away at 17 and kept it up until a few years ago when I decided on laser hair removal. Now it’s a done deal, no more bush for me. If a guy didn’t like it, so be it. His choice to make because I’m not changing 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/79 "2008-10-13T05:08:16Z")
I havent had much experience with them…(hey lay off me I’m young) but the one that I was able to…enjoy…she always had some hair, but she trimmed. I always enjoyed having hair because (since we wern’t having sex) it gave me something to feel when I was doing something down there. I always would ask her to shave it “as much as possible” before nights when we _knew_ it was going to get hot, and when she did I could tell a difference, and I liked it more than when she wouldn’t shave for a while. I always begged her to shave it all just once for me, but she never would…I think shaved is better to look at, but trimmed is better all around…It’s more fun to feel…and theres more feeling down there (fingering, oral, sex) than there is visual ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364/80 "2008-10-13T05:25:53Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > My boyfriend loves my natural untrimmed bush. It’s a turn-on for him. I am really lucky!! \ Dangit, and you’re on my Facebook friends list, too. Now I’ll never be able to look at your photo the same (from here on, it’ll be “Kinky!” running through my head). Kidding, kidding. Kinda. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-the-zeitgeist-going-to-swing-back-to-women-having-a-full-natural-bush/467364.md?page=5)