BACK HAIR IS having a moment. Yes, you read that right. Back hair. A moment.
Over in the US, there have been a flurry of articles in recent days about the thick hair that stakes its claim over some men’s backs.
Slate columnist Mark Joseph Stern wrote an impassioned op-ed about the shame he feels over his hairy back – and swore never to be ashamed of it again.
His illustrious colleague Andrew Sullivan rowed in behind him, saying that he finds it beautiful and calling his own lack of rear fur one of “the greatest bodily regrets of my life”.
The debate (if you can call it that) made it to Jezebel, and elsewhere. But their point of view is controversial.
GQ says back hair is “never sexy”. Men’s Health runs explainers on how to “fix a hairy back”. (The answer’s waxing, by the way.)
And male back hair is getting no love on Twitter, where people of all genders delight in mocking those gentlemen with a carpet between their shoulderblades.
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And the ultimate put-down:
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The battle over body hair on women, of course, is nothing new. But its arrival on male flesh is relatively recent.
So should men be made to feel self-conscious about their hairy backs?
Your feelings, please. Hairy backs are…
Poll Results:
Full disclosure: the writer of this article does not boast a hairy back, and at this stage never will. Barring some kind of reverse-Wayne-Rooney transplant.
