What Men Think About Female Body Hair
Let's get real.
Roman Samborskyi / Shutterstock I was walking down the street not too long ago with my friend Ben (his name is not Ben, but I just saw Gentle Ben, so that's the name he's getting here). We were talking about sex, love, and dating, the way you do when you're a straight cis-woman and a straight cis-man who genuinely don't want anything other than a platonic friendship.
Isn't it crazy how freeing it is when you have a friend of the opposite sex and you don't want to jump their bones? A whole new world of questions opens up to you, the kind you might never ask should even distantly dream of one day being romantically involved with them.
"What do you think of hairy women?" I asked him.
"I mean..." he trailed off and looked at me, a guilty expression in his eyes. I knew what was coming. My leftie, feminist, free-lovin' dude friend was trying to tell me that he didn't like his female partners to have pubic hair.
He was worried that confessing this would force me to summon my army of hairy women to beat him down, but that wasn't the case at all.
I get it, body hair is a preference. Do I think it's a complicated issue, wrapped up with the patriarchy (my favorite word), porn, and the denuding of a woman's sexual power? Sure I do. But ultimately, I'm never one to yuck someone else's yum.
What really got to me was what he said next.
"I once walked in on my ex plucking her nipples and I was horrified. Like, hair grows there?"
There are plenty of hairy secrets women work diligently to keep from men. Stray nipple hair, upper lip hair, and god forbid those long and curly strands that can sneak up out of your nose do, in fact, exist — and what men think about them is a black hole I had never even thought to explore.
When I learned how grossed out Ben was by his discovery, I decided to ask other men what they think about hairy women. They were eager to weigh in, because they are men, and they are notorious for their opinions.
What men think about female body hair
1. Some men think pale skin and hairy arms is a super sexy look.
“Recently I was paging through an issue of Ink magazine, and a centerfold girl had hairy arms. Pale skin and black hair. And I found her to be very sexy!”
2. Some men don't like happy trails or any lower back hair.
“Literally every guy I know would be turned off by torso fuzz. It's not that my friends are shallow or unintelligent or don't appreciate unique female beauty; my friends are phenomenal. Many of them even go to hippie festivals. They're the real deal in terms of loving someone for who they are. But there are just some things that guys almost uniformly don't like. It might not keep a small number from finding you attractive, but almost all will prefer you to remove it.”
3. Some guys prefer that you don't shave or wax in the back.
“I used to date a girl who had a hairy butt hole, which didn't bother me... and It felt unbelievably good.”
4. Some men are into body hair of all kinds, including every color of the rainbow.
“Female body hair is insignificant. My closest partner didn't shave her legs, armpits, or pubic hair and it was okay. Just smell fresh and you're golden. Bonus points if you dye it! She dyed her armpits.”
5. It may not be a dealbreaker, but guys may prefer hair-free nipples.
“I've been with a few girls with hairy nipples, it was a turnoff for sure, but not enough of one to keep from getting down to business. When it comes to a relationship though, I always prefer there to be no hair down there.”
6. There are men who like it when you take it all off.
“I prefer no hair anywhere but the head. A little landing strip can be ok. Butt hair is particularly gross to me.”
7. Some guys are OK with a little hair, especially if you've been busy.
“My ex wouldn't shave her legs sometimes when she was too busy with work/school. It didn't grow that much and she would wear pants all the time when this happened. This, however, is a libido killer when you realize it when initiating sexy time. IMO women should shave (preferably wax) everything. Down there is acceptable to have a little bit, but not too much or too long.”
8. There are men who don't really care, and even prefer you have a little hair down there.
“Personally, I don't care about hair on the majority of the body. I prefer my partner to be comfortable rather than conformist. In fact, I prefer pubic hair over none. I will admit that I don't like facial hair. It's prickly, and I can't grow a beard, so ... yeah.”
9. Some men are so happy to be that close to your body that they will appreciate each of its hairs (or lack thereof).
“Honestly, if I'm close enough to see those hairs, I'm a thankful, happy man.”
10. They may not admit it, but some guys' dream woman would be smooth all over, save for the top of her head and batting lashes.
“I'm not a fan of body hair on women. I am in favor of them doing whatever they want to with their bodies, but ideally I want a woman hairless below the eyelashes. Not that I'd ever say that, except in a kink scenario.”
11. Other men don't mind a little hair because they see you for your beautiful, natural body.
"I don't like Sasquatch-level hair on men or women. But 'regular' body hair on a woman never bothered me. When I see women who have shaved, I view it like I do plastic surgery or animation: I think of the process more than the result."
12. Some guys couldn't care less about body hair — we're all animals anyway, right?
"Mammals have hair. *shrug*"
13. Some men care more about how they can make you more comfortable than anything else.
"I guess I would say that it doesn't bother me one way or the other; I care more about how the young lady feels about herself and how comfortable she is in her own skin, especially if I can be an agent that helps increase said comfort."
14. Some guys want you to do whatever makes you feel good.
"My feelings are best described as benign indifference. I had a GF who would frequently apologize about not shaving her legs, and I was way more invested in her being comfortable with herself. I feel the same way about women who like to trim, shave, whatever — do (or refrain from doing) what makes you feel comfortable or attractive or whatever it is you want to feel. Aesthetically speaking, I like it all."
15. Some guys love it when you keep them guessing.
"For her part (and this has been true of all my partners), she is not quite as consistent about similar grooming but always keeps her legs, pits and nipples pretty much hairless. I not only don't have problems with her less fastidious personal grooming, I (obviously) want her to be happy with her grooming regimen as well as her appearance and therefore delight in her doing as she sees fit. Side benefit: when she does decide to scorch the earth or go landing strip style it is often a surprise that I discover during foreplay and when you've been together for 15 years, surprises at that point in the process are really nice."
Rebecca Jane Stokes is a writer and the former Senior Editor of Pop Culture at Newsweek with a passion for lifestyle, geek news, and true crime.