Merkin: Difference between revisions
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{{About|pubic wig}} |
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[[Image:Merkinlight.jpg|thumb|250px|A merkin used at [[Burning Man]]]] |
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A '''merkin''' (first use 1617)<ref>''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''</ref> is a [[pubic hair|pubic]] wig. Merkins were originally worn by prostitutes after shaving their [[Sex organ|genitalia]], and are nowadays used as decorative items or in film making. |
A '''merkin''' (first use 1617)<ref>''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''</ref> is a [[pubic hair|pubic]] wig. Merkins were originally worn by prostitutes after shaving their [[Sex organ|genitalia]], and are nowadays used as decorative items or in film making. |
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Revision as of 20:28, 8 April 2011
A merkin (first use 1617)[1] is a pubic wig. Merkins were originally worn by prostitutes after shaving their genitalia, and are nowadays used as decorative items or in film making.
Contemporary use
In Hollywood film-making, merkins are 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 a merkin was not 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.[2] A merkin may also be used if the actor has less pubic hair than required, such as the nude dancing extras in The Bank Job and Amy Landecker in A Serious Man for a nude sunbathing scene, as the actress's bikini wax was not common for the period (1967) when the film is set.[3]
At the São Paulo Fashion Week in 2010, design firm Neon dressed a nude model in transparent plastic. According to the designer, the model wore a pubic wig to make her appear more natural.[4]
The term merkin 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.[5]
History
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.[6]
"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.[7] It has also been suggested that 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.[8]
Merkins were also used extensively by striptease artists. Titanic explorer Ralph White told an excellent merkin tale about his first job in Hollywood as Gypsy Rose Lee's assistant. She actually sent the young man on an errand to buy a merkin, when he had no idea of what it was. He had to ask the burlesque star what it was, whereby she proceeded to show him.
Origin of term
According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language the term stems from a corruption of the obsolete word malkin, meaning a lower-class woman or mop, which is derived from a diminutive of the personal name Meri (Mall, Moll and Malkin probably come from 'Mary').[9][10] The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary concurs in this derivation.[5]
Merkins in popular culture
The term merkin is used 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 President of the United States is named Merkin Muffley (Muff being slang for female pubic hair or the vulva). There is also an example in the 1969 film Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?
In comedy show 30 Rock, Jenna Maroney considers donating her hair to a (fictional) charity called 'Merkins of Hope' after Locks of Love rejects her hair for being too covered with chemicals for sick people to wear.
The Sopranos second season's sixteenth episode, Funhouse, Tony Soprano (when you click on the Funhouse link - it states that it is the 26th episode of the entire show and the 13th and final episode of the 2nd season) jokingly refers to a fur coat he's about to give to his wife Carmela as a men's suit that's grown a merkin.
"Keep workin' the merkin" is a common term in southeast Australia, originating on the Central Coast of New South Wales. The origin of this term is unknown.
Other usage of the term
The term can be used in an obscure sense to refer to the vulva.[11] In Europe, "merkin" has also been in common usage as a jocular term for an American since the 1960s (as it sounds like the half-swallowed pronunciation of "American" by some Americans, particularly President Lyndon B. Johnson). The OED reports that the term has become common internet slang for Americans or American English.[12]
More recently the removable sheepskin headband found on the inside of safety hardhats are referred to as merkins by many in the mining industry of Western Australia.[citation needed]
The popular saltwater fly fishing fly, used primarily in targeting bonefish and permit, Del Brown's Merkin[13] is also named after the artificial hair piece. The Merkin fly pattern, represents a crab, hence the reference to the merkin's historical use for pubic lice (referred to also as crabs).[14]
References
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary
- ^ Duchovny, David DVD commentary for Stephen Soderberg's 'Full Frontal'
- ^ Yuan, Jada (2009-09-28). "A Serious Man's Amy Landecker: 'The Correct Term Is Merkin'". New York (magazine). Retrieved 2010-04-28.
- ^ Mehr Transparenz auf dem Laufsteg, Spiegel
- ^ a b New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary Oxford University Press, 1997
- ^ Oxford Companion to the Body Oxford University Press, 2002
- ^ Francis, Gareth (2003-06-26). "A short and curly history of the merkin". The Guardian.
- ^ Harker, Joseph (1994). Notes & Queries, vol. 5. London: Fourth Estate. pp. 96–7. ISBN 1-85702-266-1.
- ^ Withycombe, E. G. (1950) The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names; 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press; pp. 200-202 (Malkyn is found in the Coventry Mystery Plays)
- ^ Matilda according to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (fourth edition). Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- ^ Murray, J. A. H., et al. (eds.) A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles: [1st] Supplement (1933) - Merkin
- ^ See this Random House Word of the Day entry, this [alt.usage.english FAQ http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxmerkin.html Alternative Usage in English: Merkin] and this Straight Dope article
- ^ Brown, D. (2008) Fly Fishing For Bonefish; pp. 246,340
- ^ The Merkin Crab by Dr. Ed Southwick
External links
