Earlier this month, the New York Times noted that "American women didn't shave their armpits en masse until the 1920s." These days, Nivea.com has a demonstration of male body shaving.

In a piece from Friday's Wall Street Journal, Cameron Stracher writes: "The same people pushing hairlessness are the ones selling the products. In the best tradition of hucksterism, we must have what we don't need." But Stracher noticed something else important:

Recently I went to see the play Hair, the '60s musical about hair as a metaphor for rebellion, pride, power, sexuality and love. As the talented cast sang about the joys of their God-given hairiness, I realized that at least half the men in the cast had shaved their underarms. In a generation, hair had gone from plumage to be worn "long, straight, curly, fuzzy, snaggy, shaggy, ratty, matty… bangled, tangled, spangled and spaghettied," to being plucked, shorn, waxed, buzzed, razored, tasered, lasered and depilated.

Over the weekend, I went to my friend's parents' 40th anniversary party, which means they got married the summer of '69. The party was hippie-themed, with tie-dye and what not, and someone joked that they'd Googled "Woodstock" to get a costume idea and "everyone was hairy and naked." How did this happen? How did Americans go from being proud of their body hair to being stalked on the streets by gorillas and encouraged to strip it all off? Being shamed into hairlessness can't be progress.

Or course, all things are cyclical — the Ancient Greeks used depilatories. Hairy pits and bush will probably come back around to being "in style" again in another 40 years. Meanwhile, we'll continue to be stripped not only of our hair and pride, but our hard-earned cash: According to WSJ, the shaving and hair removal business made about $1.8 billion in the U.S. last year. Almost makes you want to be a hippie.

Gorillas And Women Tag-Teaming On Spa's Hair-Removal Campaign [BrandFreak]
Receding Hairlines [WSJ]
Do Women Like Men Quite That Cleanshaven? [NY Times]

If you look at Kendra's many Playboy pictorials (just Google it), you can see that she does not have pubic hair. Maybe she shaves though. Does that make her a "technical waxing virgin?"

• Michael Phelps isn't really looking for a girlfriend. "I am 23 now and if I went out with a girl she wouldn’t see much of me until I get past 30," he explains. That's just silly! Ladies see plenty of you. When you're wearing a swimsuit. [Daily Express]
• David and Victoria Beckham's "car crash" was actually just a car that got all scratched and jacked up when it was left parked at the airport. Posh's rep says: "There was no car crash." [Perez Hilton]
• Barack Obama has asked Jennifer Hudson to sing the national anthem on Thursday at the Democratic National Convention before his address. She is "thrilled" and "excited." [People]
• Was "vote or die" Diddy asked not to come to the DNC? [MSNBC]
• Oh, dear: Justin "I'm A Mac" Long seen kissing Kirsten Dunst. [Rush & Molloy]
• More barftastic car crash terrible can't-look-away Heidi Montag video pix. Sorry. [ONTD]

• Countess LuAnn de Lesseps of The Real Housewives of NYC got drunk at a wedding, knocked over a drumset, tried to make out with married men and grabbed crotches… or did she? Truth or smear campaign? [Page Six]
• Victoria's Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio is shopping pix of her newborn, Anja Louise, born Sunday in Brazil. Proceeds go to the Multiple Sclerosis Children's Fund. Any takers? [Page Six]
• Janeane Garofalo played Lauren Conrad in a staged reading of The Hills? Genius. [L.A. Times]
• Britney Spears' SUV took a wrong turn and ended up in L.A.'s Sunset Junction street fair, aka Hipster Central. She got out of there real quick. [E!]
• Courteney Cox was involved in a car crash while on vacation in Hawaii. She was driving a white BMW which collided with a red truck on Saturday. No one was injured. [Daily Mail]
• How does Paula Abdul feel about the new American Idol judge? "I am concerned about the audience and acceptance," she says. "Time will tell. We’ll see. [It's] going to be weird if it’s a split decision. I’m sure Simon will get to make the final [judgment]. [But that] takes the fun out of all the hard work I do to push those kids through." [MSNBC]
• Um, Rhys Ifans is in a band? Called The Peth? And their first single is called "Let's Go Fucking Mental"? And the video is of Rhys' colonoscopy? You can see it here. [Perez Hilton]
• Whee! Cloris Leachman and Susan Lucci to be on Dancing With The Stars! (Also: Kim Kardashian, Lance Bass, Toni Braxton, Misty May-Treanor and track star Maurice Green.) [Reuters]
• Madonna had to stop going to her gym because of "noise, leering, crude comments and wolf whistles of builders working nearby." Effing hell. [Mirror]
• Pam Anderson revelations: When asked "boobs or legs?" she says she is "more of a leg person" (?!?!?!) and when questioned about bikini waxing says, "I have not waxed anything in my entire life. An eyebrow, not an anything. I have never ever done that. It sounds too painful." [News.com.au]
• Spike Lee is upset with the people who think Barack Obama is not black enough. "I go by the 'one-drop rule.' One drop [of black blood], and you're black. The truth is, every African-American is biracial. Go back far enough, and you'll find the massah was in the slave quarters. You can't be black and go to Harvard Law School? You can't be black and be articulate?" [Rush & Molloy]
• Heath Ledger's uncle has failed to have his charges of receiving stolen goods dealt with and faces up to 14 years in jail. [Sydney Morning Herald]
• In a quest for relevance, Jessica Simpson has joined the Country Music Association. She gets special-rate health insurance and can vote in upcoming CMA Award nominations. Anyway, her album, Do You Know, comes out September 9 and Dolly Parton duets on the title track; after that you can go back to not caring about Jess. [Yahoo News]
• Kate Hudson is being sued by some scientists who claim she took their hair-care secret ingredient and gave it to a competitor. Something about volcanic ashes and flyaways. [The Root]
• Shannen Doherty is having fun shooting the new 90210: "It's been a really nice experience…We already have our little inside jokes." And! Lori Loughlin and Rob Estes play parents who are not like your usual sitcom couple. Estes says: "It's not a mom and dad who are home eating bon bons. It's a couple who's fucking! We'll clear the kitchen so fast, you don't know what to do with yourself." [Perez Hilton]
• OMG remember the 90210 action figures dolls? [Black Book]
• Yesterday reports claimed that Snoop Dogg was getting a visa to tour in Australia despite his criminal record; today officials are "rethinking" giving him permission to enter the country. He could be counseled before arrival and given strict behavior rules to abide by while down under. [Reuters]
• Harry Potter studio Warner Bros is suing Bollywood producers over a flick called Hari Puttar. [Telegraph]
• Actress Sophie Monk was seen walking out of a KFC in Hollywood with bags filled with food — she's bragged in the past about being a vegetarian and criticized KFC eaters, saying: "I think the message to KFC eaters (is that) you should think about what you're eating. If you're eating deformed animals that are being induced by hormones, you know, it can not be good for you." [News.com.au]
• Salman Rushdie's former bodyguard is apologizing over allegations he made regarding Rushdie's former marriage. [Independent]
• Trisha Yearwood survived a plane emergency: Her aircraft's window cracked at 30,000 feet. They never lost cabin pressure, fortunately. [People]
• "I think The Osbournes, to a degree, tarnished the public's perception of my dad as a bit of a senile, funny, bumbling guy. Yeah, my dad can be that guy, but it's not him. I think that almost discredited him as an artist. My dad's not an idiot — he's nothing short of a genius, in my opinion." — Jack Osbourne, who is producing a documentary on Ozzy. [Rolling Stone]
• RIP Aaliyah, who died this day in 2001. [The.Life Files]

I always do my own brows, though I only got one bikini wax this summer and getting another seems like a waste of cash, especially in New York when bikini season is fleeting. I do, however, get an overpriced haircut once every 2 months, so I spend about $45 a month on grooming. Anna spends about $20 a month on various beauty regimens, while Megan got her last brow wax/pedicure in May. Maria usually gets a pedicure and bang trim once a month, though after the summer is over, pedicures will be out.

Have you cut salon visits out of your schedule since the economy's been in the crapper, or do you continue to wax with reckless financial abandon? Women and finance expert Suze Orman probably thinks even our modest beautification efforts are completely frivolous and would recommend making bikini wax out of old peanut butter and fishing tackle or some shit.

California Beautiful [NPR]

Why hello there, dear. The words that come to mind immediately are "exquisite corpse." Yeah, it means something else, but damn. She is dead in the eyes. The lip gloss is purty, though! And positioning her mouth thusly doesn't make me think of swollen labia, no, not at all!!

Okay, so the copy claims that this product is "the end of overprocessed blonde," but over there on the right, Ms. Johansson's hair looks sorta overprocessed. To me. I know it's in the light, but is it supposed to look like cotton candy? Or is she imagining better tresses, hence the title "Dream Blonde"? Also, L'Oreal, You Have Taken The Title Case Thing Too Far, Methinks.

Look, I have no idea what the hell goes on under the hood of a car, but I do know that you don't need sunglasses to check out an engine. It's like they're trying to be pro-woman with a bad-ass chick mechanic, but from the way she's holding that wrench to the faux grease on her arms, it's clear she doesn't know what the fuck she's doing. "Genuine since 1937." Really? Also, this whole image is very Herb Ritts circa 1990, when Carre Otis was hot. Show me something new.

Guess what? If my birth control method fails I am not going to "Be Calm." I am going to freak the fuck out. Then I'm gonna read that thing Moe wrote about Plan B and throw up.

You know what else makes me freak out? When someone suggests that "we girls" should freak out less. We make less money than men, are expected to be thin and hairless and we have the crampy bleeds every 26 days. A body wash solves nothing. Fuck off.

Correct me if I am wrong, but waxing is not an orgasmic, kick up your heels, throw-your-head-back-in-ecstasy experience as illustrated here, is it?

The copy reads, "Unleash the enchantment of Brazil," and there's some sort of kudzu emerging from her crotch.

As a rule, if you have to put the word "SEXY" in electric lights behind you, then you are not sexy. And this is no exception. These ladies, none of whom are wearing pants, want me to believe that "big hair is sexy," and they appear to be in possession of yards and yards of extensions. And the bedraggled, voluminous crazytown hair, frankly, looks like crap. Try to count the number of times the word "sexy" appears, then ask yourself: Why is there so much going on in an ad for hairspray?

Pinocchio's sister dreams that someday, Diet Coke will turn her into a real girl. And cure migraines.

Haha, wow, OMG you guys, not having cellulite looks like SO MUCH FUN!

Aww, nostalgia! These happy white people have been in this same Newport ad since I was a kid. There's another one with happy black people. The greatest thing about Newport ads is how white everyone's teeth are. Smoking other cigarettes may discolor and rot your gums and give you oral cancer, but Newports are basically Crest White Strips!

A new survey says that American women spend between $10,000 and $23,000 in their lifetime… on hair removal. Yes ladies, from puberty to death, we deal with getting rid of body hair — by shaving, waxing and creams — for about 53.6 years of our lives. We spend a cumulative amount of 58 days in our lifetime just removing hair. Maybe you're just not one of those women who feels comfortable having hairy pits. Or hairy legs. Or retrobush. But do you ever think about why? Is it same reason some women get plastic surgery? Because they want to be a "better" version of themselves, because they think Mother Nature somehow delivered a less than perfect product? And where did we get that idea?

Cosmetic Surgery Procedures To Exceed 55 Million In 2015, Study Predicts [Science Daily]
Women Spend Up To $23,000 To Remove Hair [UPI]

Earlier: Hairy Pits: Appealing Or Appalling?
Plastic Surgery: Where Do You Draw The Line Between Deformity And Vanity?

I go back and forth about shaving, but I understand I'm blonde and fine-haired so my opinion is of little relevance to the general population. But, my regimen is: shave my legs when they're noticeably hairy (which is to say, it's long enough to see actual legitimate hairs) and trim the pubes with a beard trimmer when they get long enough to annoy me. That's right, I said beard trimmer. It takes it down to like a quarter of an inch in under two minutes and it's impossible to cut myself; it doesn't itch when it grows back; and I don't get ingrown hairs or razor burn. I switched to a beard trimmer after shaving the whole thing for the better part of a year, which resulted in razor burn, ingrown hairs, insane itching when I was lax on maintenance (and I was always lax on maintenance) and the uncomfortable feeling that any guy who was really interested in seeing it hairless was, at best, a little creepy. The one exception was a particular ex (now married, so I won't reveal his name) who used to shave it for me but leave a landing strip. I'd just lie back on the bed once a week, he'd shave it, clean it up, uh, you know, stay down there for a bit and we'd go to sleep, it was very relaxing.

On the other hand, one Jezzie gets regularly waxed but not to the point of pre-pubescent hairlessness; another only does in the summer; a third waxes the edges for the summer and goes "retrobush" otherwise (and good for her!); and the final sticks with "incredibly halfhearted shaving and trimming when I can find an implement." I know what she's getting for her birthday this year!

There is, however, a near-universal dudely opposition to the full wax job but in favor of some maintenance — only one guy and, as it happens, the youngest of the bunch even expressed a remote preference for the landing strip look. As one friend with a lucky girlfriend said, "I prefer a regular trim because it makes it easier to perform oral. I like cunnilingus but don't like hair in the way," and maintained but natural-looking seemed to be the word of the day. In the end, though, they all more or less agreed with Spencer who said "i would truly not feel comfortable telling someone else what kind of shaving regimen she should have — it's like telling a girl to diet, in my mind. not appropriate."

If that's the case, though, why the fuss? Why the pulling and ripping of hairs in the pursuit of something that most guys don't really seem to give a shit about anyway? Is it really just that we're told we ought to look like that, like looking like that, that men prefer we look like that? Because, really, why would a guy care if he's about to get laid?

[Side note: I've dated guys who shaved everything below the navel. Freaks my shit out every time.]

Earlier: Wax Tales
To Strip Or Not To Strip?
Is Pubic Hair Making A Comeback?
An Open Apology to Our Labia

Image via LOLVogue: Good Help Is Hard To Find

• Past Fashion: Easter outfits!!!
  
• Slut Machine returned from vacation and brought back some advice about buttcracks.
  
• You told us what happens to your buttcracks — and all your other lady bits — when you are with child. (Pssst: you pee your pants a lot)
  
• We learned about man parts too.

• Younger men have the best man parts!
• We bemoaned the stupidity of Bush's spokesjerk, Dana Perino.
• You know who else was a jerk this week? Dear Abby.
• Is Dear Abby a better writer than Tori Spelling? We bet Tori gives better advice.
• It looks like Renee Zellweger is on goofballs.
• Or maybe she just needs a good rogering with an unassuming household item.
• So take your magic coochies and put them to good use this weekend. You're worth it!

A quick survey of us Jezebels shows that Jen and I were the earliest shavers (we started on our legs and pits at 11 and 12 respectively. Is it because we're Eastern European Jews?), while Moe, Dodai, Anna and Tracie were grooming their legs at around 13-14. Anna didn't shave her pits until she was 17 because that's when she started growing hair there (interesting!) But none of us touched our eyebrows before age 14, and Dodai puts it succinctly: "As for Lourdes, i think she should keep her brows that way and not feel pressured into doing anything by bloggers, WTF." But we're curious about what you think. Take our poll below, won't you?

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

I Applaud Madonna [Dlisted]
What's Worse???? [Perez Hilton]
Someone Has Taken Her Love for Eva Peron a Little Too Far [Evil Beet]

In today's 'are you friggin' serious?' news, the improbably-named Cindy Barshop, Paris Hilton's bikini waxer radios in to Us Magazine from Damage Control Central.

Us: So why do you think celebrities are skipping the underwear and going commando?

CB: I think that with the completely bare waxing, they just feel comfortable enough with their bodies that they can skip the underwear. And oops if they do happen to flash someone, it's not as embarrassing because the area is groomed.

Because a girl's bare labia have an essential dignity to them that pubes just lack, y'know?