Sex is Good Podcast

Sex and the City Killed Pubic Lice. Or Did It?

Shameless Care Episode 86

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0:00 | 29:14

Pubic lice are a sexually transmitted infection that, strangely enough, predates humans. Millions of years ago, our ancestors were covered in far more body hair, giving lice plenty of territory to live on. But as humans evolved and lost most of that hair, pubic lice got pushed into one of the last dense patches remaining: the pubic region.

Now, some researchers think humans may be shrinking their habitat even further.

Since the rise of Brazilian waxing and aggressive grooming trends, especially after shows like Sex and the City helped popularize them, rates of pubic lice appear to have declined dramatically in some parts of the world. There is even speculation that if grooming trends continue long enough, pubic lice could someday become genuinely rare or potentially disappear altogether.

Which is a sentence I never thought I’d say into a microphone.