Loooooooooong after the rest of the world has embraced man-fur, the New York Times suddenly notices that – gasp! – men aren’t shaving like they used to! WHAT? You’re KIDDING me! Who knew? This comes “more than a decade after those touchstone Calvin Klein ads, featuring a smooth-torsoed Mark Wahlberg (then known as Marky Mark), popularized the hairless look, which was further endorsed in the next decade by the hit TV show “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.”

Except that it’s more like 25 YEARS since Marky did those ads. (*Cross-eyed emoji*)

The Times goes on to say:

For a new generation, the overly groomed body appears to be falling out of favor. “We’re seeing a return to ’70s fashion,” said Tim Bess, an analyst at the trend forecasting agency the Doneger Group. “The late ’60s and early ’70s were about freedom, the hippie movement, having lots of hair.”

Mr. Bess cited Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac — with his unbuttoned shirts and thatch of chest hair — as a prototype, adding that the preened look seems dated. “It gets a little too perfect, too mannequin-looking,” Mr. Bess said.

Christopher Oldstone-Moore, the author of the 2015 book “Of Beards and Men” and a senior lecturer at Wright State University, in Ohio, believes that an increasingly urban and digitized life has left some men “disconnected from their masculinity.”

“There are different ways to connect to your organic masculinity,” Dr. Oldstone-Moore said. “Hair is one way to do it.”

The Times goes on to warn young-ins thinking of taking up this CRAZY NEW FAD

As with most things, it is probably not a bad idea to be wary of extremes. “I think we’re going to have to walk slowly,” Mr. Bess said. “Because if you go too far with it, it can look a little Neanderthal-y.”

Great advice! And so well-timed!