Manscapeing...do you or don't you...do women like a clean man...

a reply to: AmericanRealist

I doubt you would call Jesus Christ a female to his face,

And risk him turning the other cheek on me, god no.

a reply to: Quantum12

man ape swimming with long back and chest hair. I felt like telling him to get a weed wacker and I would trim him up.

So you have the right to tell a complete stranger what to do with their body?

Would you do be allowed to get away with saying the same to your femme nazi sisters that don't shave? I though not.

You must be a man hating metro, the hormones in your food have certainly worked on you.

a reply to: Quantum12

, I said I like you but kindly pluck that brow. Well she did.

But you were happy for her to keep the moustache - Now I see the purpose of this thread

a reply to: TheConstruKctionofLight

Lol your funny. It was a person we work with. He was filming in the water. Way to be so positive.👍 Your awesome!

originally posted by: TrueBrit
Personally speaking, I spend as little time in a shirt as possible when outside of working hours, from April to October. I run hot, so I tend to get very warm when the sun is out, when the humidity is too high for me. If the thermometer reads over 15 degrees centigrade, then the chances are that my shirt is off.

I had forgotten the propensity of the British male to remove his shirt at the first sign of sunshine. It still has a clear element of "display" about it I would argue, even if what is on display is a hairy gut and moobs, but it is clearly a different kind of display to the one that the gym-bodied-shaven-ravers seem to be communicating between themselves.

a reply to: Anaana

Display has nothing to do with it for me. The simple fact of the matter is, that when it is hot out, I either have to take off the shirt, or be far too bloody hot. I hate hot weather. It makes me drowsy, lethargic, and irritable. Anything I can do to be less warm, is probably going to seem appealing. Of course, shirtlessness requires that sunscreen be applied, but that's a small price to pay, for a properly regulated body temperature.

a reply to: TrueBrit

I wasn't just talking about you, I was making a general sweep, but in terms of displaying, you stated that any time when you are not in work, you remove your shirt. Therefore, by taking your shirt off, you are displaying your not working-ness, and that seems to be a common aspect of British males removing their shirts, and of displaying the discomfort of conforming to socially acceptable modes of dress. Hairlessness is supported by a multi-billion dollar industry, most of which goes into studies seeking out ways to exploit our insecurities. Rebelling against such conformity is a display in itself. And, we all display in some way or other, even if only in private, an English man's home being his castle being quite the display, when you think about it. And, you have displayed here, quite prominently, your preferences and evaluation that manliness is equated to less time spent getting ready and preening. We all put forward the foot which we think is best as our reflection or which kicks the best should any try.

a reply to: Quantum12

Pretty sure thats a young Sean Connery.

a reply to: Butterfinger

Lol I think your right!

a reply to: Anaana

Again, the reason I take my shirt off at this time of year, is because it is baking hot and humid as all hell. But I see what you are saying. People who do not feel the heat so much as I do might have display in mind when about the business of getting bare chested.

originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: Anaana

Again, the reason I take my shirt off at this time of year, is because it is baking hot and humid as all hell. But I see what you are saying. People who do not feel the heat so much as I do might have display in mind when about the business of getting bare chested.

Well, we make choices about what to display all the time, some more consciously than others. Your choice to wear a shirt during working hours displays your respect for the clothing conventions expected by your customers. For others, it is taking their shirt off so that others can recognise the work that they put into toning their bodies. What is important to us, whether it is earning a living, or looking "good", is part of what we present. Highly differing priorities, but much depends on the way in which status is earned in any given social setting.

I was watching Generation Kill the other day, and in light of some of the comments made on here that hair removal was in some way less "manly", I noted a number of comments from the Marines about their "shaved balls" which got me to wondering. Surely, unless you are shaving daily, those balls are going to get stubbly...and out in the desert, not wishing to dwell too much on such thoughts, hot and sweaty. I am thinking some kind of velcro interaction between clothing and dangly bits that could result in chaffing and inflammation, opening them up to the potential of all sorts of infections.

It is a sadly misconceived war. Long ago, surgeons figured out that shaving a body part prior to surgery actually increased, rather than decreased, surgical site infections. No matter what expensive and complex weapons are used – razor blades, electric shavers, tweezers, waxing, depilatories, electrolysis – hair, like crab grass, always grows back and eventually wins. In the meantime, the skin suffers the effects of the scorched battlefield.

Pubic hair removal naturally irritates and inflames the hair follicles left behind, leaving microscopic open wounds. Rather than suffering a comparison to a bristle brush, frequent hair removal is necessary to stay smooth, causing regular irritation of the shaved or waxed area. When that irritation is combined with the warm moist environment of the genitals, it becomes a happy culture medium for some of the nastiest of bacterial pathogens, namely Group A Streptococcus, Staphylococcus aureus and its recently mutated cousin methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). There is an increase in staph boils and abscesses, necessitating incisions to drain the infection, resulting in scarring that can be significant. It is not at all unusual to find pustules and other hair-follicle inflammation papules on shaved genitals.

Additionally, I've seen cellulitis (soft-tissue bacterial infection without abscess) of the scrotum, labia and penis as a result of spread of bacteria from shaving or from sexual contact with strep or staph bacteria from a partner's skin. Some clinicians are finding that freshly shaved pubic areas and genitals are also more vulnerable to herpes infections due to the microscopic wounds being exposed to viruses carried by mouth or genitals. It follows that there may be vulnerability to spread of other STIs as well.

www.theguardian.com...

I have moved from indifference to an instinctive repulsion for hairlessness. It is definately the wrong kind of dirty.

a reply to: Anaana

That is why you trim instead of shaving with a razor.

a reply to: Anaana

I think it's simple really.

The more often one shaves, waxes or however they choose to 'groom' themselves the more accustomed the skin becomes to that act. If someone is finding that the skin is becoming irritated and/or they are suffering from some sort of inflammation they could simply apply a light layer of a hydrocortisone cream and that should (hopefully) take care of it rather quickly. This would work for the chest/nipple area for men as well.

Pubic hair removal naturally irritates and inflames the hair follicles left behind, leaving microscopic open wounds. Rather than suffering a comparison to a bristle brush, frequent hair removal is necessary to stay smooth, causing regular irritation of the shaved or waxed area. When that irritation is combined with the warm moist environment of the genitals, it becomes a happy culture medium for some of the nastiest of bacterial pathogens, namely Group A Streptococcus, Staphylococcus aureus and its recently mutated cousin methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). There is an increase in staph boils and abscesses, necessitating incisions to drain the infection, resulting in scarring that can be significant. It is not at all unusual to find pustules and other hair-follicle inflammation papules on shaved genitals.

Honestly, I've never heard of this. Again, I think that regular 'grooming' using quality products (razors, waxes, etc.) is key in avoiding the above situations. I would imagine that being attentive to that area would be less likely occur outside of swim suit season for most folks though.

originally posted by: TNMockingbird
Honestly, I've never heard of this.

It seems relatively common, it appears that there has been a rise in the instances of infections that can be correlated with the increased popularity of denuded pubis. Google yielded numerous examples and associated health advice.

originally posted by: TNMockingbird
Again, I think that regular 'grooming' using quality products (razors, waxes, etc.) is key in avoiding the above situations.

Which is great if you have access to "quality products", and the income to fund such a practice, as well as access to competent caring health care, and a lack of embarassment when things go wrong, and things can get pretty nasty when it does. These are very delicate areas we're talking about. I know how young I was when I started nicking my Step-Dad's razor to shave my legs, and the consequences of a dry shave that meant I was in thick tights for days. Young people are not usually renowned for their good sense, that is part of the fun of being young. I should imagine quite a few nasty accidents occur, and infections occuring as a result in places generally too embarassing to mention.

originally posted by: TNMockingbird
I would imagine that being attentive to that area would be less likely occur outside of swim suit season for most folks though.

I chose not to imagine such things. I looked at some pictures too. It doesn't improve things.

Anyway, my response was more intended to counter the statement in the OP as to whether women liked a "clean man", and as I do, I think hair (down there particularly) is by far the cleaner option.

a reply to: Anaana

I saw man today on the beach who needs that. Lol