Chest hair: Kirk v. Spock

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Now when the hair covers the back and shoulders..

:: prepares the linen strips ::

 

[emergencyfruit]

Now when the hair covers the back and shoulders..

:: prepares the linen strips ::

Oh, agreed! That's another story entirely... :P

 

[A beaker full of death]

I knew I had met the woman of my dreams when she said she thought I would look odd if I waxed my backhair.

I know. TMI. But I tried that once, and getting stabbed hurt less!
Good thing my idol has always been Wolverine.

I think his constantly being clothed also adds to two important traits: his alien-ness/mystique of the unknown, and his discomfort in being himself. By keeping his body literally under wraps, he distances himself from others and shows that he is not at peace in his own skin. It fits perfectly.

Nice point.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Are we sure they didn't let Nimoy take off his shirt because Shatner wanted to be the only shirtless one?

 

[Grey]

It's a good point about Spock being rarely shirtless, though. While the makeup issue is probably correct, I think his constantly being clothed also adds to two important traits: his alien-ness/mystique of the unknown, and his discomfort in being himself. By keeping his body literally under wraps, he distances himself from others and shows that he is not at peace in his own skin. It fits perfectly.

That makes a lot of sense.

Are we sure they didn't let Nimoy take off his shirt because Shatner wanted to be the only shirtless one?

Well, there was Sulu that one time. (Or was it a couple times?)

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Once.

But hairless and oiled!

 

[emergencyfruit]

Once.

But hairless and oiled!

Or rather, Japanese and sweaty. But once he set the standard, maybe Shatner couldn't back down from the challenge! :P

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I think they probably oiled him to make him look sweaty

 

[emergencyfruit]

I think they probably oiled him to make him look sweaty

True, actually - I just looked back through some of the pics, and you're right, there was definitely some extra gloss going on. Well, good to know that whatever your tastes, there's a man on the bridge to meet it - young or mature, slender or muscular, slick-chested or rugged...

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Yes, it's a smorgasbord!

 

[Brutal Strudel]

We've seen Kirk with his shirt off dozens of times, and he never has any body hair. Fair enough, it makes him seem sleek and well-groomed.

I think the notion that a shaved or waxed male chest constitutes part of being a well-groomed male is a fairly recent one stemming from the trend during the last 15 or so years of metrosexuality. If anything, Kirk might have seemed more manly during the 60s had he actually had a hairy chest.

As to why Nimoy didn't have his chest waxed, perhaps he didn't feel the need to apologize for looking like a man. In-universe, one might argue that Vulcans (like their Romulan cousins) are very virile and passionate; they just keep it under wraps. A hairy-chested Vulcan then would not seem out of place if one were to associate a male hairy chest with virility, potency, and strong masculine drives (i.e. as in Pon Faar).

Grooming taks time. Shaving or waxing one's chst may seem like an illogical us of that time.

 

[ToddPence]

Seriously? After fourteen years of TrekBBS, this is what we've been reduced to discussing?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Hey in the ENT forum we talk about Phlox's toenails.

 

[emergencyfruit]

Seriously? After fourteen years of TrekBBS, this is what we've been reduced to discussing?

Is there some reason we shouldn't discuss it? It pertains to character development, acting decisions, and an interesting incongruence throughout the series that is never explained. I don't see a problem.

 

[Safefta Pardek]

I noticed that, and somehow thought it should be the other way around. But I'm just a fangirl of fourteen, what do I know?

 

[Jonas Grumby]

Hey in the ENT forum we talk about Phlox's toenails.

When you get around to talking about Hoshi's toes, let me know.

 

[T'Girl]

Anybody want to conjecture as to what other portions of Spock's epidermis might be hairy, because I'd like to.

 

[Ssosmcin]

Well, in the 60's, wasn't it generally the fashion to have a shaved chest on TV? There were some exceptions, but most often than not, guys were hairless (I don't even know of we saw a lot of armpit hair - NEVER back hair). The actors who did have a lot of hair poking through the tops of their shirts never seemed to have bare-chested scenes. I remember this one episode of The Fugitive where Richard Kimble opens his shirt to show someone some bruises. David Janssen had a thick mat of dark chest hair - and tellingly his back was to the camera. You could argue they didn't want to show any unsightly wounds and left it to the imagination, but in beefcake photos of the actor he has no chest hair. SO it seems to be more like a "I'm not gonna shave for one shot" and he had a TON of hair.

Why didn't Nimoy have to shave? He probably didn't want to if he was only going to have a single scene without a shirt (why put up with the itch). He wasn't going to be the "shirtless hero" like Shatner and his puffy nipples. So they probably justified it as his being an alien.

Nowadays, a lot of action, beefcake stars go hairless to accentuate muscular definition (Chris Evans in Captain America, Henry Clavill in Immortals). Also, the general consensus today is that hair is yucky (should we even get into the female bikini shaving area?). Chest hair seemed to be a sticking point: it was dirty or animalistic - Sean Connery kept his for Bond, but Roger Moore had none. And it showed in their characters.

Wow, off on a tangent here…

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Anybody want to conjecture as to what other portions of Spock's epidermis might be hairy, because I'd like to.

I'm voting for huge tufts in the middle of each buttock. You know, for hanging on to.

 

[Grey]

True, actually - I just looked back through some of the pics, and you're right, there was definitely some extra gloss going on. Well, good to know that whatever your tastes, there's a man on the bridge to meet it - young or mature, slender or muscular, slick-chested or rugged...