"I hope you're okay with the fact that I will NEVER shave my hoo-hoo."

In romance writing, one of the things we say that the typical Mary Sue heroine must have is a glittery hoo-haw, because seriously, we can't figure any other way a guy would want such a TSTL character.

it hurt only slightly less than getting a tattoo.

Lower leg is going to hurt a lot more because the nerves are much closer to the skin-- there's less fat to provide a buffer, as it were. I can have my thighs and bikini line waxed for days and barely feel it. I've actually been known to doze off during waxings which mystifies them no end. However, I have to be seriously desperate to wax my lower legs because OMGWTFBBQ, the pain.

And yeah, the hair does grow back much thinner and finer.

(And then when I read discussions like this, I wonder -- just how much goddamn hair does the average unshaven cooter have? Because I never shave my bits, and yet the hair is pretty limited.)

A three of my gf's have serious hairy bits; like, growing down the thigh, up towards the navel. One waxes to landing strip, the others shave. In the summer, that is. In the winter, all just let it grow.

The only reason I care at all is just because I don't want to be choking on hair if I go down there.

And again, I'm wondering how hairy other women are. I'm apparently exceedingly not hairy. (Which is ironic, given how hairy I am everywhere else.)

it hurt only slightly less than getting a tattoo.

Lower leg is going to hurt a lot more because the nerves are much closer to the skin-- there's less fat to provide a buffer, as it were.

But but but! I have lots of fat! Surely it should hop to and do *something* good! Stupid leg fat! Be more pain-buffering!

A three of my gf's have serious hairy bits; like, growing down the thigh, up towards the navel.

Uh, wow. Okay, I have, like, less area than the palm of my hand. And not very thick, either.

I'm a pubic hair freak!!!

I don't find de-haired genitals childish looking because even without hair they are rather differently shaped and sized.

No, you're not. I have very little. And it grows funny -- I have a little W shape, with absolutely smooth patches. And my pubes are not curly at all; they are stick straight.

TMI, Saturday morning, ACTIVATE.

I don't find de-haired genitals childish looking because even without hair they are rather differently shaped and sized.

Well, I don't actually go up and stare at them, because that seems impudent. But "hairless female genitals" = preadolescent in my mind, and it's a connection I can't break.

I know lots of women who are totally hair-free, and it's a popular thing. But the preadolescent appearance is just a squick that I can't get rid of, no matter how many hairless hoo-hoos I see.

TMI, Saturday morning, ACTIVATE.

Right? I know I should be chagrined for (over)sharing all that, but the shaved-cooter phenomenon is a topic I can never shy away from ranting about discussing.

I've been thinking about getting my thighs and bikini line waxed, because I just don't have the coordination to shave there too well. I've had way too many times when I've put on a pair of shorts, and then notice in the mirror on the way out the door that I missed a whole bunch of spots on the backs of my thighs. And my hair is dark and coarse, so it shows up a lot.

I have thick, dark hair, and that's a body-wide thing. Therefore, I trim.

The thing that I think is maybe the bigger problem is that hair is being equated with "dirty." If you're a hygienic person and, you know, wash, there's nothing about the hair that makes it any dirtier than the area itself, you know?

Right? I know I should be chagrined for (over)sharing all that, but the shaved-cooter phenomenon is a topic I can never shy away from ranting about discussing.

It's a huge thing in erotic romance right now, Tep-- it'll often constitute this whole scene where the hero cajoles the heroine into shaving or waxing--ostensibly because it'll feel better for her when they're doing the deed. But it also often incorporates a voyeuristic or control aspect, especially when the novels have a D/s aspect and the hero orders her to keep herself shaved for him.

It's hugely pervasive and I don't get it. And of course, then we have the typical romance covers featuring the oddly hairless, over muscular men, which squicks my Latin American sensibilities right out. I mean, if a guy's naturally lacking a lot of hair, that's one thing, but that whole chest-waxing phenomenon is *bleah*. But apparently, that's what romance readers want to see on covers. Preferably oiled. *shudder*