What is the cause of the increasing trend towards body hairlessness in the world. Go back 60 years, women would shave their legs, men their faces and that was about it. Then women started shaving armpits, bikini lines. Then waxing the legs, bikini line, the Brazilian, the Hollywood…Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!. Now many women maintain hairless bodies. Men too are at it as well, first just trimming body hair a bit, but now many men wax / shave chests, backs etc. It is not uncommon to see beauty salons offering waxing for 'men and women'. Some men even wax their legs. But what are the psychological reasons; Is it a sub conscious psychological move away from our animal past? are we becoming less hairy as we evolve and we seek to speed that process up. Is it just a fashion? Are people just following celebrity / magazine images and doing what they feel they should? If so in 30 years will fashions change and everyone will want to proudly display their body hair again? (I hope not)
Is this trend really worldwide? Or are you just making that leap of assumption from a fashion trend in the western nations? Do the women in the Bonga-Tango tribe in northeastern Zuli-ania shave their legs and armpits? Baron Max
good point, I really dont know whther it is in every part of the world, but it is in different parts of the world. Certainly the USA, Europe, Australia, Columbia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Canada and I would say Japan as well.... I am not sure whether it is prevelant in other countries.
Get real. When you are kissing your beloved from head to toe, do you actually enjoy getting HAIR in your mouth?
Egyptians don't shave they use a homemade sugar wax (even today). Here is a recipe: http://www0.epinions.com/content_912826500
For ancient Egyptians to have discovered this method of hair removal it must have been an important thing for them. I mean someone doesn’t accidentally discover something like that (with no prior knowledge of waxing as we have) unless they have been spending time trying to remove hair in other ways. So, why was hair removal so important to the Egyptians (or to any of us) – is it just a tactile thing? But then, we all like running fingers through each others head hair, so hair is tactilely good sometimes (no one likes to stroke a hairless cat) Are we just trying to psychologically move away from hairy animals? Or did it start as a religious ceremony in Egypt and has been copied since??
I don't know about the men, but women, I would say yes. The men would use razors, I suppose. Hard to style a beard with wax. All the ones I met said that Egyptians make or buy halawa (the sugar wax) in preference to all other depilatory methods. Its also common in other ME countries.
The Egyptians also wore make-up and made hair pieces (even when they had their own hair). They were just fashion conscious, I guess. And the depilation is for hedonistic reasons as well as for better hygiene in the hot desert climate. The sugar, honey, lemon combination acts as an excellent moisturiser and softens the skin to baby smoothness.
Ok its hedonistic, I am not denying that. We all like to touch each others hairless bodies. It feels good for the both the toucher and the recipient. My wonder is, is this purley physical or is there a psychological aspect? After all they say sex is mainly a mental activity. Does this not hold true for all tactile contacts...
Hmm, I don't know about that. For example, everyone that I know who pets a soft, warm, little puppy gushes with happiness and joy and pleasure. And if I'm not mistaken, little puppies have lots of soft, luxurious fur. My guess is, if humans had soft, luxurious coats of fur, we'd love to touch and caress that soft furriness, wouldn't we? I think so. Baron Max
Same reason we wear jewelry, perfume ourselves, cut and style our hair, wear makeup, high heels, tight fitting clothes, expensive lingerie, etc.
Light Travelling: It was due to: 1. The heat. 2. Sexual purposes. The Egyptians were a very sensual people. Even men would wear makeup. It is also notable that ancient Egyptian has no word for "virgin".
