為什麼我們會長陰毛？：英語精讀講義

Pubic hair,

陰毛，

the hair that grows around the genital area of an adolescent or adult human

生長在青春期或成年人類生殖器周圍的毛髮，

and sometimes stretches beyond,

有時還會延伸到更廣的區域，

seems not to be in vogue these days. 片語搭配

如今似乎不再流行。

We start to see it during what we call the puberty phase 片語搭配

我們開始在被稱為青春期的階段看到它的出現，

of growing up,

也就是在成長過程中，

when androgens in males and estrogens in females rise.

男性體內的雄激素和女性體內的雌激素水平升高時。

Some girls will start to have early stages of pubic hair at around 8 years old,

有些女孩會在8歲左右開始出現早期的陰毛，

and by the time they are 13, 文法

到她們13歲時，

most will have much thicker hair.

大多數人的毛髮會變得更加濃密。

Boys will develop pubic hair at the earliest at age 9,

男孩最早在9歲就會長出陰毛，

but puberty more commonly starts for them at the age of 12.

但對他們來說，青春期通常在12歲左右開始。

Some youngsters develop fast,

有些年輕人發育很快，

which is known as precocious puberty, 用詞

這被稱為性早熟，

and others are late to the starting gates. 慣用語

而其他人則起步較晚。

Many adults these days shave,

如今許多成年人會剃掉、

crop,

修剪、

style,

造型，

and wax their bush, 用詞

以及給他們的私處脫毛，

which might not always be the best decision.

這可能並不總是最好的決定。

Today,

今天，

we'll find out why.

我們來看看為什麼。

In this episode of the Infographic Show,

在本期的Infographic Show中，

why do we have pubic hair?

為什麼我們長陰毛？

Don't forget to subscribe and click the bell button

別忘了訂閱並點擊小鈴鐺，

so that you can be part of our notification squad.

這樣你就能成為我們通知小隊的一員。

The reason we start growing pubic hair is like we said,

正如我們所說，我們開始長陰毛的原因

down to hormones.

歸結於荷爾蒙。

Girls become young women and boys become young men,

女孩變成年輕女人，男孩變成年輕男人，

racing towards a stage in life in which together they can reproduce.

奔向生命中他們可以共同繁衍後代的階段。

While that doesn't happen too often when they reach puberty,

雖然當他們到達青春期時這並不常發生，

it can.

但它是有可能的。

The age of consent usually is well after puberty in most countries, 文化背景

在大多數國家，法定同意年齡通常遠在青春期之後，

with the world's lowest and highest being between 11 and 21,

根據Age of Consent組織的說法，

according to the organization Age of Consent.

世界上最低和最高的同意年齡在11到21歲之間。

Shockingly,

令人震驚的是，

the youngest mother ever on record was only 5 and a half years old,

有記錄以來最年輕的母親只有5歲半，

with doctors stating that the Peruvian girl had entered very precocious puberty.

醫生指出這位秘魯女孩進入了非常早的性早熟階段。

The Huffington Post tells us the youngest father on record was an 11-year-old from New Zealand

《赫芬頓郵報》（The Huffington Post）告訴我們，有記錄以來最年輕的父親是一個來自紐西蘭的11歲男孩，

who impregnated his school friend's 36-year-old mother.

他讓他學校朋友的36歲母親懷了孕。

He was also a very fast developer,

他也是個發育非常快的人，

as most boys can't reproduce at that age.

因為大多數男孩在那個年齡無法生育。

It's also likely the young man had hair around his genitals when he slept with that woman.

這也可能說明，當這位年輕人和那個女人睡覺時，他的生殖器周圍已經有了毛髮。

The question

今天的問題

today is why?

是為什麼？

And not just why it actually grows,

不僅是為什麼它實際上會生長，

but what is the reason for having it?

而且擁有它的原因是什麼？

This question was posed to Men's Health Magazine

這個問題被提給了《男性健康》（Men's Health Magazine）雜誌，

and the answer that came from the expert was,

而專家給出的答案是，

"We don't really know."

「我們真的不知道。」

The respondent,

這位受訪者，

a PhD sex researcher,

一位擁有博士學位的性研究員，

did offer some hypotheses. 講解

確實提供了一些假設。

One of these is that the pubic hair might keep our reproductive organs warm.

其中之一是，陰毛可能有助於保持我們生殖器官的溫暖。

Another was that the thicket of hair might trap pheromones, 講解

另一個假設是，濃密的毛髮可能會留住費洛蒙，

sexual signals we send to each other.

即我們向彼此發送的性信號。

And another was that pubic hair is simply a marker that lets us know we are able to reproduce.

還有一個假設是，陰毛僅僅是一個讓我們知道自己能夠生育的標記。

In another article,

在另一篇文章中，

The Guardian went a bit further, 表達脈絡

《衛報》（The Guardian）則更進一步，

stating that our pubic hair has a job to do 慣用語

聲稱我們的陰毛是有作用的，

and we should stop getting rid of it for the sake of style. 講解

我們應該停止為了追求時尚而除掉它。

The article starts with evidence of the pubic hair grooming industry booming,

文章開篇列舉了陰毛修飾行業蓬勃發展的證據，

stating that the clean and bare look is very much in vogue these days.

指出如今乾淨無毛的外觀非常流行。

Whether you take a razor to your pubes 片語搭配

無論你是用刮鬍刀刮陰毛，

or opt for waxing, 片語搭配

還是選擇蜜蠟、

depilatories,

脫毛膏，

or electrolysis,

或電解脫毛，

some doctors say you are going to cause unnecessary irritation to the cleared site.

一些醫生表示，你將會給被清理過的部位造成不必要的刺激。

This could cause bacterial pathogens to appear

這可能會導致細菌病原體出現，

or boils and abscesses,

或者生出癤子和膿腫，

and there's a greater chance of herpes infection on a smooth playing field, 慣用語

並且在一個光滑的表面上，感染皰疹的機率更大。

says the article.

文章這樣說道。

Our bed of hair stops friction of the skin,

我們這層陰毛可以防止皮膚摩擦，

and without it we are more likely to get infections in the pubic area.

如果沒有它，我們更容易在陰部感染。

So, perhaps if we believe that,

所以，也許如果我們相信這點，

then one reason we have pubic hair is so it doesn't happen.

那麼我們有陰毛的一個原因就是為了不讓這種情況發生。

In fact,

事實上，

if you look at all the possible reasons out there why we have pubic hair,

如果你看看我們有陰毛的所有可能原因，

most experts believe in a handful of hypotheses. 片語搭配

大多數專家都相信幾個少數的假設。

These are trapping pheromones,

這些是留住費洛蒙、

unwanted friction,

減少不必要的摩擦、

keeping us warm,

保暖、

protecting us from bacteria and disease,

保護我們免受細菌和疾病侵害，

and the indication that we have matured.

以及表明我們已經成熟的標誌。

That seems like a good enough set of reasons.

這似乎是足夠好的一組理由了。

And if you think you look better without pubic hair,

如果你認為沒有陰毛看起來更好，

you might bear in mind that by not trapping your magical pheromones, 片語搭配

你可能會記住，透過不留住你神奇的費洛蒙，

you are actually making yourself less attractive.

你實際上是在讓自己變得不那麼有吸引力。

If you worry about pubic lice encroaching into your nether regions, 用詞

如果你擔心陰蝨侵入你的下半身，

you may heed some doctors that say,

你可能會聽取一些醫生的建議，他們說，

"While incidents of crabs have gone down, 講解

「雖然陰蝨的發生率下降了，

chlamydia and gonorrhea infections are up."

但披衣菌和淋病的感染率卻上升了。」

Indeed,

事實上，

the U.S. National Library of Medicine reports that

美國國家醫學圖書館（U.S. National Library of Medicine）報告稱，

a study found pubic hair removers have a higher rate of sexually transmitted infections.

一項研究發現，去除陰毛的人患性傳播感染的比例更高。

One other reason we found that may be a reason for keeping your bush growing

我們發現另一個可能是保留你私處毛髮的原因

is that it absorbs sweat,

是它能吸收汗水，

rather than a wet patch appearing on your shorts while strutting around the gym. 文法

而不是讓你在健身房走來走去時短褲上出現一片濕跡。

In general,

一般來說，

most of the people in the know regarding our well-being and health 慣用語

大多數了解我們福祉和健康的專家

tell us it's time to put the razor down and let it all hang out. 慣用語

告訴我們是時候放下刮鬍刀，讓毛髮自然生長了。

By the way,

順便說一句，

hair in the anus area is not considered pubic hair.

肛門區域的毛髮不被認為是陰毛。

But if you want to know,

但如果你想知道的話，

most experts believe that it is there to stop your butt cheeks from chafing, 文法

大多數專家認為，它的存在是為了防止兩側臀部互相摩擦，

keep us warm,

保暖，

and also again,

而且再次強調，

it traps those wonderful pheromones.

它保留了那些奇妙的費洛蒙。

Women's Health magazines also provide all kinds of tips on getting rid of this hair

《女性健康》（Women's Health）等雜誌也提供各種去除這種毛髮的技巧，

that is essentially pubic hair growing around the back.

也就是本質上長在臀部周圍的陰毛。

The same methods are used for removal,

去除它們使用的是相同的方法，

but might be somewhat more difficult,

但對一些人來說可能更困難、

dangerous,

危險，

or embarrassing for some.

或尷尬。

With all this in mind, 表達脈絡

考慮到所有這些，

why are so many people nowadays opting to have fashionable pubes or going completely bald?

為什麼現在有這麼多人選擇弄些時髦的陰毛造型或者完全剃光？

Women seem to be under more pressure than men, 片語搭配

女性似乎承受著比男性更大的壓力，

and they have a much harder time keeping things trimmed. 文法

她們在保持修剪方面也困難得多。

It has for a long time been seen by many to be an ungainly sight to have hair in plain sight 片語搭配

很長一段時間以來，許多人一直認為

outside of what we call the bikini line. 用詞

在我們所謂的比基尼線之外清晰可見毛髮是一種難看的景象。

Elle Magazine talked about this pressure,

《Elle Magazine》談到了這種壓力，

stating in 2016 that 83% of women aged 16 to 24 in a survey

並在2016年指出，在一項調查中，83%的16至24歲女性

said there was too much weight on their shoulders regarding pubic hair grooming and removal. 慣用語

表示在陰毛修飾和去除方面，她們肩負了太多的壓力。

Another survey taken in the UK said half of all the women they talked to under the age of 35

在英國進行的另一項調查顯示，接受調查的35歲以下女性中有一半

got rid of their pubic hair completely.

完全去除了陰毛。

In the USA,

在美國，

one study in 2016 found that 80% of women groomed their pubic hair.

2016年的一項研究發現，80%的女性會修飾陰毛。

Elle itself interviewed its own staff and found

《Elle》雜誌採訪了自家員工並發現

that 95% of its staff trimmed or shaved everything off.

95%的員工修剪或剃光了所有東西。

It seems that men are less likely to shave down there or remove everything.

似乎男性不太可能刮掉下體毛髮或全部去除。

And on some forums,

在某些論壇上，

men said they did it only to make their appendage look bigger.

男性說他們這樣做只是為了讓他們的「附屬物」看起來更大。

That said, 表達脈絡

儘管如此，

when a study was taken which asked women about the pubic hair of the men they slept with,

當一項研究詢問女性關於與她們上床的男性的陰毛時，

it was revealed that 90% of the men had done some amount of manscaping in the pubic region. 講解

結果顯示，90%的男性在陰部做過某種程度的毛髮修剪。

Men, of course,

當然，男人

can be hairy just about everywhere,

幾乎可以在任何地方都長滿毛髮，

and if they are,

如果他們確實如此，

it seems that some women like that and others don't,

根據媒體向女性詢問是否喜歡多毛男性的問題顯示，

according to media that asked women the question of if they liked a hairy guy.

似乎有些女性喜歡這樣，而另一些則不喜歡。

One Reddit post asked women what they preferred regarding men's pubic hair,

Reddit上的一篇貼文詢問女性對男性陰毛的偏好，

and just about all the respondents said that a trim was fine,

幾乎所有的受訪者都說修剪一下是可以的，

but men should not go for a full shave.

但男性不應該完全剃光。

They gave a variety of reasons,

她們給出了各種原因，

but many women said it looks too childlike,

但許多女性說這看起來太像小孩子了，

and some said it doesn't feel good on different parts of the body when it turns into stubble.

還有些人說，當它變成鬍渣時，在身體的不同部位感覺不舒服。

As for the question of does shaved or trimmed hair grow back thicker, 講解

至於剃掉或修剪後的毛髮是否會重新長得更粗的問題，

well,

好吧，

that's just another myth that has made the rounds of mankind. 慣用語

這只是在人類中流傳的另一個迷思。

No, it doesn't.

不，它不會。

So, there you go. 語氣意圖

所以，就是這樣。

All you need to know about shaving your pubic hair.

所有你需要知道關於刮陰毛的事情。

The conclusion,

結論

it seems,

似乎是，

is don't do it if you want optimum health.

如果你想達到最佳健康狀態，就不要刮。

But in terms of what people want, 片語搭配

但就人們的需求而言，

it also seems a little trim now and again will keep you popular.

似乎偶爾修剪一下也會讓你受歡迎。

In the aesthetic visual sense anyway,

無論如何，在視覺審美意義上，

not in terms of how we sexually sense each other.

不是在我們如何透過性來感知彼此的意義上。

Thanks for watching and please let us know in the comments what your thoughts are on this subject.

感謝觀看，請在評論區告訴我們你對這個主題的想法。

To shave or not to shave, 文化背景

刮還是不刮，

that is the question.

這是一個問題。

Also,

另外，

be sure to check out our other video

一定要去看看我們的另一個影片，

called How much do you poop in a lifetime?

名為《你一生中會排出多少糞便？》

Thanks for watching,

感謝觀看，

and as always,

像往常一樣，

don't forget to like,

不要忘記按讚、

share,

分享

and subscribe.

和訂閱。

See you next time.

下次見。