However you decide to maintain your pubic hair, know that there's nothing wrong with going your own way. You do you. But Cosmopolitan looked into what men and women think about pubic hair — their own and their partners' — and the results are surprising.
The magazine reports that while many men have embraced the world of pubic-hair grooming in the past few years, they expect that their partners have their pubic hair a specific way, completely disregarding what their partners want.
According to the survey, which looked at 4,146 respondents between the ages of 18 and 35 pulled from Cosmo's social media accounts, Esquire's Twitter, and AskMen's Facebook, men don't just expect their partners to take off more of their pubic hair, they're not backing down from admitting that pubic hair is a major dealbreaker.
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Data showed that 46% of men prefer when their partners go completely bare down there. 70% of women, on the other hand, only expect a trim to keep things neat, not total removal. And while that might not surprise many people, just how adamant guys are about their preferences may be the most shocking data point. 30% of men reported that a partner's pubic hair would make them reconsider the relationship. Only 19% of women shared that sentiment. And as for asking for changes, the survey showed that 40% of men have asked their partners to alter their public hair. Most of the people interviewed for the study appear to identify as cisgender and heterosexual.
"I think men expect a lot more from women, in terms of grooming," respondent Tabitha S. told the magazine. She added that partners have asked her to shave everything — and she complied, even though she didn't like that the subject got broached at all. "I thought, Isn’t there supposed to be some hair there?”
There's nothing wrong with taking it all off if that's what you're into. But there certainly is something wrong if you don't feel great after changing your pubic hair or you're doing it for someone else, and not yourself. Doctors agree that there's no real reason to do anything to pubic hair at all, adding that shaving could actually cause irritation. If you're looking for some tips on how to keep things smooth, we've got some pointers. And if you want to get a little whimsical, there are tools for that, too.