Grab your razors boys, it's time to Manscape!
Since coming out I’ve noticed that I’m much more body conscious. I’ve started running more, have (and I hate to admit this) made a few trips to the tanning salon, and have recently begun tending more to my body hair. I’ve always trimmed a bit here and a bit there – nobody wants to see excessive armpit hair – but was unaware until recently that among gays, particular attention is paid to the nether region.
I was introduced to the concept of manscaping just a few weeks ago. Listening as two of my gay friends discussed the merits of their trimming regiments, I realized how thoroughly out of touch I was. One friend explained how he regularly shaves his balls with a razor (the same kind he uses on his face). The other explained that while in a relationship, or regularly having sex, he has his ass waxed (and I don’t mean the cheeks). I was taken aback at first – the sheer pain of the second method is enough to turn me off – but after some pondering, I decided to do some experimenting.
While I’m all about personal disclosure in the interest of authentic writing, I have my limits. As such, I will not be discussing which manscaping methods I’ve tried, but I will say that less hair has some big perks: increased sensitivity, it’s aesthetically pleasing, it makes your equipment look bigger, and should you be lucky enough to have visitors to your nether region, I think it’s just the courteous thing to do. With that said, there are limits. Manscaping should be used to cleanup and enhance what you already have, not a vain and pathetic attempt to be something you’re not. For example, if you’re a hairy guy, don’t go all crazy and shave and wax your entire body. To me, natural is sexy, but like everything else on our bodies, a bit of maintenance is required.
Like I said, I’m new to this. I’d be curious to hear what other people have to say about this topic. Do most gays manscape? What methods do you like best… for you and your partner? Have you ever been with someone in serious need of manscaping? Should tops and bottoms landscape differently? There you go, I’ve provided some food for thought… it’s your turn.
23 comments:
i'm so glad someone super smart and stuff was able to finally address the body conscienceness issues manscaping is about. i mean, it's really important that dudes shave their hair in natural ways and stuff. no one likes hair in their mouth-ewwww-lol. i mean, no one can possibly be attracted to someone who doesn't look tanned and trimmed just like the guys in abercrombie ads, right? those are the only people i can think of that are attractive and i'm like, really in touch.
Never, ever do serious manscaping before a road trip or plane ride. It gets itchy.
Manscaping should be used to cleanup and enhance what you already have, not a vain and pathetic attempt to be something you’re not.
I couldn't agree more. I am anti shave but pro trim.
Don't shave, just trim your body hair. That way you'll still look like a man (at least).
Use hairclippers with an attachment appropriate to the area (legs, chest, pubes, ass, etc).
This will leave the hair shorter and provide ease of use without making you look like a pre-teen. That hairless look is really disturbing to me.
does anyone have a bump of tina?
I can't believe I'm responding to a post about "Manscaping"- but this piece does, actually fit in a broader context. As a woman who doesn't shave her legs or armpits, generally, the question of hair growth and its relationship to sexual identity (and what is fake/real) has been brought up by straight and queer friends all the damn time. My hair is considered a marker of queerness by straight people (not as a rule, but more often than not)- even though the men I've dated don't seem to mind.
Is shaving on anyone fake? (I don't actually think so, but I enjoy being au natural)
Personally, I hate it. Too me, natural is sexy. I can't stand this whole ken doll look.
Can anyone recommend a good razor when trimming the balls or will any one do just fine?
Also, when trimming the pubes, any recommendation of hairclipper attachment size?
Some manscaping is just polite, I think. And depending on your sexual act preferences, potentially necessary. If one likes to be rimmed, it's nicer if you clean it up some so it doesn't feel like I'm going down on a butt taco.
But I totally agree with those who argue for a natural look. The ken doll style is quite unnatural. Trim, not shave, and includes the whole groin area. It is healthier as no nicks or cuts on the skin are less of a window to pesky viruses trying to make their way in.
"Also, when trimming the pubes, any recommendation of hairclipper attachment size?"
3, I think, but it all depends on how much hair you had there to begin with, and how much hair there is in the surrounding area. The whole thing looks better if it fits together.
I don't recommend using a razor for the balls. The skin folds, hair roots, the angle, it's all just a recipe for nicks and cuts, which could have repercussions later on. Trim closely, and if you are gonna use a razor at all, don't press it against the skin, but run it lightly over. I personally find that you can get more pleasure out of a hair fuzz there as opposed to the completely shaved kind.
Yes:
- Bush control, but not complete deforestation;
- unibrow interruption;
- shaved heads are nice, but work that longer hair if you can.
No:
- former eyebrows - now commas of surprise;
- sculpting a fake treasure trail;
- constant chest stubble.
I don't have a problem with back or shoulder hair, but I love the Yeti, Sasquatch and Neanderthal, so I'm biased.
No, never. I never shave or trim anything below the neck. Even trimming is bad. Cutting hair leaves a hair end that is sharp and irritating. Touching a man who has trimmed is like touching a nettle. It is irritating, not sexy. I may not be into most really hairy men, but I'm definitely not into a man who manscapes.
Where does one go to get ones ass waxed? Is that the kind of thing you can ask for at a regular salon/spa?
I'm agreeing with jimbo, except for the Yeti part, but that's what he and those that like that are there for; supply and demand. A naturally hairy guy is always a +1 in my book.
I have two stray black hairs which cause me mental anguish and thus must be removed periodically; they ruin the overall palette, clashing like hot pink would in Guernica.
No one likes cactus back: wax/Nads/etc. but no shaving. There is nothing worse than feeling ten thousand little bristles shave off more skin on my back than my tattoo did elsewhere.
I can't say from personal experience but an ex of mine swore by ice cold water and a sharp razor for his balls, and I was never one to complain.
Seriously Jon, I love your entries, like Margaret Mead or that professor in college who did a paper on tearooms.
My comments on previous comments...
(For the record, I am not the author of this blog post. Different Jon.)
Anonymous said...
does anyone have a bump of tina?
Is that a joke? I think you have a drug problem when you write an off-topic post looking for a fix.
Anonymous said...
Also, when trimming the pubes, any recommendation of hairclipper attachment size?
I use a beard trimmer to, well, trim my beard, so I use that on my body as well. It can be a pain on my chest and stomach, but I'm just too damn cheap and lazy to buy clippers that would be better sized.
Anyway, my beard trimmer's attachments are labeled with actual measurements. I use 3mm on my chest and stomach, 6mm on my pubes and in my taint and ass crack, and on my balls I don't use a guard at all. I like that better than shaving them because it still leaves a little hair, which feels more comfortable than using a razor and shaving all the hair off. Oh and sometimes I use the 6mm guard on my beard and sometimes I use the 3mm guard. Yes, the same guards that I run all over my crotch and ass.
Seriously Jon, I love your entries, like Margaret Mead or that professor in college who did a paper on tearooms.
Margaret Mead's most famous quote is about a small group of committed citizens being the only thing that can change the world. I don't think I understand how that relates to manscaping, although I guess it could take a group of people to trim a bear's body hair?
That college professor who did the paper on tearooms (named Laud Humphreys) is now used as an example of what to avoid in conducting social science research. He would pretend to be a voyeur in a public park restroom where men would meet up for anonymous sex, and then write down their license plate numbers and track them down and cause great embarrassment. You know how awkward it is to run into someone you had a one night stand with a few months later? Well imagine if the guy showed up at your house with a clipboard and questions. Yikes.
The subject matter leaves little room for surpise in noting that the author is not conscious of his misnomer. Don't confuse your penis with a pube as my sarcastic reply won't help much at that point.
Landoftrolls: "Cutting hair leaves a hair end that is sharp and irritating."
That is fixed with some moisturizer aftershave right after trimming/shaving. And if it is still sharp and irritating, then one has gone far too short. I think it varies from person to person, but the adequate length of trimming is at that point when the hair is either still soft or it would take just a day or two to soften.
I think we have a few interesting divides in the manscaping debate. To manscape or not? And among those who do, shave or trim? I prefer trimming because it looks more natural. What would be the argument for shaving?
Out of sheer curiosity, what is a body conscience? I have this vision of Jiminy Cricket jumping about pointing out flaws in one's appearance.
LOL!!! My "body conscience" hates me!! And it hates you too!!
LOLOLOLOL!!!
Thank you Hans. That was brilliant.
My "body conscience" told me to avoid you. Because you're ugly.
LOLOLOL!!!
My "body conscience" told me to avoid you. Because you're ugly.
LOLOLOL!!!
regarding landoftrolls' and daniel's comments on cactus feel after manscaping, i find that if you shampoo and condition a few times right after the trim job, it reduces the cactus feel and reduces irritation. i also would shampoo and condition the trimmed areas for at least one or two weeks.
i prefer natural, but through trial and error with manscaping, i find this works best especially if you have sensitive skin like myself.
The most interesting part of this post is the revealing beginning: "since coming out of the closet, I have become more body conscious" (or something like that). The truth is that these days, coming out of the closet implies to get into an even smaller, more constraining one: the closet of the gay-by-the-book. They both force us to live our lives in fear and hiding. Come on Jon, I am sure you can use your newlyfound freedom in more intelligent ways than this.
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