Appropriate Topics for Pub(l)ic Discussion. ...(l) ...!

Lady Gaga says now you can too!

I came across one of the strangest articles I've read in years in the NYT, "Below the Bikini Line, a Growing Trend".  Although I find it very titillating to think about lady parts attached to well-known figures while reading the news, I find myself thinking "must we, really?"

First of all, is it really public business what women are doing down there?  Shouldn't that be a topic of personal preference?  As a professional figurative sculptor I've noticed these things in models but never thought it was my place to speculate about it.  I can understand how this could be a reasonable topic of private conversation among women's groups, but in the public news?  And how'd it get to be a "trend" unless there's so much focus on that place that when there's a communal shift in behavior all the flags go up?

Speaking of which, can we see that we would never have such a conversation about men's naughty bits?  What?– focusing on our pubic hair like we were some kind of animal or something?  How demeaning would that be!?

I can see how a subject like breast enhancement can become a topic of public discussion because we can all see the results even on the street, but who is this conversation for?  For instance, the article quotes a pro bikini waxer saying, “So leaving hair at the top gives the illusion of having normal bikini hair, but is still groomed.” OK, for whom is this impression intended? The only appropriate target I can imagine would be the new lover who is just about to rip the undies off anyway and discover the truth for him or herself.  So what does this illusion accomplish again?

Unless, of course the whole point was not at all to discuss a cultural trend but to sell papers.  Then it all makes perfect sense!