Should I shave my pubic hair if I don’t want to? You see people talking on the internet about why it is bad but, let’s be honest, women as well as men still feel the pressure. So what do most men really think and what should women do if they don’t want to shave but feel they have to?
Each one of our senses can influence our sexual responses in any given situation, but certain people respond more to images than to sounds, tastes or scents. It is always useful to know which sense is most acute for our partners.
Certainly, the erotic triggers of many people are influenced by available images, whether from life experiences, the internet or elsewhere, so it is hardly surprising that a current vogue for a bush-less style has emerged off screen as well. In fact, genital hair holds arousing, pheromone-laden scents, which are missing from the clean-shaven vulva.
You will simply have to decide what you are personally comfortable with. Many women feel torn between a political sensibility, personal standards and a desire to do what a partner finds most appealing. But be empowered to take this decision from a position of awareness and understanding, and be flexible enough to revisit it from time to time. Try to care less about how your body might be perceived and more about sensually connecting with a partner in a relaxed fashion.
• Pamela Stephenson Connolly is a psychotherapist who specialises in treating sexual disorders
• If you would like advice from Pamela Stephenson Connolly on sexual matters, send us a brief description of your concerns to private.lives@theguardian.com (please don’t send attachments).
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