How exposed chest hair became the accessory of choice in the desert

This story is a part of Picture situation 8, “Abandoned,” a supercharged expertise of turning into and non secular renewal. Benefit from the journey! (Wink, wink.) See the total package deal right here.

The desert is an area of radical acceptance. It welcomes our desires in its untouched expanses. We go to the desert to reconnect with nature, to breathe one thing resembling clear air — and likewise possibly to do just a few issues we wouldn’t dream of doing again within the metropolis.

For many years, Angelenos have been in search of out the dusty majesty of Joshua Tree, Palm Springs and Loss of life Valley to get away from the labyrinthine maze of parking violations, social fake pas and the fixed bombardment of photographs of good our bodies doing good issues, largely due to the wonders of Photoshop. The desert represents our escape from all that. The desert says, “Come, unbutton your shirt. Reside a bit.”

In a single sense, uncovered chest hair — maybe the accent of alternative within the desert — is only a technique of survival. An open shirt is kind of obligatory in a spot the place the temperature frequently hits the 100s. However proudly displaying chest hair isn’t merely a sensible concern within the barren lands outdoors of city. The desert is so necessary to us as a result of it’s the place our guidelines might be bent ever so barely. That is the land of clothing-optional lodges, in any case (additionally a staple of desert tradition tailored for staying cool). The cheesy might be elevated to one thing simply shy of the holy.

The brilliant colours, midcentury architectural excesses and wry humorousness of locations like Palm Springs demand radical bodily candor. I’ll fortunately present my chest hair in sure conditions within the metropolis, however in Palm Springs, it’s like my responsibility. The wonderful, ever-present dry warmth of Palm Springs is a pure incubator for opening up our buttons. We’ve been doing it for many years.

There’s a complete subgenre of movie star images that’s simply Frank Sinatra {golfing} together with his shirt open in Palm Springs. The well-known Slim Aarons Palm Springs pool celebration pictures of a gaggle of upper-class white vacationers having a cocktail soiree would possibly function a number of males in ascots, however you realize that in just a few hours, these extraneous items of cloth are going within the trash and their chests might be free. Jonah Hill might be the ambassador of Los Angeles’ moony surf-and-sand spirit, and his chest is on show throughout his GQ Fashion cowl shoot.

This was a phenomenon of the liberated ’70s, to make certain. Fashions turned extra unconventional and, by proxy, extra sexualized. Chest hair turned a logo of virility, maturity and confidence. Burt Reynolds, the preeminent cinematic icon of that decade, made chest hair a required accent for males all around the globe.

By the point I used to be sufficiently old to have chest hair, the fad had died off. Uncovered chest hair had turn out to be the area of the gross outdated man. The query of whether or not to shave the stuff off or undergo the tedious and painful work of waxing vexed many and have become a joke unto itself. For a technology of males, the waxing scene in “The 40 Yr Previous Virgin” induces soaked-sheet nightmares. I can nonetheless hear the dull-eyed screams of Steve Carell once I shut my eyes. That scene stated that chest hair was an obstacle to romantic satisfaction but additionally was a ache within the ass to do away with.

I shaved as soon as, again in school. Then I scratched my higher physique like I’d been rolling round in a coffin stuffed with fleas. From there, I realized to only settle for that my chest would by no means conform to the fashions of the time. Having a physique is a burden. However lately, the pandemic has made me rethink standard knowledge. One thing about that second broke a variety of taboos for individuals in L.A. For those who can put on sweatpants to a distant employees assembly, possibly you may naked your chest just a bit bit. I rock the open chest at any time when I can: nights out, weddings, brunches. Possibly not bar mitzvahs or quinceañeras simply but. However the one place that actually calls for chest hair will at all times be the desert.

After all, the clear chest continues to be a prized commodity in Southern California. If it wasn’t, a complete subsector of the cosmetics trade would evaporate. However the scales are tipping again towards the hirsute. Poolside appears in Palm Springs can embody a bit extra hair than the sooner a long time of the twenty first century as a result of we’re wanting again greater than we glance ahead today. Nostalgia is stronger in instances of social anxiousness. Chest hair is one thing we equate with the previous, with bygone days of what it meant to be a sexual, fashionable being within the twentieth century. Wasn’t it nicer again then, we are saying to ourselves as the times casually fly by. Los Angeles doesn’t at all times do proper by its personal historical past. One solely wants to have a look at the unpermitted “restoration” of the legendary Pig ’n Whistle in Hollywood to see what occurs to our cultural legacy after we’re not paying consideration.

Palm Springs is the uncommon oasis in Southern California that retains its historic form and rejects any concepts of modernity previous 1990. The desert is dwelling to a dream that by no means totally materialized right here, a way of life that’s past most of our means however tantalizing to have a look at. At its greatest, the desert is reckless, wild and pure. When males open their shirts only a bit, we get to mainline a little bit of that spirit.

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