does your vagina say “bling”?
Every time I shower the landscape of my pubic hair becomes a political battlefield.
Shave?
Don’t shave?
Trim?
Soap or Shampoo?
(That last one was a joke, but it is actually something to consider, I guess…)
It seems an easy enough decision, but one that has been a problem for me since the first hair. Not only do I struggle over the issue in the shower but my pubic hair has been the focus of a least one major “conversation” in every serious relationship I have been in in my adult life. More often than not, I have been accused of not having “feminist enough” tendrils “down there.” My response has been that feminist pubic hair is styled in any way one chooses. But in truth (and perhaps why I become so defensive on the topic), I don’t know what style I truly consider pubes-chic.
I’ve gone through every possible iteration of shaving (and waxing and trimming). I’ve also gone through every style of not shaving or waxing or trimming. I’ve never quite figured out what I actually like, because I am too busy worrying if my preferences are dictated by the voices of dominant culture, the voices of the men I’ve dated, the voices of my feminist mentors or the voices in my heart.
If I go for a landing strip and feel sexy, I wonder if I just like it because porn culture invaded my brain. When I grow a full bushy mess and it makes me feel powerful, I wonder if I am erroneously raising my pubic tendrils to symbolic stature because I was told I should feel that way by all those smart women in all those kick ass books I read in college.
But finally, I have found one pubic trend about which I know how I feel:
That’s right—bedazzling for the vagina. Just the sort of trend a lady born in the 80’s might go for. But, no! Not this girl, not this time and not this trend!
Jill broke the story to me on Feministe (though apparently Jennifer Love Hewitt discussed this on the Goerge Lopez show and got the blogosphere going wild over this new trend weeks ago). I think Jill said it best:
I can’t even begin to imagine the ingrown hair situation there (or the totally disturbed look you’ll get when your dude or lady comes face-to-face, if you will, with your Swarovskified-vulva), but to each their own.
I think vajazzling sums up pretty much everything that sucks about consumer culture and the objectification and fetishization of women’s bodies. Vajazzling involves women feeling like they need to change some part of their body and this change requires them to spend lots and lots of money on a regular basis.
I can take my vagina bushy or bald, but I don’t think I could live with my vagina if it was all bling…
Vegina 
and i thought the trend of dying pubic hair a while back was crazy… this takes it to an entirely new level. yeesh.
Well said! Most people do not see shaving as a “political issue” per se. But like we learn in every feminist studies class “The personal is political” and I think shaving applies.
I don’t shave my armpit hair and legs for example. At least not with a razor or regularly (I buzz it, when I do “trim it down” like once every 6 months if that) My armpit hair is always grown out, never smooth. I think that’s because I have an obsession with armpit hair on myself, other wimmin and myn. Its incredibly sexy. 🙂
When it comes to my vuvla, I have varying ways of enjoying its “hairstyle”. However, I would NEVER advocate vajazzling. Horrrible. Ew, itchy, uncomfortable and downright offensive. My vulva is sexy without those jewels or rhinestores!
I also don’t think shaving for personal comfort (or a fetish) is objectionable. I just would encourage everyone to think of the reasons why they shave, for whom, and to whose “standards”. It may change your mind. It may stay the same. But to question yourself is always a good thing and asking why you participate in certain routines is healthy, especially in an overtly gendered society that tells you NOT to question.
I think my first look I would be laughing if it looked like the video.
While i think it’s a bad idea on many levels my only question comes up is how is it different then many body modifications that function already as a aesthetic in those regions?
good point, greg. it may not be different. i don’t have nor have ever contemplated genital piercings, i don’t know what they cost or if they are high maintenance. i also don’t know if they are purely aesthetic or if they heighten or dull pleasure. these things would all matter in my evaluation. i get the sense that vajazzling is different since it is being forwarded as a new way to fix the “ugly” of the vagina and it is being promoted in spas and requires constant upkeep and $$. perhaps though they are all similar concepts and i am just more accepting of the piercing since it is not a new idea to me. perhaps genital modification in other forms parallels this? in any case, i will let others do what they want with their pubic hair and genitals if it is of their own choosing, but i want nothing to do with any of it. tongues and toys are welcome, but any invasive or expenisve or time consuming modifications are not!
I hated trimming my pubes all the time so I decided to get them lasered off. No in-grown hairs, no waiting for it to grow long enough o wax again, no hassle. It’s awesome. Oh, and no underwear. I hate underwear.