Can we please bring back the word "wastrel"? I mean, seriously, that is one hell of a good word.

For example: Jonathan Rhys Meyers is one sexy wastrel.

I just need to know, what exactly are they checking for? Color, shape, one or two?

Just to be a history dork here: the Vatican even has a special chair for the ball checking. Back in the middle ages there was a female pope who fooled everyone into thinking she was a man, and when they found out the church was pissed and instituted the ball fondling rule.

The Pope has to get his balls checked to prove he is a man. Apparently years ago there was a chick who became Pope and became preggers b/c they all had sex back then and lots of Popes had children. Anyway, she gave birth during a procession, and from then on "Papesse Way" was not used as the processional route and all Popes had to get their plumbing checked.

Just out of curiousity, what are some of your opinions on male body hair, waxing, etc... I realize there are probably nearly as many thoughts as there are of you, but I was just wondering.

@MaMaMoose: I am a history dork too.

@MSDIRECTOR: How about "libertine", as in I wish Johhny Depp would go all libertine on my ass.

@badmutha: true, I had this in one of my history classes. The Church as tried since to "cover it up" and they say there was no woman-pope ever, but there are reports of the contrary.

@THE hoi polloi: I think men should shave their pits, that is some funky Don King hair that grows in there. That is all though.

@THE hoi polloi: I like hairy legs, dislike hairy backs, really enjoy when my partners shave down there...
I have no options about hairy chests but I did notice that they tend to look nicer if the hair is trimmed.

"Many Muslim men shave their armpits and their pubic hair!"

Now, if only we could get our men to do that (I'm talking to you, Mr. McConaghey) it'd go a long way towards making the world a less smelly place!

sorry, I meant "opinions", not "options"...

@THE hoi polloi: Back hair fills me with dread and horror. Normal pubes, pit arms, chest is okay, provided they don't look like they've been dipped in Elmers and covered in fun fur. But that's just me. Some chicks like the hairy. Never been with a waxed dude. Seems like they'd be slippery, but that might be cool.

@hamsterpants: OooOo I could get on board with bringing that word back as long as it came with that phrase as well.

Ah. Thats actually pretty awesome to know. Gotta love history dorks. =)

@THE hoi polloi: I wish men I'm with would shave everything but their head. It reminds me of a swimmers body.

@MaMaMoose: Well, at least they were checking a grown man's balls, and not those of their young parishoners! Seriously, I was raised a Catholic but haven't been back (except for my neice & nephew's Baptism, and that was somewhat grudgingly) since Cardinal O'Connor testified under deposition that a six-year old boy (the Victim) and his parents were more responsible for the boy's molestation than the Priest who did the criminal deed.

Never again, I tell you, never again.

you ladies crack me right the fuck up... kudos to you all.
@hamsterpants: Ms. Polloi had a field day making fun of me when I had to get my chest waxed after losing a bet. Luckily, I don't have a lot of body hair, so it wasn't that bad, but she did get a kick out of it...

I know my history, but its the cuts of meat that get me confused....

@MaMaMoose: I was going to bring up the chair, too! I find it absolutely hilarious.
And I love the word "codpiece". Also hilarious.

I got a Philips BodyGroom for the holidays. That thing works *well*.

I like a hairy man. If nothing else, I figure that through all that hair, he won't be able to feel that I haven't shaved my legs (not that I do that regularly, but hey, sometimes you get lazy).

@langtry: My brothers STINK and have thick armpit hair and think wearing deodorant is a substitute for bathing but get furious when I suggest how much more comfortable they (and I/anyone who can smell) would be if they get rid if the animals living under their arms.

@langtry: I was brought up Catholic too, but I don't go now for much more selfish reasons than you.
@KnitSandwich: I wonder who gets to actually do the honors? Do they draw straws? Flip a coin?
@badmutha: Yay for history dorks! It really comes in handy...like, uh, when I'm commenting on blogs.

@langtry: I talked Mr. Knid into trimming the pits, and he hasn't let them get gnarly since. Can't get him to go all the way to shaving, but hey, small victories...are still victories.

ASS HAIR. Why do men have this?! WORST THING EVER.

Ok, I wasn't going to share this, BUT Mr. Badmutha trims his pubs super short b/c it makes his package look bigger, and I like it better during our intimate times. And he is a hairy dude.

BADMUTHA
I had heard that too, but I had also heard that the "pope ball chair" was apocryphal.

I'm getting annoyed by cultural histories that pretend to be about something novel (i.e., the naked male body) when their subject is the same as 90% of all history ever written: the penis.

(I mean that I had heard that the pope-elect gets his/her balls checked, not that Mr. Badmutha trims his pubes.)

Excessive bodyhair bad! Had an old bf who shaved his pits, yay. The current/permanent bf trims his bits, but that's it. I'd complain, but he cleans the bathroom (it's his hair that makes it all skeevy) and doesn't give me shit about my own fur-farming. Which I don't love, but I hate "harvesting" it more. Soooo laaaazy.

Every time I see the word codpiece, I think of Stephen Colbert saying, "Please, Anglicans. Everyone knows the only reason your religion exists is because Henry VIII couldn't keep his codpiece in his pantaloons."

Codpiece AND pantaloons in the same sentence? I still laugh at it.

I knew the thing about the muslims ever since i lived in a dorm with a muslim girl who went to get waxed with her brother.

That guy on the book cover has a nice ass.

I'm not a huge fan of body hair at all, but as long as the pubes are nicely trimmed and everything's under control, it's cool.

My husband shaves his pits. Fun fact: Muslim men also wash themselves after urination. Don't ask me how I know that.

@JessicaLovejoy: I concur. Do all men have ass hair? Or just the ones I've been with?

@canary:
My freshman RA was a Muslim (and the first Muslim I ever knew). He kept a watering can next to his toilet and finally someone asked why. He was cool about it but we all felt so awkward listening.

@BringBackTheBustle: Your use of the word apocryphal was doubly appropriate, since it also means books that are in the Catholic bible but not others. Made the religion nerd in me LOL.

@bajita: i used to sleep with a Muslim guy, he didn't shave his pits, but he did have a watering can. That thing was great for after sex, I was a big fan.

Just like the Roman Catholic Church to keep up a practice long after we have developed better systems. Taking a hair for DNA testing is cleaner (but maybe less fun) than testicle fondling, and property rights and the rule of law are better at protecting church property than celebacy (and let's them have more fun) @badmutha:

Uh...you ladies know that the watering can was for washing their anus with their bare hands right? You use the watering can to pour the water over and scrub with your hand.

@airren: That's not strictly true, most muslims use toilet paper with the watering can, at least in the west.

I want a watering can.

Do you think it would be weird if carried it into the bathroom at work when I have to poop?

@THEVAGRANTWEED: You are probably right - I don't feel authorized to say *most*. So I guess I can confirm, from my experience, that Iranians use the can & their hands. I was told that toilet paper was considered unsanitary.

@MaMaMoose:
both "facts" that you mentioned are actually urban legends.
for more info on the pope joan fable read here: [en.wikipedia.org]
& i wish i could find a link to a page that explains that the pope chair legend isn't true but unfortunately i can't find one.
@badmutha: read my reply to mamamouse

@TruculentandUnreliable: Get a small squeezable water bottle, I have one and take it everywhere. But, in answer to your question, yeah, it probably would be weird, but you could just say, "I'm going to water my flower now. " Har har.

@airren: I've been in more muslim houses than I can count from the time I was a kid and the only one that didn't have tp was some Syrian guy. However, I don't believe I've been in an Iranian's house before, though, so don't know about that.

@thevagrantweed: Ha! Good idea. I carry wipes sometimes, but I always forget about them and they're kind of expensive.

@airren: yeah, there was definitely always tp usage here. jebus, i hadn't even thought of it without it!

@JessicaLovejoy:

Not to be an interloper in a discussion of men's pelts, but a brief dispatch from the other side of the gender divide. While not terribly common, some women have the ass hair too. Not talking furry buns, but, uh, you know. . . generous coverage right on up the middle. Anyone who'd bring this to the attention of his partner would be an unforgivable bounder, but undeniably it's a little startling when first encountered--particularly given today's media (porn) convention of near-universal shavitude down below.

@screaminglordbyron: I'm curious as to what your definition of generous is, I mean, is this stuff sticking out?

My ex takes showers after he poops. It was one of his Type A/ OCD tendencies. (He said himself he was a little OCD.) I wish I had known about this watering can bizness when we were dating- it would save water, which is always important here in drought- stricken CA. Also, sometimes it was annoying to hear the shower and be like, "Oh, someone just took a crap." Takes the mystery out of things, you know.

@screaminglordbyron: Oh, I have a bunny tail if I don't shave. I think most women have hair all up their butt cracks. Is this what you mean?

@stacyinbean:

Yeah, I've run across women's butcrack-hair that was just a bit protrudy--although nothing like you'd encounter on a fellow. Oddly, this can crop up on someone who is otherwise remarkably un-hirsute.

@TruculentandUnreliable:

Yep, that's what I was alluding to. Not that I've logged statistics, but I'd say around 80% of women have no hair at all back there, and the other 20% sport some coverage to one degree or another. All part of life's rich pageant.

@screaminglordbyron: I think that's because they shave it more than anything. I mean, technically, I have butt hair, but I shave it off. There's not a lot, but it's there.

for anyone not familiar with the whole washing after you pee/poop that muslim people do, it's because you have to be completely clean in order for your daily prayers to be valid. that means no traces of urine or anything else, which also means no praying or touching the quran if you have your period (as the delinquent child of muslim parents, i most definitely lied and told my mom i had my period when i didn't to get out of praying. good thing she was too scatterbrained to keep up with my cycle most of the time). also, even if someone washes and scrubs with their hands (most people use TP), they obviously wash their hands afterwards. it's not like you're going to clean your ass and then go pray with dirty hands if you're a strict muslim.
i've also never heard about muslim men shaving their pits. i think there's some kind of rule about keeping your pubes trimmed to under a certain length though. i think i remember my mom telling me that it has to be about half your pinky finger or shorter or something? that just might've been my mama's personal guideline.