When i was 14, i had a few very long strands of hair on each nipple. The other guys in school would tease me; but somehow, it was one of the few times as an insecure teenager that it never stuck. I knew that it was cool - I was outwardly showing more "maleness", so I knew their teasing was about their own insecurities. But I never teased them back about their lack of body or facial hair, as I was secretly waiting for the day when they would sprout a few, or gosh, I would be with a "real guy" with body hair. Sure, 2 decades later, with a boyfriend who was into the trimming/shaving crotch thing, I tried it. The sensation of cutting and trimming and shaving was fantastic. Walking down the street the first time with a shaved butthole, (clothed, of course!) fuck yeah, it felt wild, my cheeks hitting each other in a way they hadn't ever before, or at least not in my conscious mind. But, the novelty wore off, and the worse part, stubble. Stubble doesn't usually feel good, and when its your balls against your thighs, its downright annoying. So, now, you wont see any of my razors or trimmers anywhere below my neck, and not too frequently above, either.
Some people think the Chelsea-boy Ken-doll obsession with smooth/trimmed/shaved body parts is some sort of feminization of the male body - I dunno. I do think we gay men spend an inordinate amount of time guessing what we think might attract other men, obsessing about fashion, clothing, body hair, gyms, and other trends like PNP (party and play), "chem friendly", BB and the like.
writing all this alone on a saturday night, is this just bitterness cuz i dont fit the profile or i dont get enuf? naw, i dont think so. Yup, I have a preference for hair, and more so, for "natural" looks and smells where your balls are as furry or smooth as god made them, your armpits dont have aluminum-zirconium or other nasty tasting things....
its neither political, nor fashion to me, its simple pragmatism. I am a greedy cocksucker who loves to get my entire face - tongue, mouth, lips - all over my partner; if i get a mouthful of aluminum chlorohydrate, or my lips start to chap from going down on you, neither of us is gonna have much fun for very long.
The smooth Banana Republic boy pictured? some might actually think he's hairy; but look closely, not a single strand is coming from that nipple or that pit. If he was born that way, cool. If he wasn't, I hope to god he doesnt lose sleep at night trying to figure out ways to paste a few strands on those nipples, or dabbling Rogaine under his pits along with his regular routine of Mennen applications.