Manscaping is a word that was brought into American homes in 2004 by Queer Eye for the Straight Guy as a shorthand for "landscaping" the male body, by shaving, trimming, waxing, or brushing the body hair, usually in an artful manner aimed at presenting that body in the best light possible.

Until relatively recent times, it was considered highly unusual for American males in most walks of life to shave or otherwise remove hair below the neck; exceptions included bodybuilders, who would do so in order to make their muscular definition more visible; cyclists, who would often shave their legs ostensibly because doing so would lead to the faster healing of any wound that resulted from falling off a bike; and swimmers, who would shave body hair to reduce friction in the water.

The front cover of the November, 1993 issue of Vanity Fair magazine featured Sylvester Stallone nude (but seated in such a manner so that the genitalia were not visible) and with a completely shaved body (at least in all of the areas that could be seen in the photo). The cover created considerable controversy at the time, though probably due more to the nudity than the lack of body hair (Stallone had previously appeared with a shaved body in some of the films in which he starred, most notably Rambo: First Blood Part II).

Toward the end of the 1990s, many American men, especially those in the Generation X demographic, began to remove their body hair, some claiming it made them feel "cleaner," while others asserted that it made them feel cooler in summer or in places with year-round warm climates. Some men also shave their bodies before beginning to acquire a sun tan—either naturally or through the use of tanning beds.

This trend has resulted in body shaving by men gaining considerable acceptance as masculine, much the way long hair styles gained such acceptance beginning in the mid-1960s; some manufacturers of hair-removal products, such as depilatories, now market product lines specifically targeted at male consumers.

In the spring of 2004, a story circulated in gossip columns that actor Tom Cruise has adopted the look, which is widely seen as being most popular in California.

See also

• Metrosexual
• depilation