To shave or not to shave: that is the question.
Manhunt teamed up with Max 4 Men to come up with the best answer possible, and with 27,609 of your votes tallied, we’re pleased to present you with the final results of our not-at-all-scientific research. While this may not necessarily put the manscaping argument to rest, it’ll at least give you some idea regarding the preferences of your fellow gay, bisexual or otherwise-identified men who enjoy the company of other men.
Those of you who took the poll might recall that we broke the results into two separate categories—lower and upper body. The results below show the breakdown for each individual part. Percentages represent the number of individuals who said you should shave, trim or manscape that given part.
If you hate reading and like pretty pictures, you might prefer viewing the results in this fashion (as linked in the image below). If you like numbers and arguing about what they mean, here’s the material you’ll get to work with…
UPPER BODY:
• Neck (12.43%)
• Nose Hair (12.37%)
• Neck Beard (11.19%)
• Back (10.93%)
• Shoulders (10.8%)
• Face/Beard (8.58%)
• Lower Back / Assy Knoll / Awkward Patch Above Your Crack (8.17%)
• Upper Arm, Between Elbow & Shoulder (7.77%)
• Eyebrows (5.85%)
• Armpits (3.14%)
• Chest (3.13%)
• Abdominal Area (2.86%)
• Hands/Fingers (1.7%)
• Forearm, Between Wrist & Elbow (1.06%)
LOWER BODY:
• Shaft (21.35%)
• Pubes/Bush (19.47%)
• Balls (17.66%)
• Taint, Between Balls & Hole (11.86%)
• Hole (11.58%)
• Butt Cheeks (6.78%)
• Feet/Toes (5.17%)
• Treasure Trail (3.05%)
• Thighs (1.8%)
• Calves (1.29%)
INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC – CLICK TO EXPLORE:
You’ll notice that there are much higher percentages for the lower body, particularly in the crotch region. If you feel so inclined to do some grooming down there, might we recommend picking up some of Max 4 Men‘s pheromone-infused shaving products? Oh, come on, don’t look at us like that! We’re not promoting them just because they co-sponsored this guide. They make good stuff, and we have personal testimonials from our fellow Manhunt colleagues that the Balls n All Rash-Free Shave Cream is a ball-shaver’s best friend.
– Dewitt
are your numbers correct? I find it odd that only 8.58% of those surveyed supported shaving/trimming your facial hair/beard. That leads me to question the rest of the numbers presented.
I agree that I find the numbers really, really low. And odd that you think 21% of guys (the highest vote) voting in favour of shaving their shaft, for example, says that “most” guys say you should do so…. in what world does 21% constitute a majority? I’m glad the numbers for manscaping the boys are high-ish, personally, but I mean, if I had a choice between telling a guy to trim his trunk or getting rid of his unsightly nose hairs… the nose hairs HAVE GOT to go! For one thing… everyone is going to see his nose hairs and be grossed out by them… only his sexual partner(s) and maybe some dudes at the gym are gonna see his pubes.
I think this poll is whacked and people should just use common sense. I think most people, gay/straight/man/woman would say groom the areas that are seen by everyone, clothed or not, then worry about the rest… doing what you prefer but not to excess. While you shouldn’t really care too much what others think and worry about how you like to groom (your body, your choice) opting for leaving a hairy back that you can braid or shaving all of your pubes off to look like a pre-pubescent boy are probably both extremes that most people will be turned off by.
thanks guys. this makes me feel better about some things
So almost no one thinks men should shave their legs or chest, but if you look at photos of gay men, whether on Manhunt or Flickr or Facebook or whatever, those body parts are almost always smooth as silk (for better or for worse). If no one likes it, why does everyone do it? Something is rotten in the state of Denmark and I’m not talking cock cheese.
Don’t shave anything , just trim your beard and you’re good 🙂
Tired of the gay stereotypes that look like discounted Ken dolls
I’ve noticed gay media is showing hairier/scruffy guys more and more 🙂 Hairy was very popular in the 70s and 80s then the whole waxed/shaven/smooth look was popular in the 90s and 2000s but hairer is finally coming back yay haha.
Maybe not a lot of people took the survey I’d like to see those numbers
Could be that it’s what people think others will like, even tho they like a more scruffy/hairy look themselves. I personally don’t like a hairless body, it looks strange to me when it’s waxed/shaved clean.
I work in the salon industry and have come to notice there are categories of men, especially based on age determines a big part of preferences. Most young guys in the “gym world” I have noticed want shaving or waxing to make the muscle pop. Majortiy of them feel they are supposed to be shaved to match a magazine image of buldging muscles. The single ones are more into body grooming. The non athletic or non overly committed to the gym world are more into facial hair, longer hair, beards etc., body hair. Body grooming is not a priority. Now guys with girl friends or seeking a mate, they want everything clean as a whistle. If they met someone they want to sleep with groomed more than ever. I also feel age and taste changes. Older men coming up to forties I have noticed are into body hair more perhaps with more confidence or tired to doing the body shave so intensely. We have more guys showing chest hair etc., with confidence and and both in the gym and outside tthe gym world. Younger guys follow more trends, the older we get the less we care if you like us or not. I truly feel age and mental confidence is the icing on the cake from the salon perspective. Most older guys doing body waxing has been told by the female or male companion they need or want them to look a certain way.
Me personally, I find men with hair absolutely hot. I want hair on the butt, the taint the shaft it does not matter. At twenty I thought no way now at forty bring it on. It just turned me on, burly is the new hot for me as I approached thirty-five. Sometimes I feel it separates the look of a man from a goomed twinky. Last I feel the adult industry created a big demand for waxing and shaving. I feel it started with men wanting to “eat clean” especially in heterosexual porn, so to speak. With body building becoming super popular inthe eighties also pumped up the body grooming image in speedos. I think it helps by them grooming the adult actors you see the more and it perhaps looks cleaner.
I like a hairy man and love it when his pubes are like a jungle! It is fun to explore!!
You guys… seriously? It’s not “21% voted to shave this and 79% voted not to shave it.” The members were given OPTIONS. 21% out of 100% thought that was the most important part to shave. It wasn’t a “yes/no” survey. They were given two categories and asked what they thought was the most important thing to shave. Then they presented how people voted on a 100% scale. It’s… not that difficult to figure out. Queerty just represented this ENTIRELY wrong.
Because you’re completely reading the information wrong. It’s that amount OUT OF 100%. Not 3% of the population. More people thought it was important to shave your back hair than your chest hair. That doesn’t mean people don’t like shaved chests. It means that one is more important to them than the other. Do I like hairy chests? No. Would I rather a hairy chest than a hairy back? Yes. Not that difficult to figure out.