Merkin

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A mock merkin used at Burning Man
For other uses, see Merkin (disambiguation).

A merkin (first use 1617)[1] is a pubic wig, originally worn by prostitutes after shaving their genitalia. According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language the term stems from an corruption of the obsolete word malkin, meaning a lower-class woman or mop, which is derived from a diminutive of the personal name Matilda.[2] The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary concurs in this derivation.[3]

There are many different ways of wearing a merkin, although most involve placing the merkin on the vulva or the scrotum.[citation needed]


Contents

[edit] Background

The Oxford Companion to the Body dates the origin of the pubic wig to 1450. Women would shave their pubic hair and wear a merkin to combat pubic lice, and prostitutes would wear them to cover up signs of disease, such as syphilis.[4] The term is also applied to decorative – typically sequinned – patches commonly sold in sets with nipple tassels or "pasties", which are enjoying new popularity as part of the costume of new burlesque adult entertainment, and, according to NSOED, is also applied to fake vaginas.[3]

"A short and curly history of the merkin" in The Guardian provided a partial history of the merkin. It highlighted "comedy terrorist" Aaron Barschak's flashing of a merkin to onlookers.[5] It has also been suggested that at the when male actors played female parts onstage, they would cover their genitals with a merkin so they could expose themselves as women in bawdy scenes.[6]

In Hollywood film-making, merkins are currently used in films where they are worn by actors and actresses to prevent inadvertent exposure of the genitalia during nude or semi-nude scenes. If no merkin were worn, it would be necessary to restrict the shot to exclude the genital area; with the merkin in place brief flashes of the crotch can be used if necessary. The presence of the merkin protects the actor from inadvertently performing 'full-frontal' nudity – some contracts specifically require that nipples and genitals be covered in some way – which can help ensure that the film achieves a less restrictive MPAA rating.[7] A merkin is also used if the actor has less pubic hair than required for the role, as in the case of Kate Winslet in the film The Reader.[8] Or, the nude dancing extras in 2008's The Bank Job.

[edit] Other usage

The term can be used in an obscure sense to refer to the vulva.[9]

[edit] In popular culture

"Merkin" is seen frequently in literature, film, music, and art as an inside joke. For example, in Stanley Kubrick's black comedy Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, the character of the President of the United States is named Merkin Muffley. The obscurity of the merkin is sometimes used as part of a joke. In one example from the TV series Family Guy, a man asks Joe if he knows what a merkin is. When Joe replies in the negative, the man responds, "Pubic wig, want one?" On an episode of 30 Rock, Jenna Maroney arranges to cut her hair off for charity live on the Today Show. When asked if she was doing it for Locks of Love, Jenna says her hair is too chemically processed for LoL and that she would be donating her hair to a "wonderful charity" called "Merkins of Hope". The vessel's name, boarded by the title characters of Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle was the Merkin. Disguised as exotic dancers, for a recon mission, the sultry Pink Panther theme played during their striptease. Although the word isn't spoken aloud, the late John Candy- as title character in Who's Harry Crumb?-also made a merkin gag. His fake beard falls off, landing between the legs of an unsuspecting exfoliation customer. He then removes it from her mud pack, just in time to finish his (undercover) conversation and leave the salon he's investigating. For Waiting, actress Alanna Ubach wore one, as her "Naomi the Waitress" character did a sudden psych-out/gross-out. It was a game played throughout the movie where employees at Shenanigans' would trick each other to "gaze" at their nether regions. Thus the one who looked loses; and is required to play the same practical joke on another victim(s) working in the restaurant.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary
  2. ^ American Heriage Dictionary of the English Language (fourth editon). Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary Oxford University Press, 1997
  4. ^ Oxford Companion to the Body Oxford University Press, 2002
  5. ^ Francis, Gareth (2003-06-26). "A short and curly history of the merkin". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,985079,00.html. 
  6. ^ Harker, Joseph (1994). Notes & Queries, vol. 5.. London: Fourth Estate. pp. 96–7. ISBN 1-85702-266-1. 
  7. ^ David Duchovny, DVD commentary for Stephen Soderberg's 'Full Frontal'
  8. ^ "Kate Winslet reveals: They made me a pubic wig!". 2009-06-04. http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/b/new-idea/25442/kate-winslet-reveals-they-made-me-a-pubic-wig. Retrieved on 2009-06-13. 
  9. ^ A New English Dictionary of Historical Principles (1933) - Merkin

[edit] External links

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