Is Pubic Hair In A Bikini Obscene?

[Something Amyss]

Not everything in the human body evolved for a reason.

I'm not even saying this is wrong, but this line of thinking is.

In fact, nothing evolved on the human body for a reason, because that indicates a purpose or goal behind evolution that nobody can demonstrate. Now, if we're done being pedantic.

Presence of androgenic hair does, however, provide multiple benefits and therefore is likely to exist for the purpose indicated. There's no scientific consensus, but it's a reasonable statement, if not worded in the most scientific way possible.

In short, it likely is there for a reason, where reason is understood in a social or colloquial context. Even negative traits carried on in humans tend to do so because they have an overall positive effect.

Nope, as has been pointed out a dozen times before male pubic hair isn't really anymore acceptable to show in a swimsuit.

Look for the hashtag "pubes" on instagram. I won't post pictures, but if you think what she was showing would be unacceptable for a guy, you're wrong.

They even have a guy posing in a (woman's) bikini showing off more pubes than she did.

Remind me how it's not a double standard, again?

It's really telling when having something as natural as fucking pubic hair showing on a women is considered "unseemingly".

It's like we are supposed to be hairless creatures or some shit.

I'm just gonna leave it at that.

In fairness, it's just our culture.

That's...actually surprising. I wouldn't have thought that hairy areas tend to be more prone to afflictions. Eh, I guess there must be some reason why humans grow so much of the stuff, though.

The hairy areas that tend to be prone to afflictions most commonly are the ones that will be prone to them with or without the presence of hair. Shaving can worsen them and create new problems. One way or another, we've evolved the way we did, and shaving throws off the balance. Though maybe we'll evolve some new trait from this. I doubt it, though.

 

[Hagi]

Look for the hashtag "pubes" on instagram. I won't post pictures, but if you think what she was showing would be unacceptable for a guy, you're wrong.

They even have a guy posing in a (woman's) bikini showing off more pubes than she did.

Remind me how it's not a double standard, again?

Ask yourself this, why aren't you posting those pictures?

As for Instagram, are you honestly under the impression that they've checked every single photograph on their service to see if they deem it appropriate?

There's most likely some sort of report function or they otherwise receive complaints. This particular photograph received complaints so they reviewed it and, based on that, removed it. Countless other pictures will have been removed as well, none of them with news-stories though, and just as many have gone under the radar and are still there, whether Instagram thinks they're appropriate or not.

You'll have a point once you can post said pictures here without second thoughts with an Instagram representative personally approving them.

 

[Something Amyss]

Ask yourself this, why aren't you posting those pictures?

The same reason I don't swear here as much as I do in real life: I don't want a warning for potentially violating the Escapist's community standards. Note this has nothing to do with actual social standards; I sawear much more in real life to no cultural objection. In fact, one might consider where I picked it up.

There are lots of things that are culturally okay that I won't do here for those exact same reasons, BTW. Not even that they do violate the conduct rules here, but that they might and I'd rather not find myself banned one day.

To try and assert any other reason is absurd.

Keep in mind, too that this is a website where quoting the content provided by the website can get you banned. I like the Escapist, but we're hardly talking about a website that is free of sin itself.

As for Instagram, are you honestly under the impression that they've checked every single photograph on their service to see if they deem it appropriate?

And now we've gone to reducto ad absurdum.

They wouldn't even reasonably need to vet all pictures individually for this to be at issue. That such a thing can trend is an issue in and of itself, and the volume of such pics is also at issue. But I guess if you don't want to let things like reality or facts get in the way of a good argument, I suppose the whole personally vetted argument sounds good.

The alternative is then that women's pubic hair pictures are removed because they are reported more frequently, which then goes to the issue of a double standard again. I'm sorry, how does that help your argument any?

 

[Hagi]

Ask yourself this, why aren't you posting those pictures?

The same reason I don't swear here as much as I do in real life: I don't want a warning for potentially violating the Escapist's community standards. Note this has nothing to do with actual social standards; I sawear much more in real life to no cultural objection. In fact, one might consider where I picked it up.

There are lots of things that are culturally okay that I won't do here for those exact same reasons, BTW. Not even that they do violate the conduct rules here, but that they might and I'd rather not find myself banned one day.

To try and assert any other reason is absurd.

Keep in mind, too that this is a website where quoting the content provided by the website can get you banned. I like the Escapist, but we're hardly talking about a website that is free of sin itself.

As for Instagram, are you honestly under the impression that they've checked every single photograph on their service to see if they deem it appropriate?

And now we've gone to reducto ad absurdum.

They wouldn't even reasonably need to vet all pictures individually for this to be at issue. That such a thing can trend is an issue in and of itself, and the volume of such pics is also at issue. But I guess if you don't want to let things like reality or facts get in the way of a good argument, I suppose the whole personally vetted argument sounds good.

The alternative is then that women's pubic hair pictures are removed because they are reported more frequently, which then goes to the issue of a double standard again. I'm sorry, how does that help your argument any?

Here's the thing though.

That pubes hashtag? It's not devoid of female pubes, at all.

This is just one single picture being removed. That does not constitute a trend. That does not constitute a double standard. That's just one singular picture. That's anecdotal evidence.

Now there's less female pubes there than male pubes. Which I'm sure you'll jump on right ahead to take to mean that the difference in pictures much surely have been deleted by Instagram because this singular picture was. But that's just jumping ahead to conclusions (even more).

So yeah, I'd like some actual facts before I go ahead and jump to double standards. An Instagram representative saying male pubes are a-okay while female pubes aren't would do it. Statistics on the number of female pube pictures vs male pube pictures being removed would do it. Anything really that isn't based on either this anecdotal evidence or your personal feelings on what today's cultural standards are and are not.

 

[Something Amyss]

[
That pubes hashtag? It's not devoid of female pubes, at all.

Hmm. I don't recall saying devoid. I do recall indicating a disproportion.

I had to go pretty deep to find any at all, which is far from true for men. I also couldn't the same level of exposure from women, even though men are routinely showing off more than this woman did.

So yeah, I'd like some actual facts before I go ahead and jump to double standards.

And I would like some actual facts before I go ahead and assume a single standard. Since you have failed to make your affirmative case, it's a little hypocritical to then complain that I didn't meet mine according to the standards you're still selectively applying. Or putting words in my mouth, for that matter.

Your defense of a single standard so far has been, essentially, "you can't prove otherwise." That's a house made of glass, friend. And no matter how many times you shift the goalposts, it's still a house of glass.

 

[Hagi]

[
That pubes hashtag? It's not devoid of female pubes, at all.

Hmm. I don't recall saying devoid. I do recall indicating a disproportion.

I had to go pretty deep to find any at all, which is far from true for men. I also couldn't the same level of exposure from women, even though men are routinely showing off more than this woman did.

So yeah, I'd like some actual facts before I go ahead and jump to double standards.

And I would like some actual facts before I go ahead and assume a single standard. Since you have failed to make your affirmative case, it's a little hypocritical to then complain that I didn't meet mine according to the standards you're still selectively applying. Or putting words in my mouth, for that matter.

Your defense of a single standard so far has been, essentially, "you can't prove otherwise." That's a house made of glass, friend. And no matter how many times you shift the goalposts, it's still a house of glass.

I'm not saying there is a single standard. I'm not making an affirmative case, that's your strawman.

I'm saying that there's not a double standard until proven otherwise. All I've claimed is that just like there's this singular instance of a female pubes being deemed unacceptable there've also been singular cases of male pubes being deemed unacceptable (as proven by you not posting said pubes on this forum as well).

But, by all means, keep accusing me of shifting the goal posts as I refuse to conform to the strawman arguments you attribute to me...

 

[Lionsfan]

I'll just jump in here, break up the strawmen arguing back and forth, to say....

Pubes are gross

That is all

 

[MalinoreIce]

The same question should also be asked to men. Why do men not shave their chest hair, legs, back, face, etc.? Which those photos are completely fine and if females don't want to shave or do shave but just don't feel the need to, a little hair isn't a huge deal.

 

[Vigormortis]

snip

Exactly my point. Something smells fishy about this, and it's not the pubes.

The more I look into it the less sense this story makes.

Hell, there's even an Instagram group dedicated to accumulating and linking to all of the Instagram images of female pubic hair:

Spoiler: NSFW status debatable, but click at your own discretion.

http://web.stagram.com/n/ladygardens

I admire, and share, her drive for equal rights amongst men and women, but stirring up 'nontroversies' isn't the way to do it. The evidence just doesn't stack up, unless I'm missing something glaring.

To all the people saying that this isn't a double standard, and that male pubic hair is considered equally obscene - how about you take ten seconds to look it up? It's quite obvious that instagram doesn't have a problem with pubic hair on men. If you're going to pretend that sexism doesn't exist at least stick to topics where you can't be instantly refuted by a google search.

Actually, I took at least twenty minutes looking into it.

Her account is still active and Instagram is rife with both male AND female pubic hair pics.

Seems to me Instagram's sexism isn't quite so obvious.

 

[manic_depressive13]

Actually, I took at least twenty minutes looking into it.

Her account is still active and Instagram is rife with both male AND female pubic hair pics.

Seems to me Instagram's sexism isn't quite so obvious.

Okay, that's good. I don't know whether her account was temporarily shut down or whether she just made it up, but many people besides me took the article at face value. My point still stands that even a cursory glance at the hashtag "pubes" shows instagram overflowing with hairy male crotch. So it seems odd to pretend male pubic hair is just as stigmatised as female pubic hair.

 

[L. Declis]

Yeah, it's not obscene, but we all know what is acceptable.

It's the same as having food in your beard. It's not obscene, but people are going to look away. It's a matter of personal hygiene.

I'm not saying I want it to be as smooth as a peach on both men and women, but having tufts of pubic hair invading the thighs like an Orc army is not a nice thing to see, on a guy or girl. Shakira could be standing in front of me in a bikini but if she has Bob Ross poking out of her bikini it's not going to be pleasant looking.

The same for oral sex. My girlfriend doesn't have to shave because she isn't overly hairy. One of my exes was so hairy that going down on her was actively gross to do, and I wished she had at least trim. Similarly, I trim if I am expecting anyone to head South, and I trim regardless because it's a cleaner thing to do.

Men or women who shave themselves bald are a bit strange to me; it's such an American thing to do as well and they act like pubic hair is, of itself, gross. Pubic hair, like water, is fine in moderation, but may kill you in large amounts.

The same question should also be asked to men. Why do men not shave their chest hair, legs, back, face, etc.? Which those photos are completely fine and if females don't want to shave or do shave but just don't feel the need to, a little hair isn't a huge deal.

Hair is generally seen as a masculine trait. A big beard on a bloke is manly. A big beard on a woman is manly, and not attractive to most people. Even a moustache on a woman is kindy icky. Similarly, a man with a bushy chest hair can look caveman-handsome. A woman with a chest full of hair is going to get fingers pointed at them.

How can I explain it? If hair is manly, what is womanly? Breasts?

Can a man have breasts and not be looked at? Can a man wear make-up (lip-stick, blusher, the whole lot) and not look strange? Can a man wear nail and finger polish and not raise eyebrows?

Now, a progressive person doesn't mind. But society isn't overly progressive, and it goes both ways. Generally, we like our men to have manly things and our woman to have womanly things.

 

[Relish in Chaos]

No, I don?t believe it?s obscene to have visible pubic hair in a swimsuit. In that picture, you can barely even see the pubic hair anyway. Ms. Collins was absolutely spot-on in her criticism of her Instagram account deletion and society?s bullshit opinions on what other women do with their bodies. There are probably much more ?obscene? photos on Instagram that don?t get removed.

 

[Vigormortis]

Okay, that's good. I don't know whether her account was temporarily shut down or whether she just made it up, but many people besides me took the article at face value. My point still stands that even a cursory glance at the hashtag "pubes" shows instagram overflowing with hairy male crotch. So it seems odd to pretend male pubic hair is just as stigmatised as female pubic hair.

Oh, I never made such an assertion. Believe me, I think you and I agree on more than a few things. However, while I'll agree female pubic hair is at times more "stigmatized" than male pubic hair, in most situations the persons sex is irrelevant to the criticism they'll receive for displaying their pubic hair in public.

All I was getting at was that her whole story just reeks of fabrication. And, given how many female pube-pics I've seen thus far still being freely displayed on Instagram, even if her account was banned temporarily (which I still don't buy) I'm convinced it was for something other than that rather tame bikini pic.

 

[SacremPyrobolum]

Yes.

Unless I have a fetish for it that day.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

Really? Guys showing pubic hair poking out of a speedo is something considered completely normal? I almost never see this, and the only times I have it's accompanied with a considerable amount of wincing from all present parties. Indecent or not, it just looks really bad to have a fringe of hair outlining your bathing suit.

I'm not saying you need to shave your pubic area if you're a woman by any stretch. I could care less whether its shaved or not (although trimmed a bit is usually nice). I also think that it's a stupid double standard that women are expected to shave their legs, while men aren't. But man or woman, you should choose your swimsuit bottoms in a way that doesn't frame them with your pubic hair. I mean, you don't need to I suppose... but I haven't seen anybody with that where it doesn't look really bad.

I don't think they had great cause to take down that photo, but in my experience I haven't seen pubic hair display been seen as a normal thing for either gender