BREAKING NEWS: Bikini waxes for men are a trend that is sweeping the nation. Well, at least according to the New York Times Style section. Apparently every grooming-conscious man in the nation is rushing to his local spa and requesting a "down there" treatment -- artfully dubbed a "He-Wax" or a "Boyzillian."
[Also, important side note -- the male equivalent of "vajazzling" exists. It's called "pejazzling." Do what you will with that information.]
Men are supposedly subjecting themselves to the pain genital-area waxing inevitably involves because, thanks to hairless role models like David Beckham and The Situation of "Jersey Shore," they think going bare is more masculine. The New York Times spoke to Mike Indursky, the president of Bliss spa chain, which offers the "Ultimate He-Wax" for the price of a moderately nice pair of shoes:
"Guys try it and look and go, 'It's better than the mess I had down there,' " said Mr. Indursky of Bliss. "And it is. You feel more confident. It actually makes you feel more masculine, instead of less masculine, to get waxed. It sounds like an oxymoron, but it's not."
And according to Indursky, men of all kinds are into the treatment:
What we're finding is, it's everybody.... It's the gay community, it's the straight community, it's very conservative guys, it's very liberal guys. All different age groups are coming in. It's much, much bigger than we ever thought.
Ignoring the fact that "much, much bigger than we ever thought" should probably never be used in a piece about male bikini waxing, the article raised all sorts of questions that I'm not qualified to answer. Male readers, perhaps you can shed some light on what's going on here by talking the following short quiz: