Rhymes With Gherkin

Photo by magpiebride

I find it hard to believe that there is more for me to learn about pubic hair removal, but there is! The history of the “take-it-all-off” approach, according to various sources, is connected to the porn industry as part of the “little girl” fantasy. This type of waxing was then popularized in Brazil in part due to the much smaller swimwear sported in that country. In fact, our former Brazilian nannies found the relatively conservative American bikini equivalent to a grandma suit! Prior to coming to our home, they were coached to go out and buy an American bathing suit, due to the high degree of soccer-mom contempt possible were they to show up in a thong and postage stamp bikini at the community pool.

The momentum for this style of pubic hair coiffing (I am thoroughly enjoying coming up with as many ways to talk about pubic hair modification by the way, please feel free to add your own in the comments section) has been growing, and becoming more mainstream. There was a time in history however, that lacking hair down there was not a good thing and in fact, had a much more sinister meaning. A tip from a friend exposed this interesting historical fact.

According to the Urban Dictionary, in the 1600’s, the oldest profession in the world was at an historical high. Unfortunately, so were sexually transmitted diseases, most notably syphilis. Medical treatment during these days, involved a lot of guessing and hoping, and very little curing. The main treatment for syphilis in those days was mercury. The thought of this is appalling to be sure and the consequences of the treatment more so. Turns out that if your pour mercury on your “goods”, all of the hair will fall out.

Sadly, the mercury did not kill the syphilis, but it did leave these professional women with a tell tale sign of their diseased state, that would have potentially reduced their clientele. As a result, these entrepreneurial women developed a clever disguise, if you will, for their bald bits. The twat toupee, pubic wig or merkin was born! The mercury did not work, and the signs of disease would remain. As Merkinworld.com puts so eloquently, the merkin was also used as “… a device to cover syphilitic pustules and gonorrheal warts in the genital area.” They report it first appeared as early as the mid 1400’s. Merkins remain in use today as decorative items, in certain genres of film and erotica, and are made from things like yak belly or human hair.

Again, new possibilities have been presented for our musings of muffinscaping. If you partake of the Brazilian, you can at your whimsy, dress it up or down in any number of cute and sexy ways with your very own wig! To think how ironic history is that something once considered abhorrent and diseased is now considered super sexy and the state all women should aspire to. Merkinworld further offers the convenient way that using a merkin can replace the “… appearance of the pubic hair, which is usually, when left to its own devices, unruly, coarse and shapeless.” More irony if you will, that a fake pubic wig looks better than the natural…just like a hair piece on a man’s head is flattering…not!