Posted on 07/02/2002 9:21:16 AM PDT by Olydawg
Women on campus and everywhere should put away their razors and reclaim their body hair this summer.
The woman who chooses to give up shaving doesn't just save herself some time, money and skin irritation, she can discover the sense of personal acceptance, freedom and natural beauty that her body hair can bring.
Women are compelled to shave more in the summer as their legs, armpits and bikini lines become more regularly exposed.
Women don their shorts, skirts, tank tops and swimming suits and try their best to sustain a standard of hairlessness that is inextricably tied to American society's perceptions of beauty and femininity.
This standard is symbolically oppressive and absurdly impractical, but American women willingly persist in the 20th-century tradition of shaving.
American women did not remove underarm or leg hair prior to 1915 because full-coverage clothing styles made these areas rarely visible, according to an article, by Susan A. Basow, in the Psychology of Women Quarterly entitled "The Hairless Ideal: Women and Their Body Hair."
As skirts got shorter and silk stockings became fashionable in the 1920s, advertisements began to encourage women to "smooth away" body hair that was described as unwanted and ugly. The majority of American women have been shaving ever since.
An American woman begins shaving as an adolescent rite of passage into the world of womanhood, a habit that is adopted and unquestionably upheld.
Society teaches her that shaven legs and arms and a well-maintained bikini line are essential to feeling beautiful, feminine and sexy.
She believes she must strive for hairless glory as a necessary part of maintaining her sex appeal and attracting and pleasing men.
But is there really anything intrinsically attractive or sexy about a woman's lack of body hair?
Shaving commonly causes cuts, scrapes, razor burn, dry skin and ingrown hairs. These skin afflictions are not only irritating and painful, but are unnecessary and unattractive.
In addition to the physical hazards involved, shaving is a symbolically unsettling practice.
According to Basow's article, "As middle-class white women moved out of their 'separate sphere' of domestic life ... the removal of body hair may have served to maintain a distinction between the genders and de-emphasize women's adult status."
The presence of body hair is an indicator of a woman's sexual maturation. Removing it denies that maturity and independence.
Women should look like women, with their hair growing where it's meant to grow.
Basow wrote that hair removal symbolizes "that a woman's mature sexuality is controlled at the same time as her 'tamed' sensuality is on display."
On a more practical note, shaving and hair removal in all its other forms wastes time and money. Five minutes of shaving on 100 sunny days add up to more than eight hours of skin scraping.
Couldn't women better spend that time enhancing who they are instead of taking away from it? Rather than being trapped in the shower shaving, women could be frolicking in the sunshine or reading in the shade.
At $1 or $2 per razor head, women spend their money on yet another frivolous beauty product marketed with and sold off of the idea that women need to buy items to make them beautiful.
Despite all the symbolic, financial and time-related reasons not to shave, many women shy away from the possibility or don't even consider it because they fear the stereotypes often associated with women who do not shave.
They do not want to be viewed or labeled as the organic, tree-hugging, penis-loathing, militant, lesbian feminist.
They do not want to go against the norm or draw negative attention to themselves, so it's easier to remove socially unacceptable body hair than have to explain it.
"Although shaving, for most women, is habitual behavior and usually viewed as trivial, the intense social reaction to violations of this norm emphasize its power," Basow wrote.
Women need to critically consider why they battle nature by removing their body hair and decide what it means to them.
They need to realize that their body hair can be a liberating and valuable element of their bodies and lives.
A woman's body hair is not a hindrance to her femininity; it is a symbol of her sexual maturation and womanhood.
The woman who gives up shaving is one step closer to learning how to truly accept and love her body the way it is.
BURMA SHAVE
Leni
When I first moved to Georgia, one of the things that I noticed (and it completely floored me) was the number of women with facial hair (i.e., whispy mustaches) in the South. From talking to other folks, apparently that is something that those women deal with in their own way -- quite a few of them NOT dealing with it. (cringe)
But OTOH, my mother, my mother in law, and She-who-must-be-obeyed don't shave their legs, and (at least with my wife) never have.
But some people (i.e., obviously the woman who wrote this article) need more than an Epilady in their bathroom. She probably needs a Norelco (and no, I don't mean one of those prissy Lady Norelcos), or barring that, a pair of hedge trimmers...
Does that include one's regions south of the Mason-Dixon line?
As long as I don't have to.
FWIW, when I was attended college at a "left-wing" campus in the Midwest back in the mid-70s, body hair was all the rage. You'd have even the most attractive girls with hairy pits and legs.
Of course, they also favored combat fatigue pants and olive-drab tank-tops, so it wasn't as if the entire package had much to say for itself.
Socialization with them was like dating a female Sandinista.
"The Market" is a wonderful thing to behold.
Seriously though...until modern times, women used rags. Washed them in boiling water afterwards...then reused them. gross.
Uh, forearm hair removal has become quite the women's fashion trend. Believe it or not.
Sure, if you give me a million dollars. Otherwise, I think I'll keep my fur.
LOL.
Jack and Jill
Went up the hill
Both with a buck and a quarter
Jill came down she had two-fifty.
Slow down for a minute and think about that. Benefits could possibly abound.
It appears that she already has one high-school-aged disciple here already.
Ahhhhyes. Sounds like you've been down that road as well, my friend.
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