Many women put themselves through painful or uncomfortable beauty regimens regularly, particularly when it comes to hair removal. Apparently, some men do too!
The term “metrosexual” was recently coined to describe the new wave of men that have taken a particular interest in their appearance. Meticulous primping, eyebrow waxing and mani-pedi’s are all the hallmarks of metrosexuality. Still all of that seems trivial in light of the newest trend in man-grooming to hit the scene, cleverly referred to “manscaping.”
To manscape is to groom all naturally occurring hair in places other than the head. Yep, it is exactly what it sounds like: bikini waxes for men. According to ABC News:
“Meticulous grooming has taken on a new dimension. Hair anywhere except on the head seems to be verboten these days, and the modern male will take the razor where few man have ever gone before.”
For a while we generally accepted the idea that men were totally unconcerned with their image, and unwilling to become wrapped up in the insane grooming routines that women are more or less required to engage in. Evidently that frame of mind is factually inaccurate. The article states,
“A 2005 study published in the journal Sex Roles found that 63.6 percent of 118 men at the University of South Florida said they trimmed or removed body hair to be hygenic and attractive.”
Apparently, men are just as conscious of their bikini lines as we are ladies! ABC goes on to cite spa owners who furthers the idea that manscaping is on the rise. One spa owner who sees an average of 10 men a day who need their eyebrows, back or shoulders, and sometimes their undercarriage waxed, states,
“In the poor economy, women’s grooming has dropped off but male business has only increased. We are starting to see a lot more straight men who want pampering. We have a lot of bankers and hedge fund guys who think grooming is as important as their work.”
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We are certainly torn about this issue. While we can appreciate men taking the time and effort to groom themselves, wouldn’t it be weird to walk in on your man shaving his bikini line? What do you think?
Ladies, would you appreciate your man landscaping his…um…privates?
And gents, are you taking the razor down there?
Check out this video to see Gillette’s new shave campaign encouraging men to take it down a bit!
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