The waxing comments start at about 3:10 in the video above. Warning – the audio is very loud.

Former Air America commentator and current comic Janeane Garofalo made headlines a couple of weeks ago when she called it anti-intellectual of President Obama to call for prayer in the wake of the Gulf oil leak. They covered it on The View and Elisabeth and Joy had a tense moment during that discussion, with Elisabeth calling Joy a “bigot” for declaring that prayer wasn’t logical. (Which is not the same thing as calling it anti-intellectual, but of course Elisabeth took offense.) I considered covering that story, but passed on it because I didn’t want to open that whole can of worms.

Now Garofalo is taking on a less controversial topic – that of female intimate grooming. She thinks it’s not true that anyone has a preference for a hairless intimate area and if they do they have a problem:

Janeane Garofalo takes on Brazilian waxing in her new standup special “If You Will,” and she explains her anti-pubic grooming stance in a new interview with Uinterview.com.

“It couldn’t possibly be true that there are a lot of guys who find adult females with genitals that look pre-adolescent that attractive,” she said. “If they do, that’s a problem.”

Janeane chalks up the obsession with hairlessness to a “national myth.”

“I feel like we’ve been conned into thinking it’s desirable to have that waxing done and that people like it,” she continues. “I think it’s a national myth that we have all gone along with for some reason.”

[From The Huffington Post]

I’m wary of giving TMI in this post, but unless I give some personal background it will be hard for me to comment. I’m just going to get this out of the way right now – like many women, I’ve never had a full Brazilian wax. Once I tried with some wax at home and did a whole strip before gradually peeling it off in complete agony. There’s probably no way I would pay someone to do that for me. That doesn’t mean I don’t go periodically bare, just that I use other means to achieve it. (Antibiotic ointment really helps afterwards and that’s all I’m going to say about that.)

I don’t think there’s anything mentally wrong with men or women who like waxed/shaved parts. It makes certain things easier down there and it has nothing to do with reverting to a child-like state. Plus it helps some of us feel cleaner. If you’re wearing a bathing suit, you have to groom in that region if not make it hairless. It’s not a “national myth,” it’s a personal choice. You wouldn’t expect Garafalo to grasp that anyone with an opinion other than hers is also right, though. She doesn’t seem like the most stable or tolerant person.

NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 02: Actress Janeane Garofalo attends the 25th Annual Artios Awards at The Times Center on November 2, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 29: Janeane Garafalo attends the 12th Annual Project A.L.S. New York City Benefit 'Tomorrow Is Tonight' at Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge on October 29, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images)

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 29: Janeane Garafalo attends the 12th Annual Project A.L.S. New York City Benefit 'Tomorrow Is Tonight' at Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge on October 29, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images)

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