Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Pubic Hair |
Pubic HairNoun1. Hair growing in the pubic area. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
| Domain | Definition |
Multilingual Slang | English (pubes), Yapese (bun'). (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Pubic hair is hair in the frontal genital area and in the crotch, and sometimes at the top of the inside of the legs; these areas form the pubic region. Pubic hair starts to grow during puberty (for boys it starts to grow earlier than facial hair). Patterns of pubic hair vary widely. On some people, it is thick and/or coarse, while on others it may be sparse and/or fine. Pubic hair and axillary (armpit) hair is much darker than the hair of the scalp, and is accurately comparable to the colour of the eyebrows, if not darker (in both sexes, with the exclusion of albino people). This is due to the lack of "sun bleaching" that the hair experiences. On most women, the pubic patch is triangular and lies over the mons veneris, or mound of Venus. On many men, the pubic patch tapers upwards to a line of hair pointing towards the navel. As with axillary (armpit) hair, pubic hair is associated with a concentration of sebaceous glands in the area.
Trimming or completely removing pubic hair is a common practice in the Arab world.
Since the 1960s it has become popular to trim or completely remove pubic hair in the western world (Europe and North America). In some regions of India and surrounding countries, this practice has been popular since before the 1960s.
Different cultures have different shaving habits as well as different reasons for why they modify or remove pubic hair, which include:
For methods of how to remove hair, please see depilation.
As you can imagine, just about any style is possible, e.g., heart-shaped (to name just one). But these styles are very popular:
Females between 15 and 40 years of age keep their pubic hair according to this table:
Function of pubic hair
It is believed that the functions of pubic hair include the dissemination of pheromones, and protection from the friction of sexual intercourseCulture
Attitudes
In Japanese drawings pubic hair is often omitted for legal reasons, see hentai, as the display of pubic hair is not
legal.Modification
The following paragraphs are about females. For males, please see further down.
Performers in pornography often have removed some or all of their pubic hair.Styles
Regions
| Region | not modified [%] | trimmed [%] |
fully shaved [%] |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA/Canada | <10 | 60 | 30 |
| Europe | > 75 | < 15 | < 10 |
| South/Latin America | no information | ||
| Africa (w/o Arab countries) | no information | ||
| Arab world | <20 | 80 | |
| Australia | no information | ||
| South-East Asia | 85 | 5 | 10 |
| Indian subcontinent | 20 | 10 | 70 |
| Chinas/Koreas | 85 | 5 | 10 |
| Japan | 85 | 5 | 10 |
| Nudists | 25 | 10 | 65 |
| BDSM cultures | 15 | 5 | >80 |
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Pubic hair."
Synonyms: Pubic HairSynonyms: bush (n), crotch hair (n). (additional references) |
Crosswords: Pubic Hair |
| English words defined with "pubic hair": crabs ♦ minge ♦ pediculosis pubis. (references) |
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | By looking closely through pubic hair for nits, nymphs, or adults. (references) | |
This is caused by tumors that secrete luteinizing hormone (LH). Girls may develop breasts, have pubic hair, and begin menstruation. (references) | ||
Boys may find their genitals enlarging and facial and pubic hair beginning to grow. Tumors that secrete follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), in contrast, can retard sexual development in both sexes and stunt growth. (references) | ||
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "pubic hair"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||
French | poil du pubis. (various references) | ||||
German | Schamhaare (pubes), schamhaar. (various references) | ||||
Greek | ηβικό τρίχωμα. (various references) | ||||
Hungarian | fanszőr. (various references) | ||||
Indonesian | jembut. (various references) | ||||
Japanese Kanji | 陰毛 (pubes). (various references) | ||||
Japanese Katakana | い"もう (pubes). (various references) | ||||
Pig Latin | ubicpay airhay | ||||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-b-c-h-i-i-p-r-u" | |
-3 letters: hubcap, rupiah. | |
-4 letters: auric, baric, birch, brach, carpi, chair, chirp, curia, parch, prahu, pubic, rabic, urbia. | |
-5 letters: abri, arch, bach, buhr, bura, burp, caph, carb, carp, chap, char, chia, chip, chub, crab, crap, crib, curb, habu, hair, harp, huic, pair, pica, prau, puri, rich, uric. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-b-c-h-i-i-p-r-u" | |
+5 letters: autobiographic. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Quotations: Non-fiction 6. Expressions: Internet 7. Translations: Modern 8. Anagrams | 9. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
