diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 4e0ab676..6231875b 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Changed
 
+* Made a new option `body_hash_enabled` which defaults to true to maintain backward compatibility with prior releases. Setting to `false` disables generation of a `oauth_body_hash` component as part of the signature computation.
 
 ### Fixed
 
diff --git a/lib/oauth/client/net_http.rb b/lib/oauth/client/net_http.rb
index 7a56b982..8b00f5f7 100644
--- a/lib/oauth/client/net_http.rb
+++ b/lib/oauth/client/net_http.rb
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ class HTTPGenericRequest
     # * consumer - OAuth::Consumer instance
     # * token - OAuth::Token instance
     # * options - Request-specific options (e.g. +request_uri+, +consumer+, +token+, +scheme+,
-    #   +signature_method+, +nonce+, +timestamp+)
+    #   +signature_method+, +nonce+, +timestamp+, +body_hash+)
     #
     # This method also modifies the <tt>User-Agent</tt> header to add the OAuth gem version.
     #
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ def oauth!(http, consumer = nil, token = nil, options = {})
       helper_options = oauth_helper_options(http, consumer, token, options)
       @oauth_helper = OAuth::Client::Helper.new(self, helper_options)
       @oauth_helper.amend_user_agent_header(self)
-      @oauth_helper.hash_body if oauth_body_hash_required?
+      @oauth_helper.hash_body if oauth_body_hash_required?(helper_options)
       send("set_oauth_#{helper_options[:scheme]}")
     end
 
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ def oauth!(http, consumer = nil, token = nil, options = {})
     def signature_base_string(http, consumer = nil, token = nil, options = {})
       helper_options = oauth_helper_options(http, consumer, token, options)
       @oauth_helper = OAuth::Client::Helper.new(self, helper_options)
-      @oauth_helper.hash_body if oauth_body_hash_required?
+      @oauth_helper.hash_body if oauth_body_hash_required?(helper_options)
       @oauth_helper.signature_base_string
     end
 
@@ -64,7 +64,8 @@ def oauth_helper_options(http, consumer, token, options)
         scheme: "header",
         signature_method: nil,
         nonce: nil,
-        timestamp: nil }.merge(options)
+        timestamp: nil,
+        body_hash_enabled: true }.merge(options)
     end
 
     def oauth_full_request_uri(http, options)
@@ -87,8 +88,8 @@ def oauth_full_request_uri(http, options)
       uri.to_s
     end
 
-    def oauth_body_hash_required?
-      !@oauth_helper.token_request? && request_body_permitted? && !content_type.to_s.downcase.start_with?("application/x-www-form-urlencoded")
+    def oauth_body_hash_required?(options)
+      !@oauth_helper.token_request? && request_body_permitted? && !content_type.to_s.downcase.start_with?("application/x-www-form-urlencoded") && options[:body_hash_enabled]
     end
 
     def set_oauth_header
diff --git a/lib/oauth/consumer.rb b/lib/oauth/consumer.rb
index e916d54b..6787242e 100644
--- a/lib/oauth/consumer.rb
+++ b/lib/oauth/consumer.rb
@@ -64,6 +64,11 @@ class Consumer
       # some_value - uses some_value
       debug_output: nil,
 
+      # Defaults to producing a body_hash as part of the signature but
+      # can be disabled since it's not officially part of the OAuth 1.0
+      # spec. Possible values are true and false
+      body_hash_enabled: true,
+
       oauth_version: "1.0"
     }
 
@@ -78,7 +83,8 @@ class Consumer
     #     :http_method        => :post,
     #     :request_token_path => "/oauth/example/request_token.php",
     #     :access_token_path  => "/oauth/example/access_token.php",
-    #     :authorize_path     => "/oauth/example/authorize.php"
+    #     :authorize_path     => "/oauth/example/authorize.php",
+    #     :body_hash_enabled  => false
     #    })
     #
     # Start the process by requesting a token
diff --git a/test/units/test_net_http_client.rb b/test/units/test_net_http_client.rb
index 111d156d..f92f4377 100644
--- a/test/units/test_net_http_client.rb
+++ b/test/units/test_net_http_client.rb
@@ -310,6 +310,16 @@ def test_that_post_bodies_signed_if_other_content_type
                  signature_base_string
   end
 
+  def test_that_post_bodies_not_signed_if_body_hash_disabled
+    request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(@request_uri.path)
+    request.body = "<?xml version=\"1.0\"?><foo><bar>baz</bar></foo>"
+    request["Content-Type"] = "application/xml"
+    signature_base_string = request.signature_base_string(@http, @consumer, nil,
+                                                          { nonce: @nonce, timestamp: @timestamp, body_hash_enabled: false })
+    assert_equal "POST&http%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Ftest&oauth_consumer_key%3Dconsumer_key_86cad9%26oauth_nonce%3D225579211881198842005988698334675835446%26oauth_signature_method%3DHMAC-SHA1%26oauth_timestamp%3D1199645624%26oauth_version%3D1.0",
+                 signature_base_string
+  end
+
   def test_that_site_address_is_not_modified_in_place
     options = { site: "http://twitter.com", request_endpoint: "http://api.twitter.com" }
     request = Net::HTTP::Get.new("#{@request_uri.path}?#{request_parameters_to_s}")