Monday, February 15, 2010

Landing strips out of pubic hair?

Definition from urban dictionary: (if you ever wonder what your kids are talking about, this is a good place to get the definition)

1. landing strip



(female) cultivated pubic hair pattern where the hair on the inside of the thighs is removed, any hair near the arse (or for that matter, behind the back corner of the vagina) is removed, and hair between the leg-belly crease is removed on the abdomen leaving only a groomed rectangle running from the mid-tummy to the upper edge of the vulva; as if pointing towards her pussy, 'guiding' one towards the honey pot region


(male) quarter-inch-wide beard running the centre-line from the bottom of the lower lip to the bottom of the chin


(female): he:"Did she have a landing strip, triangle, Brazilian or was she just unkept?"

(male): she: "I came down hard on his landing strip during oral sex last night"

A friend of mine arrived at my house a few months ago in the middle of a heated discussion with her 16-year-old daughter.  They were arguing about whether or not the daughter, Esme, should shave her pubic area.  Apparently a boy had asked Esme that day if she had a "landing strip" and told her he had one ready for her anytime.  I had no clue what they were talking about.  The mom, Mary, told me that girls now shave their pubic hair into different shapes and patterns so they'll look better for guys.  I asked how on earth the guys would know.  Apparently they ask.  And Esme felt obligated to tell this guy.  She was too embarassed to tell him it was none of his business.  I was appalled.  Esme defensively informed us both that her younger sister, who was 14, shaved too, and her 12-year-old sister was getting ready to start.  (What would she shave - I didn't even have a trace of hair at that age!)  I feel so sad for these girls that there's yet another societal expectation now for yet another body part to be trimmed just right.  Eyebrows plucked into just the right expression.  No leg hair.  Head hair long, straight, and preferably blond.  And now pubic hair has to be inviting too.  Or gone.  Gone is good too.  I think that's starting to make young girls into pretty good imitations of babies.  What are guys saying if they want hairless nymphettes?  And who are these guys?  And what is making them feel this is what they want?

In my work with models, I'm finding an age divide on the pubic hair issue.  Women 30 and under tend to be neatly shaved in whatever pattern they choose.  Women over 30 generally have no clue what I'm talking about when I ask if they know what a landing strip is.  They become incensed when I tell them and frustrated that there is yet another thing their daughters and women in general have to put up with.

What do you know about this phenomenon?  Or is it all new to you too?

2 comments:

  1. I'm 27, so I'm very familiar with it.
    In a nutshell it's basically the pornification of our culture. In mainstream pornography, the women all have completely bald pubic areas or just the little landing strip. Theories abound as to why, from 'men want prepubescent little girls' to it films 'better' to see all the parts down there.
    It's ludicrous and really sad that those poor girls have to deal with this on top of all the other agonies of being a kid. To have a boy actually ask that says a lot about our culture. Girls and women are only seen as sex objects and because of that are relegated to a second-class status. By reinforcing that role for women, they'll never be considered equal.

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  2. Speaking as an old timer who appreciates a woman I personally like an unshaved pubic area. Perhaps it is because when I grew up that area was air brushed out of photos and in the 70's they began to stop that practice. Sadly we have come full circle.

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