Before Brazilian waxes became as casual a conversation topic as the weather, that most personal of pelts has been alternately celebrated and viewed as taboo throughout human history. Here, we look back at a few pivotal moments in pubes.

The removal of pubic hair dates back thousands of years in the Middle East and India. For Muslims, shaving the pubic hair is one of the sunan al-fitra prescribed by Muhammad, which are hygenic or cosmetic practices that include cutting the nails and plucking the armpit hair. Yep, going bare down there is a religious requirement.

The fashion continued in European Renaissance art, and likely inspired some women to remove their hair using homemade depilatory concoctions. A 1532 book of beauty "secrets" included a recipe for one:

How to Remove or Lose Hair from Anywhere on the Body

Boil together a solution of one pint of arsenic and eighth of a pint of quicklime. Go to a baths or a hot room and smear medicine over the area to be depilated. When the skin feels hot, wash quickly with hot water so the flesh doesn’t come off. [source]
 

Not one of the figures depicted in the Sistine Chapel has a bush.

When Francisco de Goya dared to paint the first Western representation of pubic hair in his 1797 La maja desnuda, he was called before the Spanish Inquisition to explain himself.

Randy 18th century Britons apparently exchanged locks as tokens of affection. The museum of St. Andrews University in Scotland (Prince William's alma mater) has in its collection a snuff box containing tufts of pubic hair, along with a note that explains the hairs were shorn from "the Mons Veneris of a Royal Courtesan of King George IV." 

The merkin, or pubic wig, dates back to the 1450s, when women would shave their pubic hair to get rid of lice. Prostitutes wore merkins to cover signs of disease such as warts and syphillis, or as a fashion statement (some gentlemen do prefer blondes, you know). Now they are worn by actors in period pieces where bushier diasplays would have been on trend. 

Today, actors wear va-jay-jay toupees to prevent inadvertently going "full frontal," so a film can receive a less restrictive MPAA rating. Rooney Mara wore a one in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, since her character is a born redhead in the book.

When Penthouse launched in the US in 1969, it became the first American magazine to show pubic hair. Playboy followed suit about six months later, kicking off a sort of nude mag arms race dubbed the "Pubic Wars."

In 1987, Jocely, Jonice, Janea, Joyce, Juracy, Jussara and Judeseia, collectively known as the J Sisters, opened their New York salon. On the menu? The Brazilian Bikini Wax, which the siblings brought with them from their native country. “In Brazil, waxing is part of our culture because bikinis are so small,” their website explains.

In 2000, an episode of Sex And The City brought going bare into the mainstream. Brazilian waxes became as trendy as cupcakes and Cosmos.

Speaking of Brazilians: A preference for glabrousness (hairlessness) is called acomoclitism. 

Could pubes be hazardous to your health? In a 2002 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David visits a doctor when a pubic hair becomes stuck in his throat for days after pleasuring his wife, Cheryl.

An American wax removes hair that would peek out beyond the bikini line. A French or Playboy wax removes all but a vertical “landing strip” of hair in the front. While skinny landing strips or shapes like hearts and triangles may make an appearance, a Brazilian wax usually takes off everything, including the backside. This is also called a Sphinx.

Between hot wax, razorblades and lasers, there's a lot that can go wrong when it comes to hair removal. A recent study found that genital-area injuries have increased fivefold over the past 10 years due to grooming-related injuries.  

In the clothes-free movement, nudists who shave their pubic hair are called "smoothies". 

A 2010 Indiana University study found that about half of American women under 30 are “smoothies” either sometimes or all the time. More, or fewer than you expected?