NYU Boys Learn How to Clean Up Down There

Posted by Emily Farris

 

Last week NYU's paper, The Local introduced a new sex advice column, aptly named "Sexy Time." The editors encourage students to write in ("use a phony email address if need be") with their burning questions. This week: a young lad who has "received a fair amount of head" and apparently has never heard of manscaping. 

Dear sex writer,

So a few days ago my roommates were talking about girls with big bushes and how they like a girl to be properly manicured and I’m sitting on my bed thinking of the episode where Samantha gets her pubes shaved into a lightening bolt. I then tried to make some funny joke about “eating girls out” because it makes my roommates squeamish when I use hetero lingo. I then said, “Yeah, thank god dudes don’t have to deal with that shit” and then they yelled back, “YOU DON’T TRIM?!” I mean, I did a few times in MIDDLE SCHOOL, but that shit got mad itchy. Also, I’d like to say that I have received a fair amount of head and have never heard, “Hi, your pubes are too long.” So, Merry, what is the deal with male (gay or otherwise) pube trimming?

Thanks,

Desperately Seeking Scissors

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Well, DSS, I’m quite happy for you that this confusion has not drastically impacted your ability to score a BJ, but we need to have a little talk. I’d have thought that your Sex and the City knowledge would have taught you better.

People generally don’t want to stick their face in long, gnarly hair (that easily traps fluids, litter, discarded newspaper, Starbucks cups, etc.) when they’re doing something as nice and lovely for another as giving oral pleasure (except, of course, for the people who do love burying their face in long gnarly hair, and they’re loved too). Boy pubes, granted, don’t present quite as much of a logistical problem as girl pubes, but that doesn’t mean they go unnoticed. I conducted a very scientific survey on your behalf, and the results say that by far most boys keep it trimmed with scissors. Some guys (straight and gay) even go and get waxed.

I’d say it’s standard to keep your pubes relatively short and under control. If there’s a particular guy in your life, ask him what he thinks. There are probably some in the world who you would make very happy if you got out a razor or some bikini wax, and others who would be perfectly glad to see you with a big man-bush. Neat and trim, though, is the standard of decency—start there.

This is in your personal best interest as well—a really sexy blow job can involve licking in all kinds of places, which would be much, much hotter if he doesn’t have to pause to pull long, curly hairs off his tongue.

All of this advice, by the way, goes for the straight boys too.

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Scanner readers, what do you think? You should know by now we're a fan of hair, in general, but a neat trim is always appreciated. We once had a boyfriend, however, who refused to go down on us until we shaved it all off. Obviously that relationship didn't work out too well. 

[The Local: Desperately Seeking Scissors and the Male Grooming Dilemma]

Related: 

Manscaping: Friend or Foe?

What Do 60% of Men Allegedly Trim?

"O glorious pubes!"

Is "Tech Sex" Somewhere Between Cyber Sex and Technical Sex?

Photo by Flickr user Jeremy Brooks used under the Creative Commons


Comments

Apollo said:

I have trimmed before. I even went down to the hilt, so to speak, at one point. The itchy thing really is a nuisance, though. I have clippers at home specifically for this purpose that I bought the last time I had a girlfriend, actually. I'll probably do it again the next time I go on a date. I just think it looks better, really.

February 4, 2009 4:15 PM

asb76 said:

I usually keep it shaved.  It stops itching after you do it a few times.

February 4, 2009 5:12 PM

Lisa said:

I prefer the man-bush.  Body hair grooming will just always seem like a feminine attribute to me, and I like manly men.  

February 4, 2009 5:17 PM

koolaidk said:

I once discussed this with a male friend of mine who was oblivious to the concept of male hair manicuring. I also shared the same sentiment that a good trim is satisfactory (and usually preferable) and his response:

Can you recommend a good barber??

Wow. I couldn't stop giggling.

February 4, 2009 5:49 PM

kimpers said:

I hate stubble even more than long hair.  I say use a beard trimmer with a half inch attachment, or somewhere thereabouts...

February 4, 2009 7:03 PM

e e e e e said:

fyi, nyulocal is not nyu's student newspaper--it's just some blog. also, fuck shaving pubes. that's what feminism was all about!

February 4, 2009 7:27 PM

sara said:

ugh. I just don't get it. I am a lady who is adamantly against the idea of a shaven man-crotch. It just looks stupid. Not that I've ever dated anyone who trimmed, so far as I know. Only seen the unfortunate pictures on craigslist.

February 5, 2009 3:05 AM

thinkywritey said:

I like how the options are either shave/trim or have a crotch 'fro crammed with debris and lost pets. As if a natural crotch can't be CLEAN. That's just plain prejudicial. And I'm really over having this conversation. Ever again. (How many times has Scanner addressed this by now?)

February 5, 2009 2:34 PM

About Emily Farris

Emily Farris writes about culture and food for numerous publications and websites you've probably never heard of, including her own blog eefers. Her first cookbook, "Casserole Crazy: Hot Stuff for Your Oven" was published in 2008. Emily recently escaped New York and now lives in a ridiculously large apartment in Kansas City, MO with her cat, but just one... so far.

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