Vive le Bush!
7 years ago by
For the first time in my life I have a bush. It was a decision that came as a result of a conversation about pubic hair that erupted within the studio. More specifically, a result of realizing I was within the minority of my coworkers who favored a full Brazilian groom. When confronted with the request for a reason, I couldn’t provide one, other than it was a choice I had made based on previously instilled beliefs that full nude was what I preferred – and what I assumed my partners did too.
The truth is, I had never really thought about what I actually preferred, and more importantly, why. But I needed to confront my own notions of the subject upon realizing the women I look up to in the studio (all of whom are in their 30s) were taking a stand by embracing their own pubic hair and being open about it.
As the conversation progressed, I realized even the most liberal groomers in the studio grappled with their perception of the bush. Sure, everyone was all, Hair is natural! All hail women! But they also said, “Ew no I don’t leave everything un-waxed” and, “I have a triangle of hair to remind me of my womanhood but that’s it.” So I was conflicted… and it seemed like some of my coworkers were too. And I couldn’t help but wonder if the conflict stemmed from the social constructs that shaped my perception of certain things, specifically surrounding beauty expectations. Like this idea that it’s not normal to be natural – that it’s unclean and unattractive. But there’s something really upsetting in realizing that I’m making personal choices based on extraneous opinions.
Confronting anything, whether it’s an idea or something physical, forces you to dig deep in order to get to the root of the thing – no pun intended. So I retired my razor and went MIA on my waxer. And while it feels good to go natural (like actually, the avoidance of having hair ripped out of my private parts feels really good) (ok, I still got one grooming bikini wax), it’s something I’m still getting used to. Not so much when I’m alone but when the presence of other people is on the table, whether in intimate settings like the bedroom, or in a bathing suit on the beach (not that I’m going to the beach right now – it’s March).
Ultimately, I want to be comfortable in my own skin, because there is nothing cooler, sexier, or more inspiring than seeing a woman embrace her true self, bush and all. So I’m trying out this new natural me, at least until I figure out who I really am, you know, down below.
PS. The opening image is from Sonia Sieff and her new book Les Françaises, which we’ll be sharing more of with you soon!
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I love this post/article.
Maybe because I am a 61 yr old ex-hippie chick, I guess,
I have never considered being anything but “natural.”
Seeing the other side of the issue was an eye opener, for sure,
but choice, ah, choice. It’s a wonderful thing to have.
Let’s hope we always do have the good fortune of a choice in all matters,
and especially in our own body matters.
Oh how refreshing to see a beautiful female body, nude and perfectly photographed to show exactly what is being discussed! I so hope you don’t encounter anyone who objects to the nudity on this blog. I too haven’t really thought whether I really want to continue with what I have done regarding shaving there and realise it’s been a decision based on practicality. I swim a lot and have shaved to just give me a little triangle, but actually thinking it through a bit more, I can grow it out a little bit more and still not worry about anything showing in a bikini or swimsuit. I really like seeing more hair here and it is feminine and it will feel as if I am embracing my womanhood more I reckon, and I like that thought. Thank you so much for addressing such a potentially tricky subject to get completely right. Because you did!
Full nudity! Isn’t that blocked on American browsers/ in the US?
Anyway, tough question! I’ve always been against diktats and rules and have always struggled with what to do (don’t like shaving, waxing hurts). I’ve tried laser and may I say it’s amazing? It’s terribly painful and scary, but it’s also such a relief. So yeah, this is me embrassing non-feminist speech, but I must say I enjoy less hair (while still being totally against fully shaving, because that’s not good for personal hygiene!).
I’m curious if you are not shaving your underarm hair, legs or grooming your eyebrows or any facial hair?
Always on the quest for thicker eyebrows! Apart from that, grooming the rest of my body as usual, though I guess just looking at the idea of hair a little differently. x Natalie
This may get me into trouble at work, I’m afraid I will need to think twice about opening your website again from my desktop at work
If your job is that strict honey, maybe you shouldn’t be looking at anything online except for your work-related matter? Seems a little ridiculous that you even took the time to comment on how you might get in trouble at work because of a barely nude image but you took time away from your job by commenting and looking at the site lol, THAT is worse than a cute bush.
Some people do browse on their breaks and work in open plan offices…. this reply was a little sweeping…
Goodness, wou8ldnt want to work where you do!
I agree with Polly.
Agreed – there’s a reason people put NSFW warnings on post. Some of us work in open office layouts where anyone randomly walking by can see what’s on our screens. Yes, even the head of HR could walk by from time to time and see a naked woman on the screen, and that would cause serious issues.
I’m not a prude, but I *am* aware that most companies have policies surrounding internet usage – and going to any site with nudity is probably frowned upon. That’s pretty standard practice. So please, Team Dore, don’t put any naked people as the main image. Maybe include those inside the post after warning people.
Cette femme est sublime!!!
Well, I’m 26 and I have always felt free to do whatever I wanted. I tried wax but damn never again. Shaving is also a no a the growing back makes me walk like a cowgirl ! So here I am keeping everything short but that’s all.
I’m more like if someone has any disrespectful comment to make, the exit of my life is this way.
Yes!!!
I was just wondering: doesn’t the hair start to itch after a while? I have to let it grow for a week or two before I get waxed and the itch is killing me! That, and that I like the smooth feeling afterwards, is why I continue to get waxed. Also, I found out that sugar wax hurts way less than the traditional stuff. Might be because they go with the direction of the hair, instead of against it…
The hair doesn’t itch once it’s longer. It’s only itchy if it’s too short and pokes against your underwear fabric. When it’s longer, it tends to lay flatter.
I get so itchy between waxes. Even (maybe especially) when it’s grown out and long enough to “lay flat,” because it never lays flat. I love waxing, and have completely given up shaving because the growth process is legitimately painful. But I have sometimes get it all waxed and sometimes I leave some behind. If it weren’t so itchy I would leave it!
The only time I’ve ever itched was the time I waxed. I shave and trim. Never heard a complaint either. But I do think their are people who need more cleanup so I say go for it!
Bravo! Just bravas to all of you. Anita
http://www.lookforthewoman.com
NSFW!! ahh! I clicked on my bookmark right when someone walked by my desk! c’est la vie. :)
C’est la vie! Love that sentiment xx
I second the Bravo comment from Anita! Wait until you get to menopause and those “choices” are made for you…lost eyebrows that I now sketch back in….hair that I cut shorter than before and color back to my childhood color since I can no longer wear it longer due to change in texture, volume, amount of wiry greys…and more skin than bush lately-with no effort on my part! Supposedly this is another adolesence but no one told me I would revert to little girl nearly naked as the changes occurred…ahh, the magic (power?) of hormones!!
Fantastic comment! Thanks for posting.
wiry grey ! it is so like that ! I mean how can hair grow in straight angles instead of nice curls !
I only a few, but I really wonder how it will look when the all be wiry !
How liberating : ) I’m not much for landscaping, although I do shave under my arms. I am also reading a great book right now called Pussy, The Reclamation by Regena Thomashauer. It’s wonderful and helping me reconnect to my true self, not to mention my bush.
YES! Love this post and this blog. This conversation is thought provoking and important! Also love the photo pictured. I’m currently completely natural after having maintained a full bikini for years. As the weather warms up I will probably go for a bikini wax and just keep everything trimmed because it’s what I want and feel comfortable in. Celebrating consciousness around body image <3
I was sitting at the kitchen island beside my 16yr old son, when I opened up your website. Needless to say, he LOVED the image (LOL). I am 46yr olds and keep it natural, with some simple trimming and in bathing suit season, shave my bikini line. When I was 21yrs old, I attempted to get my bikini line waxed. They had to stop, because I started crying in such pain (childbirth was less painful!). Never again was I going to put myself through that type of pain! And besides, my then boyfriend/now husband, couldn’t give a damn, as long as it functioned and we could lovingly do our ‘thing’.
That photo is so beautiful. It always amazes me how some people, though nude, don’t seem at all naked.
Same!
Wow, at first, I thought, TMI. But then when I read your article and understood the pictures, I got it!
Love the picture. I believe hair is there to protect us. On the other hand, I have taken up swimming, and I think it would be very hard to go completely natural (not trimming at all) when having to wear a bathing suit or bikini.
Love articles like this!
Let’s say that on the front picture the woman’s pubic is not “completely” natural : it looks groomed and waxed on the sides !
Anyway, I always went natural (even at the beach with a bikini) and I often had to face some comments or looks…. It is funny to see what is seen as natural : usually people think you can keep a little hair on the pubic but never at your armpits or on your legs which is considered dirty or neglected.
Even I who love and embrace natural have hard time for my legs…
So much about other’s judgment :(
I’ve been waiting for that post for soooooo long ! Thank you !
What a liberating article and great picture! I also used to shave everything down therr for quite some time. After the second infection and other female issues down there, I decided to quit the unhealthy behaviour. I’m still getting used to it but am rather proud of my bush!
Great article. Refreshing to read plain, real-deal, straight, simple talk about a subject that tends to be objectified and debated like a bill on the congressional floor in DC. What actually struck me when I first opened the page was the use of a normal, natural, everyday body – rather than a “perfect” photoshopped model. I’m 46, and have kept mine waxed, completely, for about 15 years. It was (and still is) a choice – my choice. It’s not about proving anything, or being anything. It’s just me. It’s how I roll. If anything, I view it as a measure that follows my desire to be minimalist and keep life simple. I don’t want anything extra that requires inordinate, time-consuming thought. I don’t wear nail polish or earrings for the same reason. As a single mom in NYC, I need my mind free for more important matters. To me, it’s freedom to walk into my local waxing place ($25 in Washington Heights!), ask them to take off “all of it, please,” and know that I will get the same reliable result each time. After 15 or 20 minutes, I’m done and on my way to finish the rest of my day.
That being said, I admire any woman who keeps her hair (in any semblance of length or design). It’s refreshing to see that women are embracing what they were naturally given, their confidence, and their right to choose – rather than succumbing to media and what it makes us THINK is “acceptable.”
I am all for every woman having the freedom to do what they please with their pubes. That goes for all of our health decisions as well. But Shinigami, I do find your comment somewhat dissonant. You say you are going for simplification and doing less such as wearing no makeup or nail polish but then you go and spend money and time to get your pubes waxed. That is the opposite of doing less. Still, this is your choice to make and I fully support that, but your reasoning is less than sound.
Le choc ! J’ai vu l’image et je me suis demandé : “Elle s’est mise à poil Garance !?!?!?!?” ;)
Love this! Now you can relax a bit and do whatever you like with your bush. We do so many things simply because they are expected of us—and then after a while we end up imposing those expectations on ourselves and others. I had a full-Brazilian wax once, thinking my boyfriend at the time would like it. But what a waste of money, time, and spirit—because it turned out that he REALLY couldn’t care less what I did with my hair.
As someone with super sensitive skin, I ended up looking like a leper once the ingrown hairs started growing in… and guess what? My boyfriend didn’t care about that either!
Great article and beautiful photo except for white toes!!
HOW STUPID. So there you all are sitting around talking about pubic hair? What minds! What a world. Women are so STUPID now.
“Thought provoking and important” says one complete dope.
Garance and this site are becoming moribund.
Just going to put this here.
This is by no mean stupid. Millions of women spend time, money and feel pain to get rid of their pubic hair, why ? Because they have been provided with the image of a flawless, hairless, porn-like woman, who should actually be fully waxed all of the time mainly to please their male partner(s). When waxing is your very own choice, when you do it only for yourself, it is fine; but many women, especially the young ones, did not really reflect on the subject; they wax because it’s just what women do. This habit did not begin under zero circumstances; people don’t just wax because they love it; as many things women do on a regular basis, they do it because they see themselves through the eyes of men. So thinking and talking about pubic hair is NOT stupid, it is part of the greater process of women rethinking their own bodies and image.
“Millions of women spend time, money and feel pain to get rid of their pubic hair, why ? ” Because they are victims of fashion magazines? Victims of men’s eyes? Victims, victims. Get a grip! At the same time as all this silliness there are all kinds of hashtags about power and ambition. None if it makes any sense. Why are so many modern women so weak and sensitive?
I have had my fair share of lovers, am now happily married, and have never waxed, ever. Not one of those men complained to me about how I looked. And if one had I would have dumped him.
I have nothing against waxing, or whatever it is you are all getting up to, but don’t make everything into an issue. Issue, issue, every aspect of life is merely an issue.
For goodness sake, there are languages to learn (particularly your own). History books, great art, music, vulnerable people to look out for and to care for. Live large, I say. Get out of your head and look about you. Become obsessed with the life that is all around you instead of how you look in your selfie. Get a hobby. You can still have nice clothes.
Just stop thinking about yourself all the effing time!
Hallelujah M! 100% in agreement with you! Sure we all occasionally need something light in order to find a quick distraction/escape but not everything is an ISSUE!
Thank you.
How nice of you to take the time to comment. Your feedback was so elucidating! You’re a misogynist, and you’re not afraid to tell the world! Calling women STUPID feels so good! I’m sure you have lots of friends, who are just as lovely as you are.
Quelle jolie femme !
Great post! Where are the rings from…they are amazing ?
I did a 90% removal after purchasing a crocheted bikini in PV, stayed with it until I turned 50 then conducted the experiment you are in the midst of growing through. I returned to shaving, now all gone and love the feel. It helped to have a steady hand and my husband has mastered the task with glee!
Wow. I’m a French 32 yo woman but I feel like a vintage goldie when I read your post. Having pubic hair is not a question for me, it’s a fact.
Well to be perfectly honest I don’t have much down there and I went for a laser session to remove what could be seen outside my bathing suit.
I know it’s becoming a trend for the younger girls here in France to have zero pubic hair but I had know idea that anyone could feel weird or uncomfortable for having some.
Not only I think that it’s simpler, healthier and more “self-friendly” to have some but I’ve always considered that the alternative solutions are not satisfying (shaving lasts two days, waxing is painful, laser and electric are expensive and painful and aare not that permanent).
That’s why my boyfriend has just to deal with it (I know that he wouldn’t mind that I had less…) which he does perfectly willingly.
I wish you’ll enjoy this new wild and hairy you!
I’m 29 and have had a full bush for many years! Just go to the Korean spa and bask in the diversity of public hair styles. Full wax is in the vast minority. And I recently realized that often I channel my own insecurities through my unsuspecting partners. In this way I’m able to externalize the worries and imagine that it’s not my own issue with _____ (full bush, etc etc), it’s my partner’s! A form of psychological avoidance. Leaving my partner out of my own insecurities is a way to confront them head-on, happily, and reasonably. Glad you’re enjoying your body hair experiment!
The only time I’ve ever itched was the time I waxed. I shave and trim. Never heard a complaint either. But I do think their are people who need more cleanup so I say go for it!
AMAZING PHOTO! such a refresh, congratulations on this lovely and honest piece, wouldn’t mind hanging that photo on the wall for super femme inspiration :) !!!
I feel like I’m the only one who will say that I wax it all off! I totally see the appeal for leaving everything be, and maybe it’s because of some long standing societal reasons that I keep doing it, but I do enjoy when I have a fresh wax and I don’t find it painful (although expensive). Maybe as time passes I’ll do it less and less…
http://thedianaedition.com
Hi Diana,
You and others mention waxing is painful…I suppose I am in the minority because I don’t consider it painful. I feel the tugging of the strips, and there is mild discomfort, but not pain. Try taking a low-dose aspirin or pain reliever 30 minutes before the appointment. I did that in the very beginning, but now I just go in, breathe, relax, listen to music (my salon always has classical on). A bit of mental prep will probably do the trick.
OK. I am thrilled to be able to ask this as it is something I have actually been wondering about… I am in my fifties and have been married for a million years. Contrary to what my kids think, however, I did have fun in my twenties. (I have of course had fun since then, but you know what I mean) Anyway, back then no one ever discussed going full nude down, um, there. Maybe we had a quick bikini wax to stay “tidy” but that was it. So this is a new thing, no? Or at least new in the past, say, 20 years? Of course, after menopause you start to thin down there anyway so it all goes full circle. I guess it does saves money on waxing and stuff–good for those of us geriatrics who are approaching fixed-income land.
Ooh my god, 50, you are so not geriatric! I’m single and 47 and full bush. Never even thought about it. In fact, I would say that the men I have dated love it. But I do remember a conversation with a guy I met at a dinner party, when I moved to LA 15 years ago. We were talking about this very topic, and man-scaping too. I said I was natural and he said– that’s not the kind of dirty I like (as he continued to try and date me). Idiot. I say, please yourself, first– whatever it may be.
Beautiful pic! Happy Women’s Day and yes, Be Bold For Change…
Is that Garance’s bush?
It’s not! It’s from Sonia Sieff’s beautiful book called Les Francaises – http://soniasieff.com x
I opened this on my work computer when colleagues were sitting at cubicles not too far away from my desk. Any suggestions if they ask me why I was looking at content inappropriate for the workplace?
Maybe we could change the dialogue and ask why a woman’s body is “inappropriate” – if that fails, you can just blame it on me ;) x
So glad you were brave enough to share the image and open up dialogue.
Andrea Fenise
http://www.byandreafenise.com
Thank you! For reading too xx
LOVE this post & pic.
First: thanks for this beautiful picture. I realize how crazy America is becoming, when I read some comments…Apparently, showing a body is a very dangerous thing, and could cause problems to people daring looking at it, ha ha, it’s incredibly crazy, you get to wake up guys and gals !
But the whole story shows even more hypocrisy, because I think nobody mentioned the reason why waxing it all has become a trend. Let’s face it, it is because of the image of women given by the pornography industry.
It is also very hypocritical to ask women ”if you want to stay natural why do you wax your legs and armpits ?”
I am almost 50 now and when I was a little girl, all women in my family shaved her legs and armpits because it was prettier and none of them shaved her pussy (let’s call a cat a cat ok ?). Nobody was doing it, NO-BO-DY (except maybe in Japan and their geisha culture ?).
Because there are very different matters. Shaving your ”bush” is only to please others, and to match with this juvenile woman image that the porn industry spread all over the world, with the help of young males with poor imagination, who end up believing now that hair is disgusting.
It’s a very serious matter to discuss, and not a futile one, contrary to what one of the commenters think, because going completely bare it is a sign women go backwards, without even realizing it, apparently. Shaving your bush entirely is a new slavery, costly, painful, time-consuming, and it was born only the last decades. + it makes a little girl out of you, and little girls should not even have sex. This is actually what is truly disgusting, not the fact to let grow what nature and evolution gave us.
Young people, both girls and boys (until around 30 year-old now) think shaving it all is the only way to be, and I find it so sad. By the way, it’s a very good thing to have started this discussion on the Eve of women day.
We should all STOP following liberticide trends !!!!!!!
(removing hair growing out of a bikini line is OK for me, though, because I make the difference between the esthetic choice of not having things growing out of your clothes, and the ”esthetic” of going bare to look like a pre-pubere girl).
Yes to this, Clotilde! It’s become the thing to do, I’m not sure if it’s because of the porn industry, or our celebrity obsessed culture where stars in magazine articles (I’m talking to you, Gwyneth) bragged about how going to those “5 Brazilian waxing sisters” on the Upper East Side improved their sex life by clearing their forest. I call B.S.!!!
I’m in my mid-50’s and came of age in the early 80’s. No one I knew waxed or shaved, other than to trim a little bush sticking out from their bikini. I never had that issue, so I didn’t trim. In fact, none of the guys I was with ever gave a DAMN about a little hair! Believe me, we had fun. ;-)
There is something creepy about a full-grown woman removing secondary sex characteristics because she thinks it’s “Ew”…that’s really sad. We’re women, not little girls. Just because it’s become a social norm in the last couple of decades doesn’t make it cool. And no, I don’t always shave my legs or pits. More power to women who embrace every damned bit of who they are..right down to their pubes.
P.S. I’d be perturbed if I was at work and I unsuspectingly clicked open an article on a Beauty/Fashion blog to find a full-frontal dick pic, too. There’s a reason it’s NSFW. “Appropriate” is a context thing, Natalie.
Magnifique photo, vraiment.
Pour le reste, c’est clair que la photo et le sujet feront débat (sans critiquer, la photo est forte et me fait penser à ces livres artistiques de photographies de nus, mais j’aurais aimé que le texte le soit un peu plus fort), mais je ressens un petit malaise en me disant qu’il ne s’agit ici que d’une simple introduction marketing à un débat qui va déchaîner les foules.
Quant au débat en question, il est évident donc qu’il suscitera nombre de commentaires tant les mentalités européennes/américaines sont éloignées. Sans pour ça dire que l’une est meilleur que l’autre.
Alors oui c’est un vrai sujet de femme, et il n’y a pas de raison à ce qu’il ne puisse pas être abordé, nous nous sommes toutes posé cette question non ?
Je suis juste perplexe sur la façon de l’aborder par contre.
What a brilliant post and such a beautiful, natural picture! Well done Team Garance!
For years now I have been going for the more natural style bush, but with the occasional bit of landscaping on the sides and underneath, I believe they call it “The Sicilian”. There are 3 reasons why I do any waxing at all, the first for when I go to the beach, the second to keep the area cleaner (especially during periods) and the third and potentially most prominent reason, is for my partner. The bizarre thing is that I have no idea if this makes any difference to him at all! I have been thinking about this a lot recently and I think it is strange that so many of us feel obliged to painfully and expensively rip out our pubic hair just because we feel like it makes us sexually acceptable. I really think that this is a subject that should be more openly discussed with both sexes so that women can feel less ashamed about their private areas.
Quel corps sublime!
“…si ma confusion était liée aux constructions sociales qui avaient forgé ma conception de certaines choses…”
???!!
Il faut se détendre, là.
Rappelons qu’il s’agit de poils pubiens et aussi un peu d’image de soi, mais rien de plus (en tout cas, rien de vital). Ou comment couper les poils en quatre. Tout n’est pas que “problème” et tout n’est pas que “remise en question”, dans la vie ! Cela dit, c’est une très bonne chose de réfléchir (y en a tellement qui ne le font pas), d’évoluer, de faire des choix nouveaux, mais encore une fois, il faut mesurer la gravité du sujet et s’exprimer en conséquence.
Ok, c’est un peu alambiqué comme formule. Mais non, il ne s’agit pas que de poils! Il s’agit de “propre” et de sexe, schéma qui peut être très compliqué et inconscient.
Love this! Thanks for baring all! Empowering for all women, esp on Int Women’s Day. Straight up!
As a brazilian, I have to say that the ‘full brazilian’ is somtehing that always shocked me. I am 30 years old and it seem so unnatural to me not have pubic hair. I do clean up things down there, but I like to look like a woman.
Amazing post and thanks for bring this subject to the table.
Ahh.. you want to talk “owning” your bush? I think a harder topic is owning your bikini irritation! To be proud of a bush is chic, but irritated/stubbly bikini lines are still not in vogue last time I checked.
I live in L.A. where a clean bikini line is of the essence during the summer. Shaving irritates me so much and sugaring is so expensive to keep up with (I won’t even mention waxing, it is so bad for your skin and elasticity!). I long for the day that the shock value of an angry looking bikini line has been reduced by a more understanding society.
I always figured the full Brazilian was inspired by so many porn movies and being that I’m innately rebellious, I refuse. I keep things trimmed but I have a real bush. I also have no desire to look like a pre-pubescent girl down there. If someone has a problem with my fluffy bush, I’ll hand him a tub of wax and tell him “you first”.
Hear, hear!
Are there things in life more important than pubes? Certainly. But when it comes to fashion trends, nowhere is the pressure to conform stronger than when grooming “down there”. It is so strong that, even though women may fave few opportunities to see or talk about pubes, they know what the appropriate trend is and, when they question it at all, they often feel deeply insecure about going against it. It’s a societal norm, and most people like to fit in. Unfortunately, in this case fitting in entails a lot of time, money and pain. Is it all worth it? Maybe, maybe not, but women can’t decide for themselves unless the taboo is broken first. Thanks Studio!
Surprise, il y a très peu de commentaires en français…. bon (ayant la cinquantaine maintenant), j’ai été surprise dans ma salle de sport par l’engouement pour l’épilation intégrale, Je me suis sentie “pas du tout dans le coup” mais je n’ai jamais succombé à ce “phénomène”, pour deux raisons (très primaires ?)
1- pas envie de me faire mal et puis,
2- je suis adulte quoi !
Voici mes deux réactions de base…
Donc, je vote pour la photo mais après tout, chacune est libre de faire ce qu’elle veut de sa “toison pubienne” !
Beatrice, il y a des francaises qui ont tente d’ecrire leur post en anglais (comme moi!). Je le fais parfois lorsque je veux m’adresser aux lectrices americaines, par exemple pour leur expliquer qu’il n’y a pas une seule facon correcte de penser, en l’occurrence, que mettre une photo de femme nue n’est pas un outrage et que le monde ne va pas s’ecrouler pour autant ! Assez de pudibonderie !
Thank you for this post! I still remember when I was 16 and learned all of my friends shaved everything off – I felt like I had been kept out of an important secret. Sadly, for several years I conformed to the pressure I felt to shave or wax.. In the past few years I’ve completely given that up and now maintain a bush that I trim. And I love it! It makes me feel much more sensual than when I used to take the hair off. Probably helps to have a very supportive partner who has a lot of hair everywhere so he can’t complain ;)
I am 31, and I never get waxes, it’s painfull and what is the good reason for doing that to myself ? No reason. I’ve always felt myself femine by the way, it’s nothing to do with my body or its aspect, it’s all in the mind…
If men don’t like “it”, maybe they just simply don’t like -or accept- women’s body, because this is what a girl’s sex is like when she’s an adult.
In one of the last episode of Girls, Hannah has a wonderful quote about this subject when she tells her partner about this. Yeah I have a bush, hello, I’m a woman ! (or something like that) I love this show by the way, so open minded…
I just cut my hair myself, if I wear a bathing suit I go get a wax just to make sure nothing come’s out the edge’s of the suit. I have never waxed other than the sides.
I love this!!! So beautiful :)
I feel that my body is mine and mine alone.No question.I always ask myself if I am really COMFORTABLE inside myself when I choose to do something to my body or how I choose to share my body with somebody else.
The core centre for me comes down to respect.If I can respect myself,my body and who I share that with then I can proceed with happy feelings.I am confident enough in myself to trust I can make the right choices for myself and believe nobody knows me better than myself! We teach others how to treat us after all!
Although I respect choice, I personally prefer to look like a grown woman and not a prepubescent child down there, so I found this post quite refreshing and validating. The greatest part is that we all have a choice!
I grow the bush in winter and clear it away at spring))) I love both! LOVED this post!
First of all, I really like this amazing photo. Its so beautiful! Great!
Just in case, I’m feeling need a write this comment because as a brazilian woman this ‘wax subject’ is one of many topics about the stereotype builded for us. Some people like this “Brazilian wax style”, but in most of cases, I believe in it, people are doing more and more the wax “bikini style”. In fact, the Brazilian Doctors do not stimulate this practice, because the hair is a natural protection of our bodies.
Thanks for bring this subject to the table.
vive la bush!
Great post
and what a beautiful picture
i’m 31 and steel no sure what i feel about body hair, but i do know that i will never shave or wax my bush entirely.
just the sides because you know…bikini…
but regarding the partners issue,
after being in a relationship for seven and a half years, it really scared me what whom ever i’m with might think, but i learned that if you show that you’re comfortable with you’re body, not just you’re bush, they would love it either way. most of them at least (:
Is there any info on the rings? I absolutely love them…
Its refreshing to see a woman embracing her womanhood. I love my cake.
I love this post, sometimes it is hard to even remember where we learned all the grooming rules we follow every week and month but it can be really liberating to just do something different, even for a little while!
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Magnifique Camille Miceli ! Je reconnaîtrai ce corps partis mille ! Une très très belle femme !!! Bravo à Sonia Camille et Garance !!!! Plus de photos sur l’essence même de la femme !!!
Bravo
My ‘trimmed’ bush remains dark chestnut brown while the hair on my head is totally grey/white! I wonder when it will catch up.
I am a 32 year old woman and I began shaving when I was in my teens. I shaved the other areas of my body, so this seemed a natural place to shave as well. I started waxing my second year of college. I moved onto partial laser removal and waxing the rest (I do it myself). I was in a leotard for most of my childhood/teens as a ballet dancer, so hair removal was a part of my near daily routine. I even waxed throughout my pregnancies, and was glad that I did as I needed stitches following the delivery and being hairless made it easier to care for the wound site.
No man has ever said he prefers me to not have hair (my husband actually prefers hair). This was entirely motivated by my desire to not feel sweaty and worry about hair poking out from my underwear.
So funny to read some of the comments. Well i am a man and i came here just as i was locking into some of the articles. Waxing always hurts, for man and for woman. I have a friend that has a salon in Utrecht. She did for some years wax me. As waxing has one problem when you become older. Your skin is more easy to get thinner. So man and woman have to be more careful in doing this. I went from waxing to laser. If you go to a good professional and use a creme before it hurts les and after 10 times (only black hair) you are done. Try it. Have
Well, I was not fully prepared for that visual overshare. More striking than your well-manicured bush and the very frank post (which I did enjoy), was that you hid your face. As if we don’t know who you are! :) I love a bush – a little 70’s but I was born in the sixties so… Thanks for sharing. :)
Glad you enjoyed the post Lisa, the opening image is actually from Sonia Sieff’s book Les Francaises. x Natalie
We have pubic hair. Why shaving? I never even thought about it. A bit trimmed it looks beautiful, mysterious and much more sexy than nude in my opinion. And it’s not itchy at all.
I’m a feller between 50 & 60 and I hope you don’t mind guys commenting, but I for one very much prefer the bush in all its glory, trimmed as the owner likes regarding bikini visibles. I have never understood the shaving business … girls have none, women have some or lots. That’s how it is. I’ll admit, when I was younger I didn’t realise women “had to” shave their legs and armpits; I. thought women just didn’t grow leg hair, etc. I feel like a phony, then, saying I do prefer legs are shaved … but of course women know what they feel best doing. I know nothing about it, but I suspect hair grows for a reason, and that there are health benefits … I just don’t know what! I suppose if I were correct, we’d have heard of troubles amongst the waxed … But I do believe in natural (although my natural balding head … nah, I don’t mind that, either) hair, if I also believe in absolute choice. I think women should please themselves and not their sexual partners. I didn’t at all feel that was an over-share. Mind you, I grew up skinnydipping well into my 20s.
I find bush atrractive, charming, personal. These qualities, usually, extend to its “owner”. And also reflect her care for herself.
I see too many women enter “waves” and go to the sane saloon, do the same hair, use the same perfume, etc, and find this nice. What’s the point of being someone else?
Do what YOU like. BE yourself. Leave a bush and be happy. Real men will appreciate, believe me
So pro bush when it comes to talk about pubic hair, but same here, only the triangle that reminds me of my womanhood. Plus I want my man to acknowledge he is with a Woman, not a teen.
The photo is beautiful, and the discussion interesting. So many aspects of life are ‘unnatural’ but this decision about waxing, shaving, or sporting a natural bush attracts value judgments, rather than just presenting as another cultural niche.
When I was young I had a natural 70’s bush, think ‘Our Bodies, Ourselves,’ because I was dealing with other aspects of life, school, moving away from home, and something as exotic as waxing wasn’t part of my world.
With more experience I tried the variations until I found what I like best, which for now is fully bare. For me it’s about efficiency, simplicity and comfort, believe it or not. It’s also been a sign of acceptance of my body to have many cheerful, unselfconscious chats with the wonderful esthetician who does my waxing, something that wouldn’t have felt natural to me when I was younger. I choose my own style, conscious of the larger culture, so if I shape/pluck my eyebrows, color my hair, have a basic make-up routine, regular manicure, pedicure, etc., why should one more grooming choice be the focus of judgement?
There are much more extreme types of body modification than waxing, so it surprises me when people have intense responses. If it feels scary or transgressive to you, don’t do it. If you want to try it next week, do it. Have your feelings about your own body, but don’t rush to assign meaning to other people’s choices.