I became sexually active in that window where women commonly kept their pubic hair unless they were kinky or specifically into the bare feels¹, and porn was rife with shaved offerings and French-style runways.

¹ Every woman I was around for too long would reveal that yeah, she struggle with the maintenance process, whether in-grown hairs or surprise scratchiness or whatever. Full bush is a lot easier to maintain.

So my brain associated real relationship sex with pubic hair. It was one of those signals that indicated we’re not just honeymooning or doing a one-night stand but trying to do something real.

It wasn’t always true, to my disappointment, but brains work in funny ways.