Is it gay to shave your armpits
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The only hair I trim (besides the hair on my head) is my beard when it gets a little too wild.
Researchers presented the cotton pads to a group of women who volunteered to rate the odor of the men. Even if you are a regular guy – no one likes to see hair poking out from under your arms.
Does a shaved armpit have benefits? For these individuals, comfort and personal preference play a significant role in their decision to remove body hair.
A user recounted their long-term grooming habit: “I personally prefer to be completely smooth. Responses varied from those who prefer a natural look to those who meticulously trim or completely remove their body hair.
Several members expressed a preference for keeping their body hair natural, with one user arguing, “Nothing at all because I prefer to look natural,” while another added, “I go natural.
Half the population (women) already shave their armpits.
So shouldn't men shave their armpit hair as well? They rated the odor samples on intensity, pleasantness, and attractiveness.
The Results Of The Four Armpit Odor Experiments
In three out of the four experiments – researchers found that the ratings given for shaved and unshaved armpits were about the same.
Only in one experiment – the first one – was the shaved armpit group voted as more pleasant, more attractive, and less intense than unshaved armpits.
What Does All This Armpit Research Mean?
How could they find a significant correlation between shaved armpits and improved body smell in the first experiment but nothing of note in the other experiments?
The researchers provided the following explanations:
- Perhaps the participants from the first experiment had a stronger body odor than the rest of the group.
- The results of the first experiment could have been a coincidence.
- The baseline results indicated that shaving armpit hair did affect body odor. But it was minimal and not as overblown as the 1950s research suggested.
There is insufficient evidence that shaving armpit hair improves a man's body odor.
There's a possibility that there's a slight improvement in body smell – but I wouldn't put a razor to my armpit based on that possibility.
Other factors will likely affect how you smell to a much greater degree:
- Your grooming routine
- The food you eat
- The beverages you consume
- The regularity of your showers
Should You Shave Your Armpits?
Right now, the evidence doesn't seem to support the benefits of shaved armpits.
I recently spoke with a team of researchers who felt shaving helped clean the skin and thus reduced odor.
The odor returned as the hair grew back.
The scientists suggested that since bacteria trapped in the armpit hair played a role in creating odor – shaving axillary (armpit) hair naturally reduced the smell.
The uncontested conclusion was that armpit hair was a cause for unattractive body odor. The user reminisced about an era when movie stars and average men alike sported bushy hairstyles, mutton chops, and chest hair.
Yes, that's right – they volunteered!
These brave women washed their hands with unscented soap in a ventilated room and proceeded with the unenviable task of smelling each cotton pad. Whether for aesthetic reasons, comfort, or cultural influences, the practices and preferences around body hair vary widely, fostering a rich and diverse discourse on this often personal topic.
With such a variety of perspectives, it becomes clear that there is no single approach to grooming within the community, reflecting broader trends and individual tastes.
Let’s get straight to the point: shaving your legs and armpits does not make you gay.
Throughout history, different cultures and societies have had different answers to the question of ‘should men trim armpit hair?’ In ancient Egypt, for example, when it came to shaving armpit hair, men and women removed their body hair for aesthetic reasons.1 In the early 20th century, after it wasn’t given much thought in the Victorian era, Western societal norms began to associate body hair on women with uncleanliness and deemed it ‘unladylike’, leading to the widespread adoption of armpit hair removal.2
There are many reasons men might want to shave their armpits, including hygiene, personal preferences, and societal expectations.
- Hygiene. Men who engage in sports or physical activities may find that shaved armpits allow for better sweat evaporation, reducing the chances of body odour.
Necessary signals that women pick up subconsciously.
In 2011, a different group of researchers in the Czech Republic decided to test the original research findings carried out in the 1950s.
Their argument was based on recent studies that show the positive effects of a man's body odor – particularly in the sphere of attracting women.
Throughout four experiments, the researchers got groups of men to be odor donors.
Some of the men had never shaved their armpits, and some of them shaved their armpits regularly.The participants received specific instructions on shaving their armpit hair:
Researchers asked a portion of the men to shave just one armpit.
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