In the spirit of sexual sociology, we present a brief, annotated view of pubic hair styling in pornography throughout the years.
The Merkin Era
Merkin by MaxWigs.com
Merkins are, to put it bluntly, a wig for your crotch. They first came into popularity in the mid 1450s when crabs ran rampant, and many folks simply shaved off all their pubes out of constant itchy frustration, donning a merkin for occasions when shaved genitalia was inappropriate: holidays, weddings, fancy dress parties, etc. They were also popular amongst prostitutes who’d contracted so many STDs they needed a merkin to cover up their open sores, lest they dissuade potential clients. Hey, who said history lessons are boring?
Victorian Porn
Image from Wikimedia Commons
Though it may sound like an oxymoron, trust us, there was plenty of dirty fodder to be found in the buttoned up age of prim-n-proper dress. Produced primarily in Europe, these sepia-toned photos featured mysterious, dark-haired Gibson girls stripping down and getting it on with half-dressed dandies in sock garters. And because so much of this material originated in Europe, the predominant style showcase here is unshaved and untouched: and that goes for pubes and pits.
The Pinup Age
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
During World War II, soldiers pinned photos of wholesome beauties like the leggy Betty Grable to their walls and lockers, birthing the era of the Pin-Up girl. Although most of the material was “cheesecake” ‒ featuring no nudity or merely implied nudity ‒ dirtier material could be found if you knew where to look for it.
Here we also find the first instances of shaving-via-photo trickery; in “The Real Bettie Page: The Truth about the Queen of the Pinups” author Richard Foster writes: “nudes of Bettie Page presented problems...in a day when publishing photos of pubic hair was illegal (the offending hair was usually ‘removed’ in the developing process.”
Indeed, in most of pinup queen Page’s famous photos she’s either strategically posed to disguise any visible hair, or it’s simply been removed in processing. But if you dig around enough, you can find photos of Page in her natural, unshaved glory.
The ’70s: Free Love, Free Bush
1976 Pet of the Year Laura Doone
The 1970s brought about the golden age of hippie love: the afros were everywhere ‒ and seriously, we mean everywhere. We’re hard pressed to find a hairier time in American history, when both men and women forsake nearly all manner of trimming and of their body. The treasure trails morphed into the Treasure 5-lane Highways, and nestled inside those polyester bellbottoms lurked a ‘fro big enough to put Macy Gray to shame.
Furthermore, Penthouse thrust pubic hair into the public eye, with its full-color centerfolds of untamed, unshaved beauties like 1973 Pet of the Year Patricia Cherokee Barret. Should you be overswept with nostalgia for the centerfolds of your youth, Penthouse has just the toy item you, with its recently pocket pussy toy inspired by 1974 Pet of the Year Laura Doone, featuring “’70s Style Full Bush.”
The ’80s: Hair Metal and Waxing Ecstatic
1989 Penthouse Pet Diana Van Gils
Ah, the ’80s: neon ruled supreme, New Wave was the new scene, and cocaine and Aquanet abuse went hand-in-hand. While the hair on the heads of Penthouse Pets and porn stars was teased, crimped and sprayed to the max, the hair down below began to dwindle: here we see the first whisperings of the Brazilian style wax-job: the hair on the mons pubis is waxed into a smaller, neater, more defined triangle, while little or no hair is left on the labia. The aesthetic look of the sharper shape was further accentuated by the thong tan-lines that were all the rage of the time.
The ’90s into the 2000s: Barely There and Back Again
Penthouse Pets Jennifer Emmerson and Justine Joli
Porn really burst into the mainstream in the 90s, and after several decades of careful trimming and shaping, the porn world seemed to collectively decide, “Fuck it! Let’s just shave it all off!”
The ever-popular landing strip style gradually became smaller, thinner, and narrower until it disappeared all together, leaving behind completely waxed and hair-free “hardword floors,” which were sported by both male and female pornstars. And Photoshop neatly smoothed over the bits that the razor or wax missed.
For most of the 2000s, Internet porn burst into an overnight sensation and a firestorm of national controversy, and pubic hair was rarely seen in new releases and pictorials. It was almost like an antiquated notion, an outdate relic of the past, as charmingly out-of-touch as the faded Bettie Page black-and-whites we associated with our grandfather’s spank bank.
And yet it all comes full-circle: as we close in on the end of the 2000s, websites like www.vintage-adult-photos.com and www.vintageclassicporn.com offer everything from Victorian Hardcore to grainy silent porn clips from the 1930s, acting as virtual museums of pubic hair through the decades.
And pubes are even making a comeback: Sasha Grey, the Williamsburg Hipster’s answer to Jenna Jameson and the latest it-Girl of porn starlets-gone-mainstream, has been noted for her full, luxurious pubic ’do.
Sasha Grey, Pet of the Month July 2007
Hell, we’ve even brought CGI into the mix: it’s been reported that Sienna Miller, a waxing aficionado, naturally lacked the pubic hair to accurately portray a Free Lovin’ ’60s gal in the upcoming film Hippie Hippie Shake. So filmmakers simply used technology to digitally enhance Miller’s anachronistic muff into a more authentically full vintage bush.
CGP: Computer Genterated Pubes. What will they think of next?
