BucketCrab
If you can't climb out, drag others down.
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2021
- Posts
- 1,215
- Reputation
- 2,590
TL;DR
Preference for body hair is mostly cultural, probably yet another outdated idea of attractiveness rooted in the male gaze. If you want to be attractive to young women, your body hair has to go.
There's a lot of discussion whether body hair is a masculine, attractive and dimorphic trait that should be only trimmed or whether it's a failo that hides muscle definition, reduces perception of youthfulness and gives a dirty vibe. Likewise, there are a LOT of conflicting anecdotes around this topic; plenty of people say things like:
"girls love stroking my chest hair after sex!"
"a man who shaves his arms or legs isn't masculine and will appear vain, that's a turn off for girls"
"my girlfriend likes my body hair and doesn't want me to shave it"
but at the same time, I see a lot of people going:
"all hollywood actors are fully shaven in their shirtless scenes"
"my girlfriend thinks body hair is disgusting and wants me to at least trim it"
"it makes no sense to gymcel and keep body hair, it will hide your definition"
So, I've decided to look for a definitive answer to this age-old dilemma, beyond cultural differences and fashion fads. This study https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/21/2/419/322906 gives us some really interesting insight.
'We found that the women’s preferences correlated strongly with the hairiness of their current partners, suggesting that body hair may play a role in actual mate choice'
'The hairiness of the women’s fathers correlated positively with that of their current mates. This suggests that women’s preferences as to male hairiness may be partly the result of sexual imprinting on paternal body hair and/or that this preference is heritable.'
'We also found that when the women’s fertility was at its highest, they preferred males with less body hair...'
'...women prefer more the trait that is the current Western ideal of male beauty (hairlessness) than the trait that is traditionally (albeit incorrectly) seen as a symbol of high testosterone levels and masculinity.'
'... it seems that the phase of the menstrual cycle may affect the strength and direction of female preference even for traits that are not “good genes” indicators and whose preference may be culturally based.'
'...post-menopausal women demonstrated stronger preferences relating to male body hair than did pre-menopausal women.'
Preference for body hair is mostly cultural, probably yet another outdated idea of attractiveness rooted in the male gaze. If you want to be attractive to young women, your body hair has to go.
There's a lot of discussion whether body hair is a masculine, attractive and dimorphic trait that should be only trimmed or whether it's a failo that hides muscle definition, reduces perception of youthfulness and gives a dirty vibe. Likewise, there are a LOT of conflicting anecdotes around this topic; plenty of people say things like:
"girls love stroking my chest hair after sex!"
"a man who shaves his arms or legs isn't masculine and will appear vain, that's a turn off for girls"
"my girlfriend likes my body hair and doesn't want me to shave it"
but at the same time, I see a lot of people going:
"all hollywood actors are fully shaven in their shirtless scenes"
"my girlfriend thinks body hair is disgusting and wants me to at least trim it"
"it makes no sense to gymcel and keep body hair, it will hide your definition"
So, I've decided to look for a definitive answer to this age-old dilemma, beyond cultural differences and fashion fads. This study https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/21/2/419/322906 gives us some really interesting insight.
1. Body hair preference is highly subjective, or related to familial ties.
'We found that the women’s preferences correlated strongly with the hairiness of their current partners, suggesting that body hair may play a role in actual mate choice'
'The hairiness of the women’s fathers correlated positively with that of their current mates. This suggests that women’s preferences as to male hairiness may be partly the result of sexual imprinting on paternal body hair and/or that this preference is heritable.'
2. Contrary to widespread cultural beliefs, hairy males are biologically perceived as less fertile and less reproductively valuable.
'We also found that when the women’s fertility was at its highest, they preferred males with less body hair...'
'...women prefer more the trait that is the current Western ideal of male beauty (hairlessness) than the trait that is traditionally (albeit incorrectly) seen as a symbol of high testosterone levels and masculinity.'
'... it seems that the phase of the menstrual cycle may affect the strength and direction of female preference even for traits that are not “good genes” indicators and whose preference may be culturally based.'
3. Younger women show less of a preference towards body hair.
'...post-menopausal women demonstrated stronger preferences relating to male body hair than did pre-menopausal women.'
Last edited: