And if you look to your left, you will see a giant allegory for your pubic zone!
When I was 12, a girl asked me why I didn’t shave my legs. We had just finished a round of dodge-ball or some similar form of middle school torture. We were sitting on the bleachers waiting for the next rotation when she asked me. The only thing about this that is really worth mentioning is that she asked it in such a way that implied there was something wrong with me for not shaving my legs. Of course, I knew that women shaved their legs, but I was 12…and so was this asshole asking me like I doing something gross on purpose. So began the weird and awkward road of bodyhair hate.
I was never outwardly “girly” growing up, which was fine by my first boyfriend, who didn’t like society’s image of women any more than I did. However, I still found myself shaving my legs once a week to prevent overgrowth, my armpits cleanly shaven, and my Map of Tasmania shaven clean more often than not (don’t understand the reference? This music video might help you out!). This regular ritual was constantly reinforced by the fear that the boyfriend, his friends, or people at school (who I was not friends with) would notice. Which is really silly, since I’m a blonde naturally and my body hair is close to invisible anyway. And for someone like me, who lived the “who gives a fuck” lifestyle, it was even more ludicrous. I didn’t care about people looking down at me for my pink hair and my 80 bracelets and punk-as-fuck attitude, but holy shit, they talked about Jane Doe looking like a Swedish exchange student because she hadn’t shaved her legs in three days! I don’t want them to think I’m some weird hippie chick. Because, as you know, only hippies and Swedish people never shave.
...
Even in the Hot Topic culture, the ugly sweater-wearing Hipster cultures, we were accosted by skinny, hairless women. I thought it was just the mainstream Gapcrombie that enforced gender stereotypes (after all, how often do you see men modeling Calvin Klein who are also wearing eyeliner?). But after I got out of high school, I realized that it is literally every single demographic. Wearing a dress or skirt? Shave those pricklies away so nobody will see! Your deodorant is collecting in the maze of budding hair under your arms! Quickly, shave those puppies clean. The Dread Bikini Season? Be prepared for red bumps or chemical burns, because god forbid there’s a stray pubic hair trying to catch some rays.
Constantly, we are bombarded with the idea that women are supposed to be hairless. It has gone from recommendation to obligation here in the United States. You never, EVER see a woman on TV, or a magazine ad donning even a strand of hair under her arms. Every razor commercial features smooth, skinny legs. Hell, even bikini trimmers show women without a trace of hair that isn’t on her head. Inadvertently, this cultivates the idea that if you aren’t like the majority, you are different, and therefor less of what society is telling you that you are in the first place. What the fuck?
A few days ago, I started asking people that I knew why they thought women should shave their armpits. Astonishingly, I got a lot of these answers: “It’s just something they have to do.” Yes, but why?
Of course, it dripped down into the “I don’t think that’s sexy,” which is all fine and well, but I just want to quickly interject here: Women are not perpetually on the prowl for attracting men or women or whatever. Men or women thinking that I’m sexy or not has no bearing on how I do anything with my body. The assumption that everything a woman does is in a quest to find a mate is endlessly aggravating to me. Because I know that when I go out to the supermarket, I’m not trying to impress anybody. I just need some bread and jam so my nieces can have delicious sandwiches for lunch at school. Confident ladies know they look good no matter wtf they’re sporting, and I am one hella confident lady. Those sweatpants? Yeah. I like em. I don’t care if you think I’m a slob. I’m out doing my own shit.
However, I think that it’s a little much that you would eliminate a woman as a sexual partner based on the fact that her armpits aren’t shaven clean.
Why are women obligated to keep themselves almost entirely hairless? Where does this standard come from?
I was really surprised to hear that lots of people, women especially, fear body hair the way they do. I can’t blame them – you get pegged as a foreigner who doesn’t know better, or a dirty hippie trapped in a constant spiral of drug abuse. Once again…
how does I stereotype
About 6 months ago, I actively stopped shaving my armpits. Now that the weather here in New Jersey is getting tolerable, I’m no longer hiding under hoodies and jackets. I take good care of my pits – I use a natural deodorant that controls odor with essential oils instead of clogging up my pores with aluminum. And I don’t chop off the hair that grows, because really, I feel good about growing it out.
I’ve encountered a couple of people who are confused about this protest I’m carrying out, because I still shave my legs. Honestly, I just really like the way my legs feel after shaving. That’s something I wanted to point out: Feeling like you have to participate in an activity versus willingly participating are two different things. My intention is not to demonize ladies who do shave – but instead bring to light that people who choose NOT to shave are put under a harsh light. Ever hear that little quip? “The only difference between tattooed people and non-tattooed people is that tattooed people don’t care if you’re not tattooed.” I feel like the same goes for people who don’t shave. I could care less if you have hairy armpits or not, but being the target demographic of a Beauty Industry that largely rests on unrealistic expectations, I have to say, are you shaving your pits because you like to shave your pits? Or are you afraid someone’s going to call you a dirty hippie?
For further reading, check out two awesome articles about body hair and weddings:
Best Hysteria 