A merkin is a pubic wig. [Ed: There’s no other way to say it.]

The Oxford Companion to the Body dates the origin of the merkin back to the 1450s. According to the publication, women would shave their pubic hair for personal hygiene reasons and to combat pubic lice. They would then restore said pubic hair by donning a merkin. Also, sex workers would wear a merkin to cover up signs of disease, such as syphilis or gonorrhea. Eek!

But these may not have been the earliest uses. Doing our research we found some unsubstantiated references to the Ancient Egyptians wearing pubic wigs way back when to pretend that they were rich enough to maintain their pubic hair. The same deemed-unreliable source, film and theatre wig stylist Randy Sayer, maintains that: “Cleopatra was known for her beautiful, long, luxurious pubic hair, which she proudly wore brushed and oiled, and she was known to admire — and display — her pubic hair in the shiny marble floors and the light, diaphanous gowns of the time.” Quite the image.

Merkins are now used as decorative items or as erotic devices by both men and women. They are also quite often used in filmmaking … sometimes worn by actresses to avoid inadvertent exposure of the genitalia during nude or semi-nude scenes.

Also, in the Italian film La Pelle (English: The Skin), which takes place during the Allied occupation of Naples after World War II, blonde merkins are made for the local prostitutes so that they can pass for blondes for the US soldiers.

And, in the director's audio commentary of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, director David Fincher discussed how a merkin was used for actress Rooney Mara, after she suggested to him that the character she portrayed in the film was a natural redhead in the book and dyed her hair black. Consequently, the merkin she wore was made in a colour described by the actor herself in an amusing 2013 interview with Conan O’Brien as “strawberry blonde”. She also referred to it as a “fur bikini” that she ended up keeping. Watch that interview HERE.

Merkins have also popped up here and there on fashion catwalks, in window displays and in a multitude of versions in a 2011 music video for an Amanda Palmer song called “Map of Tasmania”, an old school Australian nickname for a woman’s pubic hair.

The world is indeed full of interesting.

Story Idea: Remo Giuffré
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References

wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkin
theexploresspodcast.com/episodes/2019/10/10/thehairdowntherehttps://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/merkin-pubic-wig-hollywood-rooney-mara-patricia-arquette-evan-rachel-wood-kate-winslet-heidi-klum
colleen.nz/archive/short-and-curlys
etsy.com/au/listing/1097059866/make-a-merkin-great-again-hat

Images

1. Merkin salesman. What a photograph!
2. Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra in the film of the same name, 1963
3. Merkin with flashlight. Credit: Dr LaRue - playazon.com
4. American Apparel caused a stir when it showcased a window display with mannequins sporting full bush merkins, 2014
5. Video: Rooney Mara "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" | CONAN on TBS
6. Vagina Wigs on the Runway at New York Fashion Week. Credit: popsugar.com.
7. Video: Amanda Palmer, "Map of Tasmania", Mushroom, 2011
8. Sprents map of Tasmania, 1859
9. Cap: Make a Merkin Great Again. Credit: Addictive Designs Co