Advice from three of our guy friends. This week they answer the following: “Is manscaping automatically required these days for men under a certain age? And if so, what does this entail exactly?”
Straight Committed Guy (Johnny): Without knowing exactly what age you mean, or whether I fall into this age group, I have to say yes. Guys generally prefer epilated women, and what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. The question is, to what extent must a man ‘scape? I’d say the “musts” are: unibrow, nose hair, ear hair, facial hair, pubic hair. If you’re a really hairy guy, there’s just no way you’re realistically going to get rid of all that fur. If you’ve got a few small, stray patches of hair on your back, you might consider waxing or shaving them just when you go to the beach – as I did when my little lady recently asked me to. Fair’s fair, right? She’d wax anything I asked her to.
I’d be curious to hear the female consensus on chest hair. I like my chest hair, and so far no one has complained, but I’m from the “give ’em what they want” school of thought. If women on the whole demanded it of men, the way men demand that women trim their pubes, then I’d do it.
Gay Single Guy (Angelo Nikolopoulos): Manscaping standards are strikingly divergent (and contested) in the gay community. Some gay men opt to be happily hirsute, whereas others are brazenly bare. The garden-variety straight man, however, should exist somewhere in the middle. For this I suggest hair clippers. And unless you’re one of the 44 members of this Facebook group, here’s a rule to live by: if it’s long enough to braid, it’s ready for a shave.
Straight Single Guy (Chris): If manscaping is not required, it should be. I have been a big proponent of some form of grooming for a long time. I don’t even know if there should be an age requirement. Basically if you expect someone to spend significant time with their head and mouth down there, you have to take certain steps to ensure it’s a pleasant experience for them too. And almost every guy expects that their partner is well-groomed, so fair is fair. As far as what it entails, Philips makes a great device for buzzing down there. The blades are rounded off and don’t pinch or cut anything sensitive. If you don’t own a BodyGroom, you won’t understand how easy it is. No wax, no razor blades. Just simple waterproof buzzing once a week. No big deal.
But I think this is one question that needs to be turned back to Em & Lo. What do the ladies really want?
Our “wise guys” are a rotating group of contributors, some of whom wish to remain anonymous and some of whom like the attention. This week’s Gay Guy is Angelo Nikolopoulos, host of an NYC queer reading series The White Swallow; Straight Single Guy is blogger Chris DiClerico; and our Straight Committed Guy is regular EMandLO.com commenter, Johnny. To ask the guys your own question, click here.
