exploring a popular culture body modification - Athenaeum Home ...

unusual body hair, very obviously making an association between superfluous hair and medical
problems, problems which may include infections, virus, or bacteria. A similar and more recent
association with hair being unsanitary involves pubic hair depilation as medical preparation
before giving birth. Gynecologists felt that by depilating the patient‟s pubic region, they would
prevent “obstruction of vision” and “the question of infection” (Barcan, 2004, p. 145). Robbie
Davis-Floyd, an anthropologist who analyzes contemporary birthing rituals, thinks that this
depilation is more ritual than clinical, and is used to further enhance the idea of the laboring
woman as property of the hospital (Barcan, 2004). Hair is often seen as a dead substance,
especially after the follicle detaches itself from the body and falls to the floor or an area where it
must be swept up and cleaned. This being the case, many assume a position that hair carries/is
dirt, and this assumption is causing body hair to play a larger role in what society deems as
“clean” (Barcan, 2004). Jonathan D.K. Trager MD, author of a recent article in the Journal of
Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, says “relatively little has been written in the medical
literature about this trend and its associated health consequences” (Trager, 2006, p. 117).
Ironically, men and women are shaving their pubic regions to be cleaner, although gynecologists
are starting to feel that complete hair depilation via shaving, is causing problems such as
folliculitis, which is the inflammation and/or infection of a hair follicle, as well as spreading
infections that people are unaware (Trager, 2006). However, depilating all pubic hair does
reduce and/or eliminate the possibility of obtaining crab/pubic lice infestation. Several STDs on
the rise have visible consequences, such as Syphilis and HPV, and some may use their pubic hair
in a similar manner as the merkin, to obstruct the visibility of the STD. Although STDs do not
always show visible signs after contraction, sexually active partners who are unaware of each
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