The other day, someone I follow on Twitter posted a shirtless pic of Alex O'Loughlin, from Hawaii Five-0. Almost immediately, someone posted in response, "ew. Chest hair." (My immediate thought was, you've got a gorgeous pic of a gorgeous man like AOL and all you can see is the chest hair? Are you mad?)
But it was true - chest hair was preventing that commenter from enjoying the photo. Others chimed in with their thoughts, pro and con, and thus started a minor Twitter war, between those who like their beefcake pictures with chest hair, and those who prefer them without.
It's been a topic of discussion surrounding romance novel covers as well. Some like the heroes on the books to be smooth and chest-hair-less, while others vote for a more au naturel look. (And yes, I know some men are naturally less hairy than others.) The discussions can get rather...heated, too.
I've noticed that on the German soaps I've watched, most of the men have smooth chests. Same with most model pics I've used for my Inspiration Friday posts. Then there's Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan (who sadly hasn't been shirtless on Hawaii Five-0 yet), both with chest hair. And both rowr-worthy, IMO. So I'm flexible - I can appreciate a pic of a hot guy with or without chest hair. But I know that many other women fall strictly into one camp or another.
So my question to you is - chest hair or no? Or does it matter? When you look at a romance novel cover, does chest hair (or the lack thereof) draw you in, or turn you off?
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17 comments:
(lololol, I can't believe you actually went with the chest hair topic <33333)
I'm gonna say nay. A bit of fuzz is fine, but generally I prefer them smooth, or at least smooth enough so you can still see the nipples and general contours of the chest? Big patches of actual fur turn me way off, especially if it goes all the way up to the throat (I found Rafael on AWZ hot until he took off his shirt OMG DUDE, TOO MUCH FUR.)
I'm flexible as well, I've always been able to appreciate the look of either. I think it depends a lot on the build/form of the bloke in question. But yeah, smooth, furry, fuzzy, I'll take them all please! ;)
Alex O'Loughlin can have hair on his back (iieeww) and I wouldn't care! It's the sweaty fat guy on the beach in a speedo with a built in fur coat that I can't stand to see. I don't even notice the chest hair with those abs!! Yum!
(HI!)
I agree with Aldi - to much hair is a total turn-off. If you can see it through an undone shirt-button, ick. I'm okay with a bit of hair.
Also, the possible height of shallowness, I think that chest hair definitely looks better on well-built guys. Skinny/weedy guys with a lot of chest hair kind of freak me out. I'd say that snooth/hairless would definitely be my top choice.
I say yea and nay, just depends on the man, some men look HOT with hair and some without, so it's all depends on what you like!! No hairy backs tho...
I do perfer some hair, just that little fur on top with a path leading to the HAPPY TRAIL!!
My vote; Yea!!!
Alex O'Loughlin has the PERFECT chest!!!
I may be bias, but, that is what i say!!!
LOL oh Kate, this topic! *loves you*
So after measured consideration, I have to ask if we're talking in real life or in pictures/TV? Because in the latter, I do prefer smooth chests - they're just more photogenic when the accent is on muscle contours. But in real life, hairlessness is rare (*gazes at unkempt legs*) and when you see an otherwise hirsute man with a smooth chest, you can bet there are going to be little prickles dotting his chest. That stubble is a huge turnoff for me. (As is excess hair. Moderation is good.)
But whether in RL or in fantasy, back hair is always a turnoff. Always.
I'm going to side with Lilith here. In real life men have hair on their chests. Hair can be pretty damn sexy. Bristly, prickly 5 O clock shadows on chests...no so much.
Too little hair on a man's chest in RL and I start to feel like a cougar. Or Wendy to some guy who thinks he's Peter Pan. Neither of these options really do anything for me.
I also think a lot about tattoos. Tattoos and hair are usually not a good combo, IMO, unless it's on your head, in which case it's either visible or not depending on whether or not you want it to be. But I digress...
In photos/TV/movies I'm more flexible. A lot more flexible. Anything goes in fantasy--from Aquaman to Werewolf.
Visually, I'm good either way as long as it's au naturel as you said. (Prime example: The overwaxedness of Connor Trinneer in the early eps of ST:ENT. The boy is hairy. They should have left him that way. It works for him.) Personally, however, a little is nice, but a lot is not my thing.
I prefer a man the way God made him, whether that's with hair or without. And by the way AOL has been manscaped (not his choice). That little bit of fuzz you see on his chest is somewhat less than his au naturel look. I really wish they had let him alone.
I'm kind of a middle of the road gal - I do like the look of a smooth chest but let's face it, it just looks wrong on a 40 or 50 year old man. On the other hand I'm not into gorillas either.
Amyvil - I was suspicious of the "naturalness" of AOL's chest hair, since other pics I've seen of him prior to H50 are a little hairier. (One's on my personal blog today, if anyone wants to take a peek.)
And yeah, I think it all depends on the man, the actual amount of hair (I'm not big on werewolves), and the overall look. For me, at least. Heck, some of my favorites are totally smooth-chested, others a bit fuzzed, still others a bit more.
Like I said, flexible! :)
Also, it's a little funny just how much discussion there was when Van Hansis opened the hotel door in just a towel, back in April I think, on ATWT. Prior to that moment, when he'd made a rare shirtless appearance on the show, he was smooth-chested. But in this one, there was definite chest hair. Oh, the impassioned battles over which look was best on him! LOL
Yay ;) My guess that the person that wrote ERW was young. I know that when I was younger I did diffinatly like men to have as few hair on the chest as possible, but today I just think it is sexy and masculine :) Alex looks amazing - chest hair or not tho ;) Even tho I have to say if he had hair on the back I would prolly go Erw, but luckily he hasn't and he is just sexy as hell :)
I LOVE Alex's chest hair! His real chest hair is much darker and thicker than that. I have seen him totally waxed, with all of his hair and with it partially waxed and lightened like in that picture - and he is always perfect! There is nothing Alex could do to himself - and nothing about him period - that is not perfect. Hottest man and most brilliant actor on the planet.
I wasn't a fan of chest hair until Alex O, and also Henry Cavill from The Tudors. Rrawrr!
This is a question I've been pondering myself recently. November was the first time in a year that I'd been in a position to get critique as I wrote (on excerpts at any rate). As soon as I brought in my 1970s leading man there was immense speculation as to whether he had a hairy chest. So I made a point of mentioning that he did. Cue more excitement on the critique group -- a surprising amount of excitement in fact.
But I'll agree with others here: it's not so much whether there's body hair present or not as whether what's there is natural (pro swimmers and cyclists *may* get away with the 'it's for speed' thing if I'm in a good mood).
When I was young, I preferred hairless, as my 17-year-old daughter does now. Once I got over 21, I realized that most men can be very sexy, and hairiness is a part of what makes them different from women. So I love face stubble a whole lot, love mustaches, can tolerate beards to a point, and love the body hair that lets me know it's a man touching me!
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