• Question: what is the purpose of pubic hair?

    Asked by ryantm to Helen, Jenni, Mark, Martin, Stu on 22 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Helen O'Connor

      Helen O'Connor answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      Pubic hair shows that a person is developing sexual maturity. This doesn’t mean they are old enough to have sex or to have children yet, but that their body is starting to be able to reproduce. Pubic hair tends to grow over a few years, from a little bit of fine hair, into more, and thicker hair by full sexual maturity.

      I don’t think we have a complete idea of why we grow hair in our armpits and around our sexual organs yet – but one explanation is that the hair traps pheromones produced by glands in these areas that “attract” the opposite sex.

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