Given the mosaic (pixelization) in Japanese porn and the extent of censorship in mainstream movies, it can be hard to forget about what you can’t see: pubic hair.
But that is one of the things so shocking about “hair nude” full-frontal shoots, especially the older ones in the 1980s and 1990s: not only is the celebrity laid bare in all her feminine glory, you also see how hairy she is downstairs. (Case in point, the stunning, yet shaggy, Saki Takaoka.)
Japanese women are often fastidious about shaving, from their arms and legs to their armpits and faces. But by contrast, they have conventionally let their bush grow free and wild.
Past surveys have revealed how much (or how little) women deal with their pubic hair in Japan.
This has changed somewhat, with more recent fashions for paipan (fully shaved) crotches, either by shaving or waxing, or trimmed bushes.
The writer Moeka Iida has written a candid and insightful short essay about her own experiences with this issue. As a returnee, she is bicultural and has had relationships both here in Japan and abroad. In the article, which is available in English and in Japanese, she writes about the differing reactions of men to her pubic hair — which has left her bewildered, to say the least (“while encountering cultural differences has become rather normal for me, I still cannot get over how opinionated men could be regarding what a woman’s crotch should look like”).
She starts by describing her experience with a Western man.
I was seeing an American guy, and the first time I got naked in front of him, I immediately received negative feedback about my bush. “Why don’t Japanese girls shave down there?” “There’s no way I’m going to eat you out.” “Nobody wants hair in their mouth — it’s gross.” I felt so embarrassed, insecure, and sad that he found me “unhygienic” and “unattractive.” I took the razor blade right after that to achieve that smooth look he was craving. After that, it became customary for me to shave my pubic hair.
But this led to trouble with a Japanese guy.
when I started dating a Japanese guy, I was now criticized for my hairless crotch. This makes sense, not only because it is somewhat unusual to shave down there in Japan, but also because there is a sexual, if not a derogatory term for women who shave their pubic hair in Japanese: “paipan.” While an increasing number of women in Japan have started to shave recently (I suppose due to western influence and marketing efforts by hair removal companies), online forums are heated with debates among men passionately discussing if a shaved vagina is acceptable or not. According to a survey by How Collect on how men view women who shave their pubes, the most popular perception is: “She’s definitely a slut” (「絶対にヤリマン」) because the only reason you would shave is that you are expecting to get laid. This explains the reaction I got from my ex — taking care of your private areas in obvious ways contradicts Japanese ideals of femininity centered on “purity” and “innocence.”
All this has left Iida confused.
Currently, I am 25. I am far past my teenage years of feeling constant anxiety over body image and physical appearance. Overall, I am pretty comfortable with how I look. I am happy with my body shape, diet, fashion style, and makeup routines, and I barely spend time worrying about how people see me these days. But when it comes to hair down there, I still don’t have a clear idea on what I’m supposed to be doing. Should I wax, shave, trim, or leave it natural? I have tried different solutions, but have never been able to feel satisfied with any of them.
As she notes, Western tastes are not fixed: traditional depictions of supposed feminine beauty feature bushes, as any visit to an art museum will demonstrate, but the rise of porn on VHS in the 1980s started a trend for smooth and unshaved crotches.
Not conforming to (male) societal “standards” in either the West or Japan can result in body-shaming. Iida suggests that women should push back against this and feel free to do what they will with their pubes as an expression of their own identity — male opinions be damned.
Recently, not shaving pubic hair seems to have become a feminist gesture among western countries — a middle finger up against sexist men who tell you what to do with your body. Similarly, suppose you’re a girl in Japan who likes to wax or shave. In that case, you should be proud of your smooth vagina, and tell men to leave you alone if they start accusing you of looking too “promiscuous.” When I reflect on my own experiences with my exes, I wish I had pushed back on their requests or tried to convey my ambivalent feelings to seek understanding.
