At last, the issue of "personal" grooming comes out of the closet. If you've long wondered about issues like Brazilian waxing vs. shaving vs. going natural, go read this post and the many comments over at Bitch Ph.D.

In my circle of friends, there is generally little interest in anything other than minimal maintenance. My sister once said that she and her friends all agreed on the importance of trimming, especially before OB/GYN visits. One of her friends even made sure to shave her areolas before appointments (though her male doctor assured her that it's not humanly possible to grow hair there—guess he hasn't been looking closely). I'd always wondered what my nurse-midwife was expecting to see every time she approached the stirrups. (Haven't you always suspected that providers of women's health care make certain judgments based on what sort of hair care they see?) The last time I went in for a Pap and annual exam, I asked C., my nurse-midwife, what percentage of her patients trim, wax, shave, or go long. While she didn't quote any figures, C. said she sees it all. Two in particular stood out for her. One was a patient who continued to get Brazilian waxes all through her pregnancy. The other was a woman whose natural bush was so ferocious, C. didn't know how the patient managed to get pregnant (I think she found it difficult to part the hair to gain access to the cooch, and I daresay she was a tad judgmental in that case).

Chacun à son goût.