Althouse: "I’ve never noticed anyone not liking my body hair."

May 4, 2016

"I’ve never noticed anyone not liking my body hair."

"We’re seeing a return to ’70s fashion... The late ’60s and early ’70s were about freedom, the hippie movement, having lots of hair."

29 comments:

Jane the Actuary said...: Does anyone outside of urban hipsterdom actually wax their chests? (Or, for that matter, their backs?); 5/4/16, 12:37 PM
traditionalguy said...: Hair is natural. Beards on men are are totally masculine. Clean shaven men are a cleaner look.Beards look like they might carry crud.

But what is the attraction with the four day growth beard look? It looks like making a claim for being a grown male , while still maintaining an eternal youth Peter Pan look so special to under employed millennials.; 5/4/16, 12:56 PM
Anonymous said...: Didn't hippie chicks back then like to macramé their armpit hair?; 5/4/16, 1:09 PM
Anthony said...: I wonder if we'll be getting back to short, tight shorts and tube socks eventually as well.; 5/4/16, 1:15 PM
rhhardin said...: Body hair detects ticks. The hairs are force amplifiers, which makes nerves respond to really tiny stimuli.; 5/4/16, 1:15 PM
rhhardin said...: Facial hair breaks the wind in winter, and reduces the wind chill effect.; 5/4/16, 1:16 PM
rhhardin said...: My Doberman has a hairy look.; 5/4/16, 1:17 PM
Mark said...: Jane, the North Carolina beaches are full of men with zero upper body hair recent summers. The rednecks hitting on my nieces were all hair free, surprisingly.; 5/4/16, 1:18 PM
madAsHell said...: It must be a slow news day. They've probably had this article about men's body hair sitting on the shelf for several months.; 5/4/16, 1:26 PM
Etienne said...: Being half-Scandinavian, I've been blessed with no hair. It takes me 3-months to grow a stubble beard.; 5/4/16, 1:35 PM
FullMoon said...: jelink said... [hush][hide comment]

Didn't hippie chicks back then like to macramé their armpit hair?

Not bloody likely ! Without a doubt, the most loving, beautiful, graceful, intelligent, mothering, resourceful, competent, intelligent women of the era. In my experience, anyway.; 5/4/16, 1:43 PM
Hagar said...: Do not grow a stubble beard.; 5/4/16, 1:46 PM
Anonymous said...: We won't really have accepted body hair until the fixation on women getting rid of theirs is lost.; 5/4/16, 1:47 PM
Hagar said...: or wear shorts or a baseball cap turned backwards on your head.; 5/4/16, 1:48 PM
Hagar said...: and do not get tattoos or any kind of body piercings.; 5/4/16, 1:50 PM
walter said...: For those who want to swing both ways..the merkin.; 5/4/16, 2:01 PM
walter said...: For those who want to swing Milwaukee way..
The Merkins; 5/4/16, 2:13 PM
mccullough said...: Most guys can't pull of a mustache, beard, or chest hair. If you don't look like Magnum, P.I., don't do it.; 5/4/16, 2:52 PM
Roughcoat said...: But what is the attraction with the four day growth beard look?

Ask my wife. She likes it. She thinks it's manly. An alpha male look. She calls me "burly man." Creates the illusion that I'm a tough guy. She's attracted to tough guys, alpha males. She's attracted to me, and vice-versa.

Does that sort of answer your question?; 5/4/16, 3:40 PM
YoungHegelian said...: @Roughcoat,

Ask my wife. She likes it. She thinks it's manly.

Mine too, but I think I looked like a bum who's come to town looking for a watering hole.

Or, if I let it go too many days, like Yasser Arafat.; 5/4/16, 3:45 PM
ALP said...: Isn't the quest for a hairless male body appropriating the beauty standards of hairless Asians? Where is the OUTRAGE????; 5/4/16, 3:47 PM
YoungHegelian said...: A guy who I went to college with did a stint as a EFL teacher in Japan. He had hair everywhere including his back. I mean, this guy looked like a bear wearing a shirt he had so much hair.

He said that when he'd go to the public baths in Japan, the Japanese would all stare at him, & then move away from him in the bath.; 5/4/16, 3:50 PM
Kyzer SoSay said...: If a man has never changed his own oil, never cut down a tree (a real tree, not a sapling), AND never been on the victorious side in a real-ass, bareknuckle brawl, he has no business growing a real beard.; 5/5/16, 1:02 AM
Kyzer SoSay said...: My beard is not as full as I'd like it to be. Paired with my mustache, my own mother did not recognize me, and upon realizing who I was she said something to the effect of "if my father had grown a beard, we might still be married." My father and I look exactly alike, so I think she was trying tell me it looked good. My wife tells me she loves it, except for when it goes a few days without trimming - then kissing becomes an exercise in stifling the laughter that ticklish hairs cause.

The rest of my body is pretty hairless, except for the usual places.; 5/5/16, 1:06 AM
David said...: I'm still waiting for mine to appear. Don't think it's going to make it. The head hair is still going strong and that's more than a good trade off.; 5/5/16, 2:05 AM
Jaq said...: But what is the attraction with the four day growth beard look?

I haven't confirmed this on Google Scholar, but supposedly studies have been done and chicks like it. That's a good enough reason, plus there are all kinds of good trimmers available for home use now.; 5/5/16, 6:55 AM
Jaq said...: I have changed my oil, cut down trees, not saplings, with an ax, mind you, not even a chain saw, but I have never not managed to avoid a serious fight. That's why I only grow a partial beard.; 5/5/16, 6:58 AM
Kyzer SoSay said...: Eh, my judgement may have been too demanding. Late night workouts bring the Irish to my forebrain. 2 out of 3 ain't bad, and with an axe to boot.

Chicks do love the stubble look. Beards require both commitment and the right facial structure. A nasty, messy beard is usually not a turn-on, a well-trimmed and cared for beard is. Almost any male can pull off the stubble look. The cleanshaven face is good too, but only when paired with a few other other secondary sex characteristics. Height, strong brow, strong chin, decent muscles - pick at least 3, or 2 if they're extreme (like, if you're 6'5" with Manly McBeefcake shoulders, you probably don't need the strong chin or brow). Female physical attraction to men has less to do with the face than one may suspect. Less to do with muscles too, IMO, but it helps, and usually well-muscled guys exhibit confident body language, which is the real panty-dropper in the equation.; 5/5/16, 9:15 AM
Kyzer SoSay said...: Women are fascinating. What they find attractive and what men think they should find attractive are two different things, with some overlap. The key is, they're never gonna be completely honest with a man (or even another woman) about what gets their motor running, because I don't think they fully understand it. A common refrain the morning after a really well played pickup is always "that's sooo not like me", paired with "there's just something about you".

My wife has a single girlfriend that comes over for dinner sometimes, and she mostly has gossip about men issues. Didn't take me long to crack the code - she goes SPLOOSH for any guy that exhibits No Fucks Given behavior, or an asshole in other words. But, because she is so pretty, it's usually only the really cocky assholes that approach her and strike up a chat. I told my wife, "she needs to find a guy who's capable of assholery, but doesn't wear it like a crown". Sadly for her, those guys are usually in relationships already, and their window of "single time" is generally short. Meanwhile, the Beta-types and the major assholes are mostly single, but the Betas won't hit on this girl because she is too pretty (and she wouldn't go for them anyway because - say it with me - they're "too nice"). Girls don't want "too nice" - girls want a man who is not afraid to be an asshole, but are just confident and slightly cocky the rest of the time.

Yes, I'm generalizing, but in general, it's true. Being a supplicating wimp never got a guy anywhere. If you have to pick between "super nice" or "what an asshole", always go for the latter. You won't be as successful as a man who can combine the two qualities in a suitable ratio, but you will be FAR MORE successful than the wimp.; 5/5/16, 9:30 AM