Men's body depilation: An exploratory study of United States college students’ preferences, attitudes, and practices

• College students choose a relatively hairless male body as the most sexually attractive.
• Most United States college men reduce or remove body hair, especially in the pubic area.
• Men modify their body hair mainly for sexual attractiveness and cleanliness reasons.
• Body hair reduction and retention both are socially acceptable for men.
• College women do not expect men to prefer a relatively hairless male body.

Young men in Western cultures frequently engage in body depilation practices, but little is known regarding how such bodies are perceived. This exploratory study asked United States college students (N = 238) to view six pictures of the same male body with different amounts of visible body hair and to indicate which body was most sexually attractive to themselves, to most men, and to most women. Both men and women chose a relatively hairless male body as the most sexually attractive. Women, however, thought men would choose a hairier body than men actually did. Most of the men reduced or removed body hair, especially from the pubic area. Questionnaire responses indicated that men and women had similar attitudes toward men's body hair, with both hair reduction and hair retention being socially acceptable. Men's body depilation, while still optional, may be becoming normative, at least among United States college students.