The Preference of Women and Men Regarding Female Genital Depilation

Abstract

Purpose To evaluate the preferences of women and men regarding female pubic hair depilation and identify possible reasons for these preferences.
Methods This is a cross-sectional study of men and women over 18 years old who were invited by the official blog of our institution to respond anonymously to an online and self-administered questionnaire made by the researchers. The analyses were made using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS, SAS Inc., Cary, NC, US) software, version 9.3, and contingency tables were used to verify the distribution of variables. The univariate statistical analysis was performed using the Pearson chi-squared test, and the differences for values of p < 0.05 were considered significant.
Results We obtained data from 69,920 subjects (52,787 women and 17,133 men). The mean age was 31.9 years for men, and 28.5 years for women. Most women (64.3%) and men (62.2%) preferred complete removal of female pubic hair, and this preference was more pronounced in younger women and men. Most women reported performing depilation at home (55.8%), with 44.4% using hot wax and 40.1% using a razor blade. About half of the women (44.7%) and men (50.1%) reported sexual activity, having intercourse 2 to 3 times per week. The frequency of intercourse and sexual satisfaction in women correlated with total pubic hair removal.
Conclusion Most Brazilian women and men prefer the complete removal of female pubic hair, especially those who are younger and more sexually active. Women who are satisfied with the appearance of their own genitalia have a stronger preference for complete removal of pubic hair.

Full text

The Preference of Women and Men Regarding
Female Genital Depilation
A preferência de mulheres e homens em relação à
depilação genital feminina
Maria Luiza Prudente de Oliveira Sangiorgi1Lucia Alves da Silva Lara1MariaRitaLerri
1
Rui Alberto Ferriani2Adriana Peterson Mariano Salata Romão1
1Clinic for Human Sexuality Research, Department of Gynecology &
Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão
Preto, SP, Brazil
2Human Reproduction Section, Department of Gynecology &
Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão
Preto, SP, Brazil
Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet
Address for correspondence Maria Luiza Prudente de Oliveira
Sangiorgi, MD, MSc, Departmento de Ginecologia & Obstetrícia,
Hospital das Clínicas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av.
Bandeirantes, 3900, 8o andar, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14049-900, Brazil
(e-mail: malusangiorgi@gmail.com).
Keywords
►depilation
►hair removal
►genitalia
►sexuality
►internet
►sexual behavior
Abstract Purpose To evaluate the preferences of women and men regarding female pubic hair
depilation and identify possible reasons for these preferences.
Methods This is a cross-sectional study of men and women over 18 years old who
were invited by the official blog of our institution to respond anonymously to an online
and self-administered questionnaire made by the researchers. The analyses were made
using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS, SAS Inc., Cary, NC, US) software, version 9.3,
and contingency tables were used to verify the distribution of variables. The univariate
statistical analysis was performed using the Pearson chi-squared test, and the differ-
ences for values of p<0.05 were considered significant.
Results We obtained data from 69,920 subjects (52,787 women and 17,133 men).
The mean age was 31.9 years for men, and 28.5 years for women. Most women (64.3%)
and men (62.2%) preferred complete removal of female pubic hair, and this preference
was more pronounced in younger women and men. Most women reported performing
depilation at home (55.8%), with 44.4% using hot wax and 40.1% using a razor blade.
About half of the women (44.7%) and men (50.1%) reported sexual activity, having
intercourse 2 to 3 times per week. The frequency of intercourse and sexual satisfaction
in women correlated with total pubic hair removal.
Conclusion Most Brazilian women and men prefer the complete removal of female
pubic hair, especially those who are younger and more sexually active.Women who are
satisfied with the appearance of their own genitalia have a stronger preference for
complete removal of pubic hair.
received
December 1, 2016
accepted
April 18, 2017
DOI https://doi.org/
10.1055/s-0037-1604472.
ISSN 0100-7203.
Copyright © by Thieme Revinter
Publicações Ltda, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
THIEME
Original Article

Introduction
Women have increasingly removed hair from their pubic
regions since the second half of the twentieth century.1There
are many techniques used for this practice, including hot or
cold wax, scissors or clippers, razor s, depilatory creams, laser
treatment, and electrolysis.2Depilation in the pubic region
may be related to sexual activity. Moreover, many additional
factors may be related to pubic hair depilation , so this subject
requires further investigation.
Giraldo et al3studied 364 Brazilian college women, and
reported that more than 90% practiced pubic hair removal;
57.6% reported partial removal, and 36.8% reported complete
removal. In women from the United States, the extent of pubic
hair removal appears to be associated with age and physical,
social, and economic parameters. DeMaria and Berenson,4in
particular, collected data from 1,677 women, and reported
that the habit of shaving was associated with being white,
young (aged between 21–30 years), and at or below normal
weight, and with having an annual household income greater
than $30,000 and 5 or more sexual partners over the lifetime.4
This study also reported the main reasons women removed
their pubic hair were to achieve a cleaner appearance of the
pubic region, and the belief that pubic hair is unattractive.4
Another study in the United States reported that women
remove their pubic hair for hygienic reasons, comfort, and
increased sensation during sex.5Women may also remove
their pubic hair to improve their sexual attractiveness. For
example, in a study with 235 Australian women, Tiggermann
and Hodgson6observed that 60% of thesubjects removed some
pubic hair, and that 48% removed most or all of their pubic hair.
Butler et al7evaluated the practices and preferences of
pubic hair depilation in 1,110 men and women from two
universities in the United States. They found that 95% of the
subjects removed their p ubic hair at least once every 4 weeks;
women were more likely to report their status as completely
depilated, and men were more likely to prefer sexual part-
ners with completely depilated genitalia.7In line with these
results, a recent cross-sectional study in the United States
examined 3,316 women, and found that most subjects (62%)
performed total pubic hair removal, and that older women
were less likely to shave their pubic hai r.8Likewise, a study by
Herbenick et al9with 2,451 women from the United States
observed that complete removal of pubic hair was associated
with younger age.
An internet-based study aimed to characterize male pref-
erences regarding vulvar appearance, and found that the
subjects preferred the vulva partially (39%) or completely
(24%) depilated, and that younger males were more likely to
prefer complete hair removal.10 Schick et al11 analyzed 647
photos from Playboy magazine published between 1953 and
2007, and 185 photos from this magazine publi shed between
2007 and 2008. They found that the women had significantly
less pubic hair over the years.11 Together, these observations
Palavras- Chave
►depilação
►remoção de pelos
►genitália
►sexualidade
►internet
►comportamento
sexual
Resumo Objetivos Avaliar a preferência de mulheres e homens em relação à depilação genital
feminina, e identificar possíveis razões envolvidas nessa preferência.
Método Estudo transversal em que homens e mulheres com mais de 18 anos foram
convidados por meio do blog oficial de nossa instituição a responder anonimamente a
um formulário on-line e autoadministrado de autoria dos pesquisadores. As análises
foram realizadas no programa Statistical Analysis System (SAS, SAS Inc., Cary, Carolina
do Norte, EUA), versão 9.3, e tabelas de contingência foram construídas para verificar a
distribuição entre as variáveis. A análise estatística univariada foi realizada com o teste
qui-quadrado de Pearson, e foram consideradas significativas as diferenças para
p<0,05.
Resultados Foram obtidos dados de 69.920 indivíduos (52.787 mulheres e 17.133
homens). A idade média dos indivíduos foi de 31,9 anos entre os homens, e de 28,5
entre as mulheres. A maioria das mulheres (64,3%) e dos homens (62,2%) preferiram a
genitália feminina completamente depilada, e essa preferência foi mais pronunciada
em mulheres e homens mais jovens. A maioria das mulheres afirmaram se depilar em
casa (55,8%), e 44,4% delas usam cera quente, e 40,1% utilizam lâmina de barbear.
Quase metade das mulheres (44,7%) e metade dos homens (50,1%) alegaram ter
frequência sexual de 2 a 3 vezes por semana. A frequência sexual das mulheres e a
satisfação com sua própria genitália foram positivamente relacionadas com a prefe-
rência pela remoção total dos pelos pubianos.
Conclusões A maioria das mulheres e dos homens brasileiros preferem a remoção
completa dos pelos genitais femininos, o que é ainda mais pronunciado nos indivíduos
mais jovens e sexualmente ativos. As mulheres satisfeitas com a aparência de sua
própria genitália tendem a preferir a remoção completa dos pelos pubianos.
Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet
Preference of Women and Men Regarding Female Genital Depilation Sangiorgi et al.

indicate that the pornography industry has influenced fe-
male hair removal habits, because younger people who were
exposed to this trend of hair removal for longer periods of
their lives tend to show higher rates of complete pubic hair
removal compared with older people.
Overall, these previous studies of preferences regarding
female pubic hair removal indicate possible relationships
with different sociodemographic parameters. However,
more studies are needed to examine the factors related to
female and male preferences regarding female pubic hair
removal to evaluate the reproducibility of previously identi-
fied relationships, and to identify additional factors related
to preferences. Additionally, most studies on female pubic
hair depilation examined individuals from the United States.
Studies in other countries can help to establish parallels
between different cultures, and identify parameters that
globally or locally influence the preference for female pubic
hair depilation. Therefore, the aims of this study were to
evaluate the preferences of Brazilian men and women re-
garding female pubic h air removal, and to identify the factors
associated with different preferences.
Methods
This cross-sectional internet-based study recruited men and
women from Brazil who were at least 18 years-old to fill out
an online self-administered survey, without time limitation,
entitled “Preference on Female Genital Depilation”from
April 30, 2015 to August 31, 2015.The participants were
invited via the official blog of the Clinic for Human Sexuality
Research, from the Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics
of Ribeirão Preto Medical School. This study was broadly
publicized in all regions of Brazil via radio interviews,
television programs, and an online Brazilian newspaper.
The survey form was developed by the researchers based
on a previous pilot study (performed between September 18,
2014 and October 18, 2014) that aimed to make the vocabu-
lary of the questionnaire simple and accessible (data not
shown). The variables were: sex, age, educational level,
region of residence within Brazil, type of female pubic hair
depilation preferred, motivation for this preference, sexual
orientation, relationship status, weekly intercourse frequen-
cy, method and location from which pubic hair is removed,
and satisfaction with the appearance of the genital region.
This survey is part of a larger study, and contained 22
questions: 12 directed to both sexes, and 10 for women
only. The necessary guidelines to understand and address the
issues were in the statements of the survey and in each
question, and there was no need for additional explanations.
All participants were Brazilian men or women, who were at
least 18 years old, and had internet access. The participants
were excluded if they did not answer all the questions.
The survey used in this research project was approved by
the Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics Research Com-
mittee and the Ethics Committee of our institution (under
protocol number 8497/2014).
The answers of all subjects were viewed through a
spreadsheet generated by Google Drive (Google, Inc., Moun-
tain View, CA, US), and stored as Microsoft Excel (Microsoft
Corporation, Redmond, WA, US) spreadsheets. The data in
the spreadsheets were then imported into the Statistical
Analysis System (SAS, SAS Inc., Cary, NC, US) software,
version 9.3. Absolute and relative frequencies were estimat-
ed by the PROC FREQ procedure. Contingency tables were
used to examine the variables of interest, and to determine
frequency distributions. The univariate statistical analysis
was performed using the Pearson chi-square test, and a
p<0.05 was considered significant.
Results
We received responses from 86,187 individuals (66,365
women and 19,822 men). A total of 13,578 women and
104 men were excluded because they were younger than
18 years old and/or due to failure to answer 1 or more
questions. Thus, we analyzed data from 69,920 subjects
(52,787 women and 17,133 men) (►Table 1).
Most women were between 18 and 35 years old
(82.14%), and similar proportions were 18–25 years old
(42.22%) and 26–35 years-old (39.92%). A smaller percent-
age of women were older than 36 years old (17.86%). Most
men were also between 18 and 35 years old (71.09%), and
28.91% were older than 36 years old. However, a signifi-
cantly greater portion of the men were 26–35 years old
(41.5%) compared with those who were 18–25 years old
(17.91%). Most men and women reported having incom-
plete undergraduate education, complete undergraduate
education, or complete postgraduate education. Smaller
numbers reported only having incomplete high school or
complete high school degrees. Most participants were from
the southeastern region of Brazil (women: 49.78%, men:
54.81%).
Most women preferred to use hot wax (44.4%) or a razor
blade (40.1%) to remove their pubic hair, and the remainder
subjects reported the use of a variety of other methods
(15.5%). Most women performed depilation at home
(55.8%), and 30.5% had it performed in a beauty salon
(►Table 1).
Extent of Depilation and Reasons for
Preferring Depilation
Most women (64.3%) and men (62.2%) preferred complete
depilation of the pubic region; 31.9% of women and 31.4% of
men preferred partial depilation; and 2.6% of women and
4.3% of men preferred no depilation. Among women, the
main reasons for pubic hair removal were hygiene
(n¼13,120; 24.8%), a combination of beauty, hygiene, and
sexual relations (n¼12,890; 24.4%), and hygiene and sexual
relations (n¼7,800; 14.8%). Among men, the main reasons
were beauty (n¼3,728; 21.7%), and a combination of beau-
ty, hygiene, and sexual relations (n¼4,578; 26.7%). Thus,
37,205 (70.5%) women considered hygiene one of the rea-
sons for their depilatory practice, and 12,488 (72.9%) men
considered beauty as one of the reasons for their preference
for pubic hair removal.
Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet
Preference of Women and Men Regarding Female Genital Depilation Sangiorgi et al.

Preferences in Different Age Groups
Our analysis of different age groups indicated that complete
removal of pubic hair was preferred by most women who
were between 18 and 25 years old (74.26%) and 2 6 to 35 years
old (60.47%), and this preference gradually declined with age
(►Table 2). In contrast, the women’s preference for partial
depilation increased with age, and this preference was
reported by 48.96% of women who were older than 45 years
old. Among men, the preference for complete depilation also
decreased with age, and the preference for partial depilation
increased with age. Among all age groups, only a small
number of men and women preferred no depilation, al-
though this preference also increased with age.
Table 1 Characteristics of the study participants (52,787
women and 17,133 men)
Variable Women
n(%)
Men
n(%)
Age (in years):
18–25 22,288 (42.22) 5,069 (29.59)
26–35 21,070 (39.92) 7,111 (41.50)
36–45 7,458 (14.13) 3,068 (17.91)
>45 1,971 (3.73) 1,885 (11)
Level of education:
Postgraduate 11,569 (21.92) 4,194 (24.48)
Undergraduate
(complete)
13,763 (26.07) 5,399 (31.51)
Undergraduate
(incomplete)
15,976 (30.27) 4,659 (27.19)
High school
(complete)
9,540 (18.07) 2,416 (14.10)
High school
(incomplete)
1,565 (2.96) 380 (2.22)
Other 374 (0.71) 85 (0.50)
What region of Brazil are you from?
Midwest 5,098 (9.66) 1,725 (10.07)
Northeast 9,551 (18.09) 3,037 (17.73)
North 2,393 (4.53) 504 (2.94)
Southeast 26,277 (49.78) 9,390 (54.81)
South 9,468 (17.94) 2,477 (14.46)
What kind of female genital depilation do you prefer?
Complete 33,927 (64.27) 10,655 (62.19)
Partial 16,835 (31.89) 5,376 (31.38)
None 14,01 (2.65) 730 (4.26)
Other 624 (1.18) 372 (2.17)
What is the reason for your preference?
Beauty 4,451 (8.43) 3,728 (21.76)
Hygiene 13,120 (24.85) 711 (4.15)
Sexual relations 5,353 (10.14) 2,663 (15.54)
Beauty and hygiene 3,395 (6.43) 1,106 (6.46)
Beauty, hygiene
and sexual
relations
12,890 (24.42) 4,578 (26.72)
Beauty and sexual
relations
2,131 (4.04) 3,076 (17.95)
Hygiene and sexual
relations
7,800 (14.78) 572 (3.34)
Other 3,647 (6.91) 699 (4.08)
Sexual orientation:
Heterosexual 49,313 (93.42) 16,707 (97.51)
Homosexual 11,45 (2.17) 175 (1.02)
Bisexual 2,248 (4.26) 238 (1.39)
Other 81 (0.15) 13 (0.08)
Table 1 (Continued)
Variable Women
n(%)
Men
n(%)
Relationship status:
None 11,579 (21.94) 2,530 (14.77)
Dating exclusively 20,198 (38.26) 6,536 (38.15)
Married 21,010 (39.80) 8,067 (47.08)
How often do you have sex?
No sexual activity 4,813 (9.12) 557 (3.25)
Up to onceper month 214 (0.41) 51 (0.30)
Up to once per week 13,076 (24.77) 3,482 (20.32)
Two to thr ee ti mes
per week
23,589 (44.69) 8,593 (50.15)
More than three
times per week
11,095 (21.02) 4,450 (25.97)
You prefer to depilate with:
Hot wax 23,427 (44.38)

Cold wax 671 (1.27)

Razor blade 21,168 (40.10)

Depilatory cream 1,557 (2.95)

Laser 3,029 (5.74)

Electric razor 1,807 (3.42)

Other 1,128 (2.14)

Where do you depilate?
Home 29,456 (55.80)

Beauty Salon 16,115 (30.53)

Clinic 6,677 (12.65)

Other 539 (1.02)

Are you satisfied with the appearance of your genital area?
Dissatisfied 1,683 (3.19)

Slightly satisfied 9,260 (17.54)

Satisfied 29,654 (56.18)

Very satisfied 12,190 (23.09)

Note:

Questions that were exclusive to women.
Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet
Preference of Women and Men Regarding Female Genital Depilation Sangiorgi et al.

Preferences for Pubic Hair Removal and
Sexual Orientation
Most of the men (97.5%) and women (93.4%) were hetero-
sexual (►Table 1). The majority of women who were hetero-
sexual (64.5%), homosexual (62.4%), and bisexual (60.2%) all
preferred complete removal of pubic hair (►Table 3). Simi-
larly, most men who were heterosexual (62.27%), homosex-
ual (61.71%), and bisexual (57.56%) also preferred complete
removal of pubic hair.
Preferences on the Extent of Pubic Hair
Removal and Frequency of Intercourse
We found that most women (44.7%) and men (50.1%) re-
ported having intercourse 2 to 3 times per week, and smaller
percentages (22%) of women and men reported a frequen-
cy of up to once per week or more than 3 times per week.
Significantly fewer men and women reported having no
intercourse or a frequency of once per month (►Table 1).
Regardless of the frequency of intercourse, total removal
of pubic hair was preferred by most women and men
(►Table 4). The percentage of women and men who pre-
ferred total removal of pubic hair increased with the fre-
quency of intercourse, and was greatest for women (72.2%)
and men (65.8%) who repor ted having intercourse more than
3 times per week. Similar percentages of men and women
who preferred partial pubic hair removal reported no inter-
course up to intercourse 2–3 times per week, and the lowest
percentage of preference for partial depilation was among
women and men who declared a sexual frequency of more
than 3 times per week. Very few women and men preferred
no pubic hair removal in all intercourse frequency groups,
but there was a trend for a decline in this preference with an
increase in the frequency of intercourse.
Preferences for the Extent of Pubic Hair
Removal and Satisfaction with Genital
Appearance
A total of 56.2% of women reported being satisfied, and 23.1%
were very satisfied with the appearance of their genitalia
(►Table 1). A total of 20.7% of women reported being
dissatisfied or only slightly satisfied with the appearance
of their genitalia.
Most women preferred complete removal of their pubic
hair, irrespective of the extent of their satisfaction with the
appearance of their genitalia (►Table 5). The highest and
lowest percentages of women who preferred complete depi-
lation were those who reported being very satisfied (68.6%)
and dissatisfied (60.6%) respectively. The percentage of
women who reported a preference for partial hair removal
Table 3 Preferences regarding the extent of female pubic hair removal in men and women with different sexual orientations
Preferred extent of female pubic hair removal
Sexual orientation Complete Partial None Other Total p
Women
n(%)
Heterosexual 31,823 (64.53) 15,849 (32.14) 1,116 (2.26) 525 (1.06) 49,313 (100) <0.0001
Homosexual 714 (62.36) 351 (30.66) 61 (5.33) 19 (1.66) 1,145 (100)
Bisexual 1,354 (60.23) 620 (27.58) 203 (9.03) 71 (3.16) 2,248 (100)
Other 36 (44.44) 15 (18.52) 21 (25.93) 9 (11.11) 81 (100)
Men
n(%)
Heterosexual 10,404 (62.27) 5,250 (31.42) 698 (4.18) 355 (2.12) 16,707 (100) <0.0001
Homosexual 108 (61.71) 52 (29.71) 6 (3.43) 9 (5.14) 175 (100)
Bisexual 137 (57.56) 73 (30.67) 24 (10.08) 4 (1.68) 238 (100)
Other 6 (46.15) 1 (7.69) 2 (15.38) 4 (30.77) 13 (100)
Table 2 Preferences for extent of female pubic hair removal in different age groups of women and men
Preferred extent of female pubic hair removal
Age group, years Complete Partial None Other Total p
Women
n(%)
18–25 16,551 (74.26) 4,900 (21.98) 617 (2.77) 220 (0.99) 22,288 (100) <0.0001
26–35 12,741 (60.47) 7,609 (36.11) 476 (2.26) 244 (1.16) 21,070 (100)
36–45 3,766 (50.5) 3,361 (45.07) 215 (2.88) 116 (1.56) 7,458 (100)
>45 869 (44.09) 965 (48.96) 93 (4.72) 44 (2.23) 1,971 (100)
Men
n(%)
18–25 3,499 (69.03) 1,320 (26.04) 146 (2.88) 104 (2.05) 5,069 (100) <0.0001
26–35 4,485 (63.07) 2,253 (31.68) 240 (3.38) 133 (1.87) 7,111 (100)
3–45 1,689 (55.05) 1,146 (37.35) 161 (5.25) 72 (2.35) 3,068 (100)
>45 982 (52.10) 657 (34.85) 183 (9.71) 63 (3.34) 1,885 (100)
Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet
Preference of Women and Men Regarding Female Genital Depilation Sangiorgi et al.

was similar in the 4 groups who reported different levels of
satisfaction with their genital appearance (32%). A signifi-
cant minority of women in all four groups preferred no
depilation.
Discussion
This study evaluated the preferences of Brazilian women and
men regarding female pubic hair removal by women, and the
relationships of different preferences with sociodemo-
graphic parameters and factors related to sexual activity.
Our self-administered and online survey has data from
69,920 subjects, the largest sample size so far reported
among studies on female pubic hair depilation.
Our analysis indicated that 64.3% of women and 62.2% of
men preferred female genitalia with no hair at all. Moreover,
the complete removal of female pubic hair was preferred by
women and men in all regions of Brazil. These findings are in
line with the results of multiple studies conducted in the
US.7,8,11 However, our findings differ from those of Giraldo
et al3in Brazil, Herbenick et al9in the USA, and Tiggermann
and Hodgson6in Australia, who reported that women pre-
ferred partial removal of pubic hair, and from those of
Mazloomdoost et al,10 who reported that men from the US
preferred partial depilation. These differences may be due to
cultural differences. Furthermore, comparisons of studies of
the same population indicated that the preference for com-
plete pubic hair removal has increased over time.
We observed that women and men of similar age,
educational level, relationship status, and frequency of
intercourse had similar preferences regarding the removal
of pubic hair in general, and regarding the extent of pubic
hair removal. This indicates a positive feedback between
women and men regarding their preferences for female
pubic hair depilation. Moreover, there is a possibility that
the preferences of men and women with similar character-
istics are influenced by the same external (unmeasured)
factors that determine their preferences regarding female
pubic hair removal.
The present study indicated that younger men and wom-
en were more likely to prefer complete pubic hair removal in
women, but older men and women were more likely to prefer
partial depilation. These observations are in accordance with
other studies4,7–10,12 and with the recent trend for complete
removal of female pubic hair reported by Schick et al.11
Our analysis of the reason for preferring female pubic hair
depilation indicated that hygiene was the major reason in
women, and beauty was the major reason in men. Even
though the presence of body hair in general is not associated
with poor hygiene, many people apparently believe that
pubic hair can accumulate debris and complicate genital
cleaning, and thereby facilitate the acquisition of infections.
Table 4 Preferences for the extent of female pubic hair removal and frequency of sexual intercourse in women and men
Preferred extent of female pubic hair removal
Sexual frequency Complete Partial None Other Total p
Women
n(%)
No sexual activity 2,774 (57.64) 1,716 (35.65) 248 (5.15) 75 (1.56) 4,813 (100) <0.0001
Up to once per month 120 (56.07) 74 (34.58) 10 (4.67) 10 (4.67) 214 (100)
Up to once per week 7,842 (59.97) 4,717 (36.07) 368 (2.81) 149 (1.14) 13,076 (100)
02 to 03 times per week 15,184 (64.37) 7,590 (32.18) 546 (2.31) 269 (1.14) 23,589 (100)
>03 times per week 8,007 (72.17) 2,738 (24.68) 229 (2.06) 121 (1.09) 11,095 (100)
Men
n(%)
No sexual activity 314 (56.37) 186 (33.39) 35 (6.28) 22 (3.95) 557 (100) <0.0001
Up to once per month 27 (52.94) 18 (35.29) 4 (7.84) 2 (3.92) 51 (100)
Up to once per week 2,071 (59.48) 1,188 (34.12) 155 (4.45) 68 (1.95) 3,482 (100)
02 to 03 times per week 5,315 (61.85) 2,748 (31.98) 362 (4.21) 168 (1.96) 8,593 (100)
>03 times per week 2,928 (65.8) 1,236 (27.78) 174 (3.91) 112 (2.52) 4,450 (100)
Table 5 Preferences for the extent of female pubic hair removal in women who reported different levels of satisfaction with the
appearance of their genitalia
Preferred extent of female pubic hair removal
Satisfaction with genital
appearance
Complete Partial None Other Total p
Women
n(%)
Dissatisfied 1,020 (60.61) 555 (32.98) 92 (5.47) 16 (0.95) 1,683 (100) <0.0001
Slightly satisfied 5,761 (62.21) 3,178 (34.32) 231 (2.49) 90 (0.97) 9,260 (100)
Satisfied 18,778 (63.32) 9,914 (33.43) 650 (2.19) 312 (1.05) 29,654 (100)
Very satisfied 8,368 (68.65) 3,188 (26.15) 428 (3.51) 206 (1.69) 12,190 (100)
Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet
Preference of Women and Men Regarding Female Genital Depilation Sangiorgi et al.

This may explain why women considered hygiene as the
major reason for removal of pubic hair. Other studies also
reported associations between female pubic hair depilation
and hygiene.4,5,7,8
The results of this study are consistent with previous
studies that reported that consuming pornography and
erotica can influence preferences for pubic hair removal, as
reported by Desruelles et al13 and Ramsey et al.14 However,
this influence must be further investigated in order to
evaluate this relationship more directly. Besides, more stud-
ies are needed to analyze the influence of the media in
general and of the internet and social media on the increas-
ing preference for pubic hair depilation.
We also evaluated preferences for different types of
female pubic hair removal in women and men with different
sexual orientations. Interestingly, most women and men
who defined themselves as heterosexual, homosexual, and
bisexual preferred complete removal of female pubic hair.
These observations suggest that the same factor(s) may
influence the preferences of subjects with different sexual
orientations.
Our study also indicates that women and men who have
intercourse with greater frequency were mo re likelyto prefer
complete removal of female pubic hair. This may be related to
our observation that men view hairless genitalia as more
attractive, and women view hairless genitalia as more hy-
gienic. Other studies also reported associations of the pref-
erence for complete depilation and greater sexual
activity.9,12,15 In line with these obser vations, we also found
that, in general, subjects who preferred no depilation had
lower frequencies of intercourse.
The results of the present study indicate that women
who are less satisfied with the appearance of their own
genitalia were less likely to perform complete pubic hair
removal, and had a greater preference for no removal of
pubic hair. Likewise, women who reported being satisfied
with the appearance of their own genitalia were more likely
to prefer complete depilation. Thus, a woman who is
dissatisfied with the appearance of her own genitalia may
not remove her pubic hair, simply because it conceals her
genitalia.
All relationships examined in this work had p-values
much lower than the proposed level of significance
(p<0.05). A major strength of this study is that it is the
largest study of Brazilian people to evaluate the preferences
of women and men regarding the removal of female pubic
hair. Our study identified several sociodemographic and
other factors related to the preference for hair removal. As
a whole, our findings provide an important basis to under-
stand the motivations for the now widespread practice of
female pubic hair depilation.
Limitations
A limitation of this study is that we recruited participants via
the internet, and there were therefore biases inherent to the
use of convenience sampling. All participants filled out the
forms anonymously and privately, and we have no evidence
regarding their understanding of the questions or the accu-
racy of their answers. However, due to the large number of
participants, we expect that any intentionally or uninten-
tionally inaccurate answers would be overwhelmed by the
larger number of accurate answers. In addition, we used a
pilot study to assur e the adequacy of the language used i n the
survey. All participants were literate and had access to the
internet, so we excluded those who were illiterate and had no
internet access. Internet access in Brazil does not cover urban
and rural areas equally, and is not available to many individ-
uals from lower socioeconomic strata, so this may have
biased our results. However, we believe these limitations,
which are inherent to the use of the internet to recruit
subjects, are overwhelmed by the several advantages pro-
vided by using the internet, such as the ability to recruit a
very large sample, the absence of biases introduced by the
physical presence of researchers during the interview, and
the minimal expenses needed to conduct large surveys. The
possibility of a non-representative sample, a limitation in-
herent to convenience sampli ng, may have been overcome by
our extensive publicity of the survey, so that Brazilians from
all regions, of all ages, and with all educational levels, were
aware of the study.
Conclusions
This study found that Brazilian women and men prefer
female genitalia without any hair, and that this preference
was stronger for younger people. This preference may be
due to the influence of recent trends in beauty, aesthetics,
eroticism, and pornography. Women reported the main
motivation for the removal of female pubic hair is hygiene,
and men reported the main reason for this preference is
beauty. Men and women who have more frequent inter-
course are more likely to prefer complete depilation, and
women who are more satisfied with the appearance of
their own genitalia are more likely to prefer complete
depilation.
Acknowledgments
This work was funded by the Brazilian National Council
for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, in
the Portuguese acronym, under process 130144/2015–0).
We thank Bruno Sangiorgi for his great contribution in all
steps of this study, and Suleimy Mazin for her work on the
analysis.
Contributions: 1. Substantial contributions to concep-
tion and design, data collection or analysis, and interpre-
tation of data: Maria Luiza Prudente de Oliveira Sangiorgi,
Lucia Alves da Silva Lara, Maria Rita Lerri, Rui Alberto
Ferriani, Adriana Peterson Mariano Salata Romão.
2. Writing of the article or critical review of the
intellectual content: Maria Luiza Prudente de Oliveira
Sangiorgi, Lucia Alves da Silva Lara, Adriana Peterson
Mariano Salata Romão.
3. Final approval of the version to be published: Maria
Luiza Prudente de Oliveira Sangiorgi, Lucia Alves da Silva
Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet
Preference of Women and Men Regarding Female Genital Depilation Sangiorgi et al.

Lara, Maria Rita Lerri, Rui Alberto Ferriani, Adriana Pe-
terson Mariano Salata Romão.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
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