What is a merkin? Betcha don’t know, despite your freakish SAT score. I didn’t know until a few months ago and even now I’m skeptical as to t
he accuracy of my knowledge. In short:a merkin a pubic prosthetic. It’s a toupee for your pubes. Why would someone need a wig for their pubes?Harsh Chicago winters, perhaps?
First is the aesthetic purpose. In the past syphilis ran rampant throughout the Western world, much as it does on many college campuses today (check out my Nietzsche article if you don’t believe me). One of the supposed cures for syphilis was believed to be shaving off all of your pubes. For posterity’s sake the merkin was created to appease the self-conscious nature of the 17th century common day, syphilitic whore. Those marketing guys think of everything!
The other main use of the merkin was for theater and film. Period pieces have been par
ticularly popular lately (There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men) and if there’s ever a scene that shows a character’s crotch a merkin can be used for full authenticity. For example a Hugh Hefner biopic is in the works for Hollywood. Much of Hef’s life and the development of Playboy took place in the 60’s and 70’s. I wasn’t alive for that time period but I don’t think it was routine for women to rim the hedges back then. Ergo, the merkin will help achieve a realness that would otherwise not be possible without extensive overgrowth. In a way it kind of cheating though. Like if De Niro had worn a fat suit in Raging Bull instead of gaining all that weight. And since we’re talking about the genuine article and striving for realness, I wonder what these merkins are made out of in the first place?
The other main use of the merkin was for theater and film. Period pieces have been par
ticularly popular lately (There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men) and if there’s ever a scene that shows a character’s crotch a merkin can be used for full authenticity. For example a Hugh Hefner biopic is in the works for Hollywood. Much of Hef’s life and the development of Playboy took place in the 60’s and 70’s. I wasn’t alive for that time period but I don’t think it was routine for women to rim the hedges back then. Ergo, the merkin will help achieve a realness that would otherwise not be possible without extensive overgrowth. In a way it kind of cheating though. Like if De Niro had worn a fat suit in Raging Bull instead of gaining all that weight. And since we’re talking about the genuine article and striving for realness, I wonder what these merkins are made out of in the first place?
No comments:
Post a Comment