Talk:Body hair

Picture of a guys dick

Can we remove this? Pictoral diagrams are enough for the subject matter... Obvious hack if you were to ask me frankly. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.176.151.116 (talk) 04:59, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

Athletes

The main article states that (paraphrasing) athletes (including cyclists) remove body hair to reduce friction or to make it easier to get into athletic clothing. In the competitive cycling world it is commonly believed that there is not a significant friction advantage to shaving ones' legs/arms. There may be a small psychological advantage, but the amount of wind resistance at cycling speeds caused by body hair is not significant enough to make a measurable difference in ones competitiveness. HOWEVER, cyclists do have a very good reason for shaving; road rash. Competitive cycling often leads to accidents that involve skin abrasions. Many cyclists believe that the healing process will be less troublesome if the scab that forms doesn't capture matted body hair. It would be prudent for the article to briefly mention this reason for shaving, and to identify that the "friction" advantage to shaving is more significant for swimmers than for cyclists. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.85.114.38 (talk) 10:29, 14 December 2009 (UTC)

Racist

I've never seen a non-Caucasian person with body hair like that depicted in these diagrams. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.49.251.170 (talk) 00:55, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Do any "non-Caucasians" grow hair outside of the specified regions? Maybe it needs to be specified, but I'm assuming the graph is intended to depict the 'common maximum' for lack of being able to think up a more statistically-informed term. I also wouldn't label all instances of Eurocentrism as racism. 70.171.231.31 (talk) 09:13, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

I think it's just oversimplified. It's also certainly not the "common maximum" for those of European descent. There are many men with a diverse-type hair growth pattern that is more than on the given example. It's "normal" for Europeans to have a range of different hair growth patterns. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.246.214.123 (talk) 22:37, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Age?

I am looking for information about age and body hair, which is roughly stated in the development image. Is there any page on wikipedia which explains that most males get more body hair (chest, back,...) in their twenties? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.195.240.64 (talk) 14:47, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

Removal of Dubious section

Hi I've removed the following paragraph from the article. Firstly 'fire' more related to scalp hair than androgenic hair, secondly I do not believe the time scale for fire use is recent enough to encourage hair growth through natural selection. Add it back in if you have a source! Isaac (talk) 04:46, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

Hair is known by survival experts as a useful tool to start fires, people who took advantage of this may have encouraged the prominence of body hair growth in addition to increased scalp hair density in their descendants.

Text overlapping

I can't figure out how to correct this problem next to the 'feet' subsection Here an example of what I mean —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.137.99.167 (talk) 08:56, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

Must be your browser. I'm seeing it fine. I see "the feet and toes" underneath the edit button. Maybe if you change your resolution or something you might see it better. Munci (talk) 19:43, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

The usefulness and evolutionary purpose of body hair

There is a widespread meme that general body hair has no evolutionary purpose and I hadn't realised how pervasive it is, even in reference type sources. I was surprised when I looked up body hair in Wikipedia that there is no mention of it's usefulness. I'm no scientist or academic but I know that body hair has at least one serious purpose that should be obvious and can be demonstrated easily... as an example:

Just a few days ago a paralysis tick was walking up my leg (I live in NE of the state of NSW in Australia and these toxic creatures are quite common and can make domestic animals - and people - very sick and even kill them if they attach and aren't removed); I felt that tick and removed it before it had attached. Where there is no body hair I can't feel a sensation of something as small as a tick or small insect, but as it brushed against the hairs on my leg it was easy to feel. I can't believe this would not be considered an evolutionary advantage!

Body hair is an extension of our sense of touch. I suggest it uses the physics of leverage to cause even a very small force to be detectable within the hair follicle. Small air movements can be felt, insects can be felt that otherwise can't. Anyone who wants to check the touch sensitivity of body hair can do so - just get a single fine hair from a comb or brush, touch areas of skin that have no hair with it - you'll be very unlikely to be able to feel it. Brush that hair against body hair and you can feel it easily. I note that (using my own admittedly abundant leg, arm and body hair as an example) when that hair stands on end it can extend as much as 50mm and more beyond the skin. This happens during moments of fear. I suggest that this has a purpose and that is to maximise sensitivity to touch and to air movement and could conceivably give an evolutionary edge over the completely bald.

Body hair amplifies touch sensitivity enormously. How is it possible that a conclusion so completely wrong (and can so easily be shown to be wrong) as body hair having no use or purpose be so widely perpetuated? Ken Fabos (talk) 00:22, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

I have added a new section 'Function' with references.Ken Fabos (talk) 23:53, 21 October 2010 (UTC)

axillary hair

Shouldn't armpit hair be included in this section? I know it has it's own article but so do the other types. Chaotic Doire (talk) 22:19, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

I noticed that too, axillary hair is also totally missing in the graphic (Image:Androgenic_hair.svg) that is part of the article's introduction. --93.223.21.191 (talk) 23:20, 8 January 2011 (UTC)

Yes, this article urgently needs a correction. Axillary hair is definitely missing.
178.190.158.205 (talk) 12:45, 20 June 2011 (UTC)

Eyebrow Hair

A question from ignorance: Is male eyebrow hair and ear hair that starts growing thick and long in middle age (like Einstein's) androgenic? Or is it another kind? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.75.76.27 (talk) 13:32, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

File:Bejart 1984.jpg Nominated for Deletion

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Section titled: 'evolution of less body hair'

P.E. Wheeler of the Department of Biology at Liverpool Polytechnic said quadrupedal Savannah mammals of similar volume to humans have body hair to keep warm while only larger quadrupedal Savannah mammals lack body hair, because their body volume itself is enough to keep them warm.[10] Therefore, Wheeler said humans who should have body hair based on predictions of body volume alone for Savannah mammals evolved no body hair after evolving bipedalism which he said reduced the amount of body area exposed to the sun by 40%, reducing the solar warming effect on the human body.

This should be removed. That humans lack the body hair to keep warm possessed by quadrupedal Savannah animals of similar volume cannot be explained nor even supported by bipedalism....reducing the solar warming effect on the human body. Reducing a warming effect cannot lessen a need to keep warm. Reducing a warming effect would increase the need to keep warm.

70.171.3.221 (talk) 07:16, 25 April 2012 (UTC) BGriffin

Another bit ripe for removal:

Evolution of less body hair

Hair is a very good thermal conductor

Hair is comprised mainly of keratin and as such is more accurately described as a decent thermal insulator. Hair is certainly not a very good thermal conductor. Which is one reason you never see summer clothes made from camel hair or wool.

70.171.3.221 (talk) 08:37, 25 April 2012 (UTC) BGriffin