April 10, 2013

Misread headlines... misread photographs.

So... I saw this over at HuffPo...



And I thought, well, really how many men go in for a waxing? I remember when Christopher Hitchens went in for a Brazilian wax and wrote about it in Vanity Fair:
The male version of the wax is officially called a sunga, which is the name for the Brazilian boys’ bikini. I regret to inform you that the colloquial term for the business is “sack, back, and crack.” I went into a cubicle which contained two vats of ominously molten wax and was instructed to call out when I had disrobed and covered my midsection with a small towel. Then in came Janea Padilha, the actual creator of the procedure. She whipped away the exiguous drapery and, instead of emitting the gasp or whistle that I had expected, asked briskly if I wanted any “shaping.” Excuse me? What was the idea? A heart shape or some tiger stripes, perhaps, on the landing strip? I disdained anything so feminine and coolly asked her to sunga away.
Whipped away the exiguous drapery... Oh, lord, I miss Hitchens!

And now, I'm looking at the photograph and thinking, well, this guy is none too bulgy. (Have you heard the news? Women prefer men with large penises!) And what is that? A dragon image on the underpants? Hey, wait a minute! That's not a guy! This is not an article about "men's bikini wax preference." This is an article about women's bikini waxes and what men think about them!
A new study... surveyed 1,000 men and found... 43 percent...said they preferred women's hair natural with a "Bermuda triangle" (i.e. trimmed hair and waxed sides). 17 percent said they like a "landing strip," 15 percent dig a heart shape, and only 12 percent said they prefer a full-on Brazilian (no hair at all).
Noted.

51 comments:

kentuckyliz said...

I know this will make one particular member of the Althouse Kommentariat particularly happy.

Known Unknown said...

Ha! I misread the post, too!

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

What do the Obamas think? Find out later on the TODAY show with Matt Lauer.
Serious news for serious people.

pdug said...

"I'm looking at the photograph and thinking, well, this guy is none too bulgy"

It took you that long? (no pun intended)

Gender truly is a social construct.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

What, no poll?

Anonymous said...

I was thinking "what a feminine bracelet that guy is wearing".

rhhardin said...

Guys are not that particular.

sakredkow said...

And what is that? A dragon image on the underpants?

Albeit not a very big dragon.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

Ideally, a woman's pubic hair should extend to her navel.

MadisonMan said...

How can someone look at that picture and think This is a man?

Anonymous said...

And now, I'm looking at the photograph and thinking, well, this guy is none too bulgy.


WTF?

I thought that was a female pelvis :)

Known Unknown said...

How can someone look at that picture and think This is a man

Well, there is a female male model now, so perhaps turnabout is fair play?

Ignorance is Bliss said...

A hint for the ladies:

While guys might have their styling preferences, they would greatly prefer their least favorite style, offered frequently and with enthusiasm, over their most favorite style reserved for special occasions.

Rusty said...

rhhardin said...
Guys are not that particular.

I beg your pardon?

Beta Rube said...

Didn't Jesse Jackson have the definitive comment on this topic?

Anonymous said...

Boyish hips.

Anonymous said...

No waist.

Brian Brown said...

rhhardin said...
Guys are not that particular.


Speak for yourself.

Brian Brown said...

She whipped away the exiguous drapery and, instead of emitting the gasp or whistle that I had expected, asked briskly if I wanted any “shaping.”

I just threw up a little bit in my mouth...

Anonymous said...

That's a straight uncurvy female.

Anonymous said...

Because men wouldn't go for a beautiful shapley hourglass figured lesbian if the opportunity arose? I doubt it.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Inga said...

That's a straight uncurvy female.

You can tell sexual orientation just from that picture? Maybe I need to upgrade my gaydar.

Anonymous said...

Actually I meant straight as in a board.

Ann Althouse said...

"How can someone look at that picture and think This is a man..."

Words are powerful.

The penis mightier than the sword.

Wince said...

"Oh, lord, I miss Hitchens!"

Voice in Sky: "There is no Lord!"

SeanF said...

This is not an article about "men's bikini wax preference."

Yes, it is - but men's preference, not men's bikini wax. :)

Which was what I originally assumed. I expected to find that the article was actually about men getting shaved and that you had assumed, as I had, that it was about men's preference in shaved women.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

How can someone look at that picture and think This is a man...

Maybe it has something to do with her standard of comparison?

Any thoughts, Meade?

ricpic said...

I can't believe Peter hasn't weighed in yet.

chickelit said...

Althouse wrote The penis mightier than the sword

Your version without ellipses..looks bigger than mine: link

Patrick said...

The commentary on the model reminds me of Tom Wolfe's "A Man in Full." In that book, a lady of a certain age, who had been discarded by her husband for a newer model referred to the younger women in the health club, with their very trim, non-curvy figures as "boys with breasts."

That sounds like what Inga is saying.

Anonymous said...

It's been raining for days in Wisconsin, I think that maybe cabin fever has set in for those located in the more isolated northern counties. California beach day dreaming, of nice boyish girl hips.

edutcher said...

I've heard the average woman only has so much room in there, so size must be for the more imaginative.

Ann Althouse said...

How can someone look at that picture and think This is a man...

Words are powerful.

The penis mightier than the sword.


How many people have died from a cock?

Inga said...

Boyish hips.

No waist.


Hef's idea of a woman.

That's a straight uncurvy female.

Because men wouldn't go for a beautiful shapley hourglass figured lesbian if the opportunity arose? I doubt it.


I dassent...

Known Unknown said...

are you ALL sleeping with/raising metrosexual minis these days? wow.

Yes, exactly. You're dead on. Kudos.

Anonymous said...

I'm sure Meade wouldn't agree EMD.

edutcher said...

And I'm sure the metrosexuals at HuffPo are as obsessed with this sort of this as if the "male" in the picture had been from South of the Border.

One thing you notice on Mexican beaches are the buildups men have in their swimwear, so much so that, even lying down, they're still standing up.

Nomennovum said...

A new study... surveyed 1,000 men and found... 43 percent...said they preferred women's hair natural with a "Bermuda triangle" (i.e. trimmed hair and waxed sides). 17 percent said they like a "landing strip," 15 percent dig a heart shape, and only 12 percent said they prefer a full-on Brazilian (no hair at all).

They shouldn't ask married men or men over sixty. Both are out of the sexual market. Married men will "prefer" whatever their wives have, because they have no choice and thus suffer from sour grapes syndrome. Over sixty? Well ... they don't know any better.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I too misread this post.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lyle said...

I don't like no hair at all.

Shapes are trashy.

David-2 said...

AA: Thank you so much for the link to that terrific, and terrifically funny, 3-article series by Hitchens on his magazine-financed self-improvement odyssey.

The whole thing was excellent but the two best parts were his description of his horrifying wax job, and his description of his body resembling a porpoise.

Unknown said...

I too find it a bit disturbing that anyone would mistake that photo for a man.

Sure, the female isn't curvy...but if the options are:

1. Completely denuded male eunuch wearing pearls

Or

2. Sporty young female

Have we really gotten to the point where the default would be #1??

Anonymous said...

I think I have it figured out, men are more visual. Women are more literal.

But, I could be wrong.

Rusty said...

ricpic said...
I can't believe Peter hasn't weighed in yet.

My peter weighed in awhile ago.

Rusty said...

or waded. Whatever you prefer.

William said...

Pubic hair that extends past the navel is a turn off, unless the girl is very cute......When I was young, the profession of Brazilian waxer did not exist. Now there are more Brazilian waxers than watch repairmen. ...This is probably a difficult field for men to break into, but it would be worth a try. Women are always talking about the glass ceiling, but men are barred from many desirable jobs.

Astro said...

They shouldn't ask married men or men over sixty. Both are out of the sexual market. Married men will "prefer" whatever their wives have, because they have no choice and thus suffer from sour grapes syndrome. Over sixty? Well ... they don't know any better.

You're insane. Completely clueless.

Nomennovum said...

You're insane. Completely clueless.

Thanks. So, which one of you, Astro?

Amartel said...

That's NOT a man, baby!

Amartel said...

Well, unless she "identifies" as one, of course.

Smilin' Jack said...

Hey, wait a minute! That's not a guy! This is not an article about "men's bikini wax preference." This is an article about women's bikini waxes and what men think about them!

I guess it's been a while, huh?

Cedarford said...

Definitely a recent thing. Pornstar chic goes mainstream. Hollywood actresses flashing their depiliated cootches and people wondering what is up with Ann Hathaway having a bush, still.

Stories of blondes and redhead sluts that agonize about shaving/waxing or not - because they apparantly worry thay guys will wonder if the absent carpet matches the drapes...and the guys are somehow too stupid to notice eyebrow color..

Now shaved/waxed male pornstars and gays..though it hasn't gone mainstream in the hetero population - possibly because it is thought 'Gay'.

Polls of women that show men's crotch hair is way down on their male grooming wish priorities - far below back hair, protruding nose and ear hair..