A reader writes:
I don't manscape to make it "look bigger". It doesn't make much of a difference anyway. I do it to make the area look and feel cleaner, and as a courtesy to anyone who might find their way down there. I look at it as kind of a "do unto others" type of thing; I appreciate when a woman keeps things neat, so why not return the favor?
Another writes:
Regarding the man-scaping phenomenon, allow me to explain the single most important reason for man-scaping: It is an important solicitation signal for oral sex.
The best explanation I have found is from the recent and under-appreciated movie, She's Out Of My League, in which the protagonist's friend explains to him why man-scaping is critical. As he says, man-scaping conveys to the woman "This space is clean and well maintained. You can put your mouth here."
Now, as a 43-year-old who started man-scaping when I was in early puberty, I can also convey a certain anecdotal bonus. It is my sentiment that sensitivity in the periphery (i.e., everything that's not the penis itself) is enhanced with the removal of hair. Pubic hair is constantly pulled, pushed, pressed, and otherwise moved around as I walk. The result of all this unintended movement, I believe, is loss of sensitivity as one's body shuts out the feeling associated with the multitudinous ways that clothing touches our genital area. One's scrotum alone becomes a nice pouch of twittering, sensitive nerves, which is quite nice to experience if you've been hiding in a bear-suit down there all your life.
Another:
Manscaping was made necessary when the ladies starting to shave or wax their area. If a guy is having sex with a woman who has had most or all of her hair removed but he still has his, it is like a brillo pad rubbing up against her most sensitive area for some extended period of time. She ends up getting scratched and chafed and raw and isn't going to be so enthusiastic the next time. So there are two options: either let hers grow back in or do something about his. Since most guys don't like the big bush, manscaping was born. It has just become stylish and a trend after it was born of necessity.
Another notes:
I’m not sure why you singled out straight guys in your post as having "lost it," since the article clearly stated that gay men have been manscaping longer and in higher numbers than their straight counter parts.
It's just that I long revered straight men for resisting this gay nonsense. Sigh.
The Dish 