Nerve has a piece on the growth increase of human shaving, I think the climax conclusion in this piece is wrong but the writing is nice and it has some interesting bits facts.

Example images coming later when I’m not in work. Not really. Most of this is NSFW, so more after the jump.

Personally I like retro porn and erotica, pre-mid 60’s and all is well. 70’s just does nothing for me. In part it is all that hair. The 70’s made some damn hairy guys.

As anyone who’s into retro porn can tell you, our collective taste in personal grooming has changed a lot in the last decade or so.
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My friend Jeff, who came of age in the ’80s, thought he’d seen everything until his twentysomething girlfriend asked him to shave his pubes as if it was no more remarkable than clipping his nose hairs. It’s an international phenomenon, too: My friends from Edinburgh were astounded that I didn’t shave.
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armpit-shaving didn’t catch on until the mid- to late ’80s in Germany, which is why the pop star Nena shocked the British public with her hairy pits when she performed “99 Luftballoons” on Top of the Pops.
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As the Sexual Revolution progressed and it became acceptable to venture outdoors in less and less clothing, we had to remove more and more hair to be decent in our undress. Bikinis demanded the bikini wax, and thongs mandated the Brazilian wax. Not shaving became tantamount to a political statement. The last
One could argue that depilation is the ultimate in nudity.
decade has seen the smooth look become the norm for women and men alike, with gay men and the porn industry being the leading trendsetters — the former setting the standard for male beauty, and the latter, with its insistence on obstruction-free view of in-and-out action, setting the standard for female.
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True, there’s a lot to be said for depilation. Besides the controlling-BO argument and the no-picking-hairs-out-of-your-teeth argument, one could also argue that it’s the ultimate in nudity: You’re never more naked than when you’re shorn of your natural covering. Finally, there’s the market value: Sex has become more than a matter of desire — it’s also a commodity and a signifier of sophistication. When we take our clothes off, we’re performing — and we want to look good on stage.

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