Dissecting the Presence of Pubic Hair in Art: What’s The Deal With an Unshaved Crotch?
See that faint hint of what could be a couple of hairs peeking between her legs? Sometimes it is hard to believe the social and political outcry those little hairs caused.
Goya’s ‘La Maja Desnuda’ (1797)
Goya’s ‘La Maja Desnuda’ (1797) is believed to have been commissioned by Manuel de Godoy. The painting was taken during the Spanish Inquisition, and Godoy and Goya were both questioned about the indecency of the painting.
John Ruskin, famous art critic and important figure of the Victorian era, is infamously known for his lack of knowledge when it came to lady parts. As the legend goes, when the time came to consummate his marriage with Effie Gray, Ruskin ran away at the sight of her unshaved bush.
“He had imagined women were quite different to what he saw I was, and that the reason he did not make me his Wife was because he was disgusted with my person,” a letter by Gray from five years later explains.
Another story goes that in 1917 one of Mogliani’s paintings was ordered to be taken down by a police officer who took offense at the sight of pubic hair in one of the nudes.
What is it about pubes that makes its absence in a nude an acceptable depiction of the female body, while its presence a disgusting one?
Previous to Goya’s ‘La Maja Desnuda’ there are very few exceptions of the presence of female pubic hair in Western art, at least without negative connotation. And as it has been noted, it was not a change that was received kindly.
During the 17th and 18th century, it was the depiction of hair (or lack thereof) that differentiated between voyeurism and art. The lack of hair in women nudes placed them above the realm of reality. Depicted as goddesses, the image of hairless inner thighs began to be recognized as desirable.
Of course, we have had many artists since Goya try to normalize or even appeal to the beauty of pubic hair. One of the most famous examples of the latest that comes to mind is Marilyn Minter.
Known for her glamorized and bedazzled photos of women’s mouths and high heels, she dared to do the same for hairy pubic triangles in her 2014 book Plush.
Through steamed glass and lube, we can see the glistening pubic hairs of women of all races. The 70 pictures capture an intimate and beautiful moment, you cannot help but be drawn in.
It is interesting to note that although art like that of Minter’s can now be perceived as for what it is: art, we cannot really yell halleluyah just yet.
Lenna McCall’s ‘Portrait of Ms Ruby May, Standing’