Kim Kardashian's back at it: the woman who brought us nipple bras and chin straps has coined another invention that seems (at least partially) designed to instigate internet ire.
This time, the SKIMS invention is a thong that includes artificial pubic hair. Basically, a merkin, or a pubic hair wig, that is in-built so that it peeps out of your underwear.
The 'Ultimate Bush Faux Hair Panty' was debuted yesterday evening, via a retro social media campaign that clearly pays homage to the 1970s (as retro porn aficionados will know, the golden age of the bush).
In line with the many people who have flooded the SKIMS comments, you may well be asking yourself both who and what is this product for?
In terms of the who... well, clearly there's clearly a bigger market for the thong than one might initially think, given that the SKIMS website now lists the product as sold out in every colour and size (though you can join a waitlist and be notified when new stock drops).
When it comes to the why...that's a bit more opaque. The campaign messaging seems to position the underwear as being about choice, allowing you to customise your pubic hair colour depending on your mood that day. As one of the models featured in the campaign says: "Your carpet can be whatever colour you want - match, don't match, switch it up mid-day."
Everyone's clicking on...
It's much more likely, however, that the product is simply piggybacking of the wave of pro-bush sentiment which erupted this summer. Coined by TikToker Sujindah in January of this year, the slogan "full bush in a bikini" became a rallying cry for Gen Z women to embrace their pubic hair, and skip the waxing, lasering, and shaving which many women undertake to get their bodies 'ready' for a thong, bikini, or swimsuit.
While the original "full bush in a bikini" slogan was all about embracing body hair, it's hard not to feel sceptical about fashion jumping on the back of the movement. After all, when legitimate — albeit light-hearted — attempts to embrace body positivity are commodified by brands, it reduces the move to a simple stylistic, rather than political, choice.
This just perpetuates a trend cycle that is constantly dictating to women and femmes how they 'should' look and profiting off insecurity: encouraging women to pay to wax off their pubic hair when fashion deems body hair unsavoury, and then enticing them to buy a special thong that gives the appearance of a full bush when culture swings the other way.
Looked at this way, the bush thong isn't about body positivity or empowerment — instead, it's about continuing to subscribe to an ever-fluctuating merry-go-round of social mores which influence how women should look, even when it comes to the most intimate recesses of their bodies.
What if, instead of being bombarded with more product — be it rebooted merkins on the one hand, or high-tech epilator tools on the other — we were instead encouraged to forge our own relationships with our body hair, and our bodies more generally?
After all, however you wear your body hair is completely up to you, and no brand, trend, or Kardashian sister should decide for you.
Megan Wallace (they/them) is Cosmopolitan UK’s Former Sex and Relationships Editor covering sexual pleasure, sex toys, LGBTQIA+ identity, dating and romance. They have covered sexuality and relationships for over five years and are the founder of the PULP zine, which publishes essays on culture and sex. In their spare time, they can be found exploring the London kink scene and planning dates on Feeld.
