Today I’m at Strong Language, the sweary blog about swearing, with a post about merkin, the medieval pubic wig that still plays a role in our cultural life. Merkin was originally a nickname for a woman or girl; it’s an unrelated surname, too, and I write about that as well.
My favorite bit of research involved discovering Make a Merkin Great Again, a 2019 political art project by Diane Bush (yes, that’s her name). Here are two of the art merkins Bush created from cat fur (yes, cat fur).
Read This Merkin Life (apologies to This American Life).
A wonderful, informative, and funny article.
Posted by: Dan Freiberg | March 24, 2022 at 04:24 PM
One of Peter Sellers' three roles in Dr. Strangelove was as President Merkin Muffley.
He was clearly modeled on Adlai Stevenson. "Merkin" and "Muffley", two pubic references for one.
Posted by: TIM SZELIGA | March 31, 2022 at 05:32 PM
Thanks, Tim. If you click through to the Strong Language post, you'll see my mention of Merkin Muffley.
Posted by: Nancy Friedman | March 31, 2022 at 05:37 PM