Merkins are very polarizing. It's not a sentence I ever thought I'd type, but here we are. Some people love them - they allow us a little more full-frontal nudity with a lesser theater rating. Some people hate them - because they conceal some very important bits of that aforementioned full-frontal nudity. Regardless of your personal stance (which you are free to drop in the comments below), merkins did not originate for film at all. In fact, merkins have a long, interesting history.
Ancient Egypt or Early Modern Europe?
Rumor has it that merkins actually originated in ancient Egypt, though the first official documented cases occur somewhere around 1450. In both cases, people often had to shave their pubes to avoid pubic lice/crabs. Only the wealthy could afford to oil, comb, and groom down-their hair, so they often sported merkins. Early prostitutes would also use merkins to hide the signs of sex-related diseases so that they could continue working, often at the demand of their employers.
Then there was theater. Women were not allowed to perform on stage once upon a time, and men had to play their roles. To make nude scenes slightly more realistic, they would cover their junk with merkins to make them look more like vulvas. Eventually, hygiene became easier, and most people had their pubic hair intact, leaving merkins less popular than they had been. Then, two coincidentally time cultural shifts happened - the invention of the bikini, and the permission of nudity in film.
With smaller suits and undergarments, women began trimming up their panty lines. Fashion progressed, and suits got smaller and smaller, as did the hair. Eventually, sometime around the 90s, it became common to shave or wax all of your pubic hair off in its entirety. Unfortunately, this left the film industry in a bit of a pickle - fully shaved women show more genital detail, which would require a more severe rating and attract a smaller audience. What were they to do?!
Enter: the merkin's place on-screen. Not only did it provide more coverage for both studios and actresses alike, it allowed them to emulate the style of earlier time periods. That's why we see them so often today - as a result of frequent waxing and laser hair removal, it is increasingly difficult to be able to grow back a full bush, even if you wanted to.
There are other modern uses for merkins, of course. They're used as erotic devices and forms of self-expression, and they can add a fun sense of play to the bedroom. They're also used in drag and burlesque/strip shows to either transform the performer's genitals or help them meet local laws while getting as naked as possible.
Many people say the bush is back, with more and more women opting to keep their natural fluff, but one thing is certain: merkins are here to stay, too.
