Um, Bongmaster, if the women you date need to shave their backs and chests, too, there may be a couple of things they haven’t been telling you.
There needs to be a comparative study with the women in that place in France.
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- And this is a good thing? From buying socks and outdoor cold-weather clothes, I had gathered that synthetics or wool are best, precisely because they don’t absorb moisture–the sweat is drawn off the skin and evaporates off the fabric quickly, and the fabric stays fluffed up and soft. With cotton, it soaks up moisture and the fibers shrink–which is why cotton socks feel great when you first put them on, but not after an hour of walking with shoes on. And they keep moisture absorbed over a long time, keeping your skin cold…
(-granted, I am the wrong gender to actually know that this would or would not be a good idea in the area concerned…)
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- And this is a good thing? From buying socks and outdoor cold-weather clothes, I had gathered that synthetics or wool are best, precisely because they don’t absorb moisture–the sweat is drawn off the skin and evaporates off the fabric quickly, and the fabric stays fluffed up and soft. With cotton, it soaks up moisture and the fibers shrink–which is why cotton socks feel great when you first put them on, but not after an hour of walking with shoes on. And they keep moisture absorbed over a long time, keeping your skin cold…
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“and man-made fabrics.”
Yeah, go ahead. Blame everything on us. 
Yep. I had to read it over a few times before I realized it didn’t say that.
As yet there have been no truly expert opinions posted on this thread – i.e., from a gynecologist or other physician. (At least, no poster has so identified himself/herself.) Aren’t there any M.D.'s in the doper community?
Bloomers were a late 19th century invention. Drawers of any sort were not part of American female attire before about 1860. Most of the first drawers were crotchless.
Also antibiotic treatment. Knocks out the “good” bacteria, too. My mom swears every time she has to take antibiotics, she comes down with a yeast infection right afterward. (Some people say taking acidophilus tablets can help.)
Women generally wore layers of petticoats. Up until 1900, women wore at least three petticoats (sometimes up to six.) Any dishcharges would have soaked into them. During menstrual cycles, women often pinned cloth between their legs, attatched to a belt-- much like a sumo wrestler. Leaks were frequent. In fact, pioneer women used to wear read flannel petticoats while travelling in wagon trains to avoid the embarassment of tell-tale stains when she washed clothes.
While elaborate dresses themselves were rarely washed, the wealthy prided themselves on their gleaming white “linen.” Personal hygeine in some eras simply meant changing your linen frequently. At various times it was the fashion to allow the undershirts or petticoats to peek out of the main garment. A person could display their wealth and status through having the whitest whites. The flesh below the garment may not have ever seen a bathtub, but clean linen meant that you * were * clean, regardless of stinking to high heaven.
DougC – most many-made fabrics provide a delightful haven for bacteria – ever notice how your polypropolene (sp?) shirts take to stanking after you wear them a few times… and how newer fabrics tout their ability to stay smell-free?
The idea isn’t to pull away moisture so the hoo-hah stays dry, which is the idea of synthetic socks – the hoo-hah is supposed to be a bit moist; a dry hoo-hah is actually pretty uncomfortable – but to keep air circulating (breathing) so that oxygen-hating organisms are kept at bay. Cotton does that better than synthetics. Even if you buy wicking underwear (which I own for skiing) they have cotton in the crotch.
< Gorean mode > Women must keep their nether regions available for the uses of men at all times! < /Gorean mode >
Why beat around the bush?
Now also prevents thrush!
I know my feet stay a lot healthier when I wear sandals than when they are enclosed in sneakers or loafers all day. Generally, it’s good to expose those foldy and crevasse areas of the body to fresh air when you can. Why, then, would fresh air not be healthy for women’s nether regions? It just makes common sense.
I checked with my ob/gyn and she states that the best way to avoid problems is to wear cotton underwear and don’t wear tight pants. Skirts are better, but as long as you don’t wear pants two sizes two small, you shouldn’t have any problems.
The other two words of wisdom were to bathe frequently and dry off well, and never wear underwear at night.
I don’t think women started wearing drawers until about, maybe the 1830s? Before then, they usually had chemises, hose, petticoats and corsets and that was it.
I’m guess that when crinolines came into vogue, it was considered indecent NOT to wear underdrawers.
Underlining mine.
Please, people. Let’s move away from the vernacular and use the proper medical term.
I’m speaking, of course, of cooter.
Good one **Spiff[/b[. But I think “cooter” sounds a bit too much like a varmint by coon-dog might tree. If I had a coon-dog. Or a tree.
<old men sitting on porch>
“Damn cooters’re a right nuisance.”
“yep.”
</old men>
TMI WARNING!
I am rather more on the damp end of the spectrum, so cotton wasn’t doing it for me. Too damp, all the time. Some days, I’d get home and want to change my underwear just because it was soggy enough to be clammy and uncomfortable. But sans underwear, and I’d be leaving marks on my skirts (one boyfriend said he was amazed I didn’t leave ‘water marks’ on my skirts even WITH underwear…), not to mention the expense of replacing skirts if I happened to leak during my period… rather more than replacing stained underwear, if I even bother. Since I’ve switched to microfiber (not classic nylon, which doesn’t work and requires a cotton layer anyway), I’ve not had anywhere near the usual degree of yeastiebeasties. So while cotton is good, for some of us, the (expensive but high-end) manmades are better. Plus, they so soft…
A bit earlier than that, actually. In one of my books, *The History Of Underclothes, * there’s a picture of a pair of late 16th century women’s under drawers. They look like knee-length pantalets. It can be assumed that the custom of wearing underpants was developed a little earlier.
< Maude Flanders mode > But what about keeping the nether regions open for the uses of men? Won’t somebody PLEEEEEEASE think of keeping the nether regions open for the uses of men? < /Maude Flanders mode >
Maude Flanders? MAUDE FLANDERS? Jesus, you die and in less than three seasons, they’re misquoting you. It’s Helen! Helen Lovejoy!
Also, I remember reading the novel A Maggot, which I believe takes place in the 1600s. Or was it 1500s? Anyway, it is mentioned that everywhere, except in England, women had some kind of underwear/drawer system. But not in England, for some unspecified reason.
I sorta thought Helen and Maude tag teamed with that phrase. I had trouble telling them apart anyway when they were in crowds.
– Evil Captor, selflessly thinking about the accessibility of women’s nether regions – for all our sakes.
(halo smiley)