As a girl it is very easy to be self-conscious about pubic hair. I have very dark body hair and it is constantly something that I worry about, because of this I have tried pretty much every form of hair removal there is: shaving, waxing and even laser treatment. 

I have had many conversations with my male friends about their opinions of pubic hair with one of them saying that ‘clean is a treat for a beat’. The trend that I have noticed is that it tends to be the boys with long term girlfriends who don’t seem to mind it as much.

Looking back at my most recent relationship I remember telling my then boyfriend that I just couldn’t be bothered to shave anymore. This was met by an attempt at hiding his disappointment but he soon got over it. Girls are probably more likely to not shave with someone they already feel comfortable with as it seems like less of an embarrassing topic.

For me a one-night stand situation is completely different. If I am getting ready for a night out where I intend on getting lucky then I will have definitely shaved and prepped for the evening ahead. This is purely because I want the person with me to be having the best time possible and for me a shaven vagina seems more appealing, but maybe this isn’t the case. 

I was in a situation only last week where I ended up in bed with someone when it hadn’t been planned. I had not ‘groomed’ myself beforehand and I actually ended up apologising for the bit of stubble that was growing. The reply I received stuck in my head, “it’s okay it reminds me that I’m not having sex with a child”.

So I would say that you should do whatever suits you, for me I do enjoy shaving as I don’t like my body hair, but if you want to embrace it then that is amazing and I wish I had that confidence!

Sometimes if I want to I shave my vagina. Sometimes I don’t. I find that more recently I don’t want to. I find it impossible to find a method of shaving that doesn’t cause irritation or big red bumps and to be honest having modestly grown pubic hair is more attractive than lumpy bumpy red marks. It is also just not as healthy. Shaving allows room for bacteria to grow and multiply on the surface of your vagina so you are actually just better off not shaving at all as it will lower the chances of you having a bacterial infection. 

Shaving, like many things, is a social construct that only really became a thing in the 70’s and 80’s because porn stars started to shave their vaginas. If you are worried that your partner won’t find it attractive and if they ever make you feel bad about your decision to not shave, then they probably aren’t right for you. Try to have a conversation with your partner about it, talk about your preference and just clear the air.