Merkin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A merkin (first use 1617)[1] is a pubic wig, originally worn by prostitutes after shaving their genitalia. According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language the term stems from an corruption of the obsolete word malkin, meaning a lower-class woman or mop, which is derived from a diminutive of the personal name Matilda.[2] The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary concurs in this derivation.[3]
There are many different ways of wearing a merkin, although most involve placing the merkin on the vulva or the scrotum.[citation needed]
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[edit] Background
The Oxford Companion to the Body dates the origin of the pubic wig to 1450. Women would shave their pubic hair and wear a merkin to combat pubic lice, and prostitutes would wear them to cover up signs of disease, such as syphilis.[4] The term is also applied to decorative – typically sequinned – patches commonly sold in sets with nipple tassels or "pasties", which are enjoying new popularity as part of the costume of new burlesque adult entertainment, and, according to NSOED, is also applied to fake vaginas.[3]
"A short and curly history of the merkin" in The Guardian provided a partial history of the merkin. It highlighted "comedy terrorist" Aaron Barschak's flashing of a merkin to onlookers.[5] It has also been suggested that at the when male actors played female parts onstage, they would cover their genitals with a merkin so they could expose themselves as women in bawdy scenes.[6]
In Hollywood film-making, merkins are currently used in films where they are worn by actors and actresses to prevent inadvertent exposure of the genitalia during nude or semi-nude scenes. If no merkin were worn, it would be necessary to restrict the shot to exclude the genital area; with the merkin in place brief flashes of the crotch can be used if necessary. The presence of the merkin protects the actor from inadvertently performing 'full-frontal' nudity – some contracts specifically require that nipples and genitals be covered in some way – which can help ensure that the film achieves a less restrictive MPAA rating.[7] A merkin is also used if the actor has less pubic hair than required for the role, as in the case of Kate Winslet in the film The Reader.[8] Or, the nude dancing extras in 2008's The Bank Job.
[edit] Other usage
The term can be used in an obscure sense to refer to the vulva.[9]
[edit] Merkins in popular culture
The term merkin is used frequently in literature, film, music, and art as an inside joke. For example, in Stanley Kubrick's black comedy Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, one character is named Merkin Muffley. The obscurity of the merkin is sometimes used as part of a joke. In one example from Fox Film Corporation's T.V. series Family Guy, a man offers to sell Chris a merkin. When Chris asks what is a merkin that man responds, "Why it's a pubic toupee."
[edit] References
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary
- ^ American Heriage Dictionary of the English Language (fourth editon). Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- ^ a b New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary Oxford University Press, 1997
- ^ Oxford Companion to the Body Oxford University Press, 2002
- ^ Francis, Gareth (2003-06-26). "A short and curly history of the merkin". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,985079,00.html.
- ^ Harker, Joseph (1994). Notes & Queries, vol. 5.. London: Fourth Estate. pp. 96–7. ISBN 1-85702-266-1.
- ^ David Duchovny, DVD commentary for Stephen Soderberg's 'Full Frontal'
- ^ "Kate Winslet reveals: They made me a pubic wig!". 2009-06-04. http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/b/new-idea/25442/kate-winslet-reveals-they-made-me-a-pubic-wig. Retrieved on 2009-06-13.
- ^ A New English Dictionary of Historical Principles (1933) - Merkin
[edit] External links
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