So... Hair

So, this is not a location related post, and I think one that's probably been done to death, but seriously what is with the lack of body hair in the nudist/naturist set? As a moderately hairy guy, one of the things that puts me off the naturist bubble is the little variation in hair removal practices that seem to occur at nude beaches. This strikes me as incredibly odd when naturism is supposed to be about... nature? It's a big part of the reason why I (historically) did not often 'cross the line' in a mixed beach (and sometimes still won't).

Dressed up in terms of preference/choice/whatever makes you feel most comfortable, it seems that these 'choices' tend strongly toward the current dominant ideas about hair removal (i.e., porn/culture driven imperatives to remove it ALL). "It's just like choice in clothing" I've been told. You can do whatever you want with your body hair... just as long as it involves (full) removal. This 'choice' seems so clearly not a choice that I know of several people who have been scared off going to trousers-off beaches, purely because they like their pubic hair.

The fact that so many seem to be wearing the same 'clothes,' (IMO) flies in the face of the positive body image, acceptance of all body types rhetoric that gets promoted on the naturist websites. These arguments are right up there with the "actually you'll find lots of variation" talk that comes up in the same discussions. Funny, but I haven't seen much of this variation, so is it also just rhetoric, or am I not going to the right nude places... around the world? 

Let's be clear. If there was a huge amount of variation, and full hair removal was proportionally represented, then this would be a non-issue for me. Research evidence on hair removal (believe me, I've looked) suggests that (contrary to media accounts) there is actually quite some variation in body hair (especially pubic hair) removal (or non-removal) amongst men and women. What is evident is that younger people tend to do more removal than older people, and women more than men - and yet (anecdotally) nudism/naturism tends to be skewed older (i.e. 30+), and toward more men. So, in my mind the idea of representation of the general population must be nonsense.

To me, it smells a bit of the exhibitionism that's not supposed to be a part of 'pure' naturism. It also undermines the distance that naturists often want to set between porn nudity and 'natural' nudity. It's also possible that it's become so prevalent, that for some it's about not standing out, it's about being ordinary (amongst the nudists). I find that a bit sad.

For a lifestyle that's supposed to be about resisting the status quo, there doesn't seem to be much resisting going on. The rhetoric of 'choice' is the new opiate of the people.


OK. Rant over.