Obviously not ready for posting yet.
In last week’s Economist, there was a book review on “Plucked. A History of Hair Removal”
Holy cow. Really? Something new to consider when I look at my sons’ GFs. 
the current awful “trend” (which apparently may be reversing, at least in England) makes it hard for pediatricians to determine how puberty is progressing in young girls (Tanner staging):
http://www.phillymag.com/articles/pretty-babies/#ev61c8dceebU3xvm.99
Thanks for the link, @MomCat2. That article is a real eye-opener.
MomCat2
What an incredibly disturbing article! I sent to my girls and told them that they could thank me now for never taking them to a salon when they were girls. SMH. That’s one trend that is going just too far.
That’s really sad that 12 year old girls remove their pubic hair. Are the mothers taking them to get waxed? Did I miss a memo? Even if I was “supposed” to do that I wouldn’t have, but is that what’s going on?
A couple of years ago I was getting a pedi with my D (then 16/17) and my Sister in law. We were all chatting it up with the nail techs and one told us they do waxing. We all nodded. She went on to add and we do designs, fancy designs. It took us a minute to figure out what she meant. We have laughed about that conversation and all that it involved. Just so funny
At the risk of giving you all TMI, I will say that I have had occasional bikini waxes over the years, so that when I wear a bathing suit my thighs don’t look like those of a werewolf. Bikini waxing is extremely painful.
Agree that the article is VERY disturbing. I recall that one student talked about bikini waxing during her graduation speech at a very upscale private college. It struck an odd note for me–she made it part of her “coming of age and adulthood” speech. I guess it was good that she was first experiencing this in college, but it still seemed like something I would never talk about in a graduation speech before all the other graduates and tens of thousands in the audience.
I personally have never had a bikini wax and don’t plan to. Have been blessed with very fine hair on arms and legs that are barely discernable, even if you search. I believe D now MAY be experimenting some with waxing, now at age 25. Very upsetting that pre-pubescent females and those slightly older are having these procedures performed on themselves. I find this all very sad.
There is certainly a time and place for waxing. Pre-teen is certainly not the time.
@ veryhappy-
That’s okay, friend of mine owns a salon, and apparently men have gotten into this (at least some men), said you could hear him a mile away…waxing is painful, I have some body hair I am not fond of, and did some extensive waxing, and after doing it I would run a fever (decided I could live with the hair)…
With SI, if you decide to subscribe, you have the option of not getting the swimsuit issue and instead getting an extra issue. I agree, some of the suits and even the way the models look bothered me, not because I am a prude, far from it, but quite honestly it was so artificial it made plastic look real.
The tobacco ads are kind of ironic, in that this is a magazine that promotes sports which is supposed to be associated with high human performance and endurance, health, fitness, etc, and yet sports are some of the biggest areas where tobacco companies sponsor things. It is very, very lucrative for the sports, and despite their claims that they are all about inspiring youth and such, I could easily see Roger Goodell signing a deal to promote Marlboro as the official cigarette of the NFL. I was amazed when team owners allowed stadiums to go smoke free without a fight (where that happened), given how much money they get from tobacco. Hopefully someday accepting tobacco ads will be about as acceptable as accepting ads from toxic waste dumpers or the KKK, but that day sadly has not happened yet.
I think that going forward, I am going to take SI up on the offer to extend the subscription rather than bring this particular porno issue into my house. I don’t even think that DH will notice that it doesn’t arrive. It sat on our kitchen countertop, untouched, for the last week, so how interested could he be? I finally brought it upstairs and tossed it on the floor in our bedroom on his side of the bed. The cover model is Derek Jeter’s girlfriend. I will be interested to see if she is still his girlfriend following this display. If so, I wonder how he feels about his girlfriend being pretty much naked on the cover of the magazine…
I knew waxing was popular among 20 & 30-somethings, but 12 year olds! What parent gives permission for that?
Yay!porn industry, for giving women yet another part of their bodies to hate and feel compelled to change!
And the concept that many men want their female partners to look like prepubescent children is pervy and gross.
I don’t find it “pervy” or “gross” for females to shave or wax parts of their pubic area. It is a preference for some women and men. I certainly don’t believe in 12 year olds doing it! I think if a woman shaves any part of that area, it doesn’t imply she hates that part of her body.
And there’s my homeroom angel on the pages in between…
This conversation reminds me of something I saw a few decades back. I was in italy watching some TV game show. One of the contestants was a young woman wearing a pretty party dress. When she got the quiz answer right, she jumped up and down in excitement, throwing her arms up in the air. And I nearly fell out of my seat in surprise…
It is interesting to note that beards and scruff have grown in popularity among men while an increasing number of women try to weed out every bit of hair that is not a part of their eyelash, eyebrow, or scalp.
As a dad of 2 college (ish) aged daughters, I find the concept disturbing. Call me old fashioned, but anything beyond keeping smooth for a bikini seems unnatural and weird to me. I know they have followed in their mother’s footsteps, and get occasional mani’s, but they sure didn’t start those at such an early age.
I agree on the pervy and gross part. Maybe it’s what each generation grows up with that they find normal.