Shaving
I
could handle living in Europe or Asia and not feel constrained to shave my
under arms and legs. Who started this convention? I have a Muslim friend who
says it’s considered shameful for women to leave body hair unattended. I didn’t
think to ask her about pubic hair. Removing hair in that sensitive area seems
even more repugnant to me. Yet, I am culturally conditioned, maybe even a slave,
to certain conventions. When I see women with hair under their arms, it looks
weird. I rarely shave but neither do I wear sleeveless garments.
In
my younger, vainer days, I tried one of those electric hair removers with a
coil that ripped the hair out by the roots. Yes, it hurt—a lot. It had little
effect on the hair on my knees and upper thighs, but I no longer have hair
below the knees, which is good enough for me. I never had the nerve to try in
on my under arm area.
Waxing
or Cream Depilatories
I tried
cream removers with mixed results. A bit of minor skin irritation and
basically, it didn’t work well and the hair always grew back quicker than
advertised. I haven’t and don’t intend to try waxing, especially around
sensitive pieces-parts. Supposedly quick and lasts awhile, still, no, thank
you.
Does
anyone else think it’s odd for men to wax off body hair or find that hair
offensive? Seems pretty natural to me, so why isn’t it for women in our
culture? Young people tend to rebel against their parents’ social norms. Some
young women left body hair alone in the sixties and seventies, but it never
became standard.
Plucking
I
rely on this for facial hair. My eyebrows have thinned and are no longer a
consideration. Besides, glasses cover them up. I can live with leg and under
arm hair. Hair on my chin and upper lip is another story entirely. I wonder if
any culture finds this acceptable. Maybe it’s considered too much of a
gender-related trait. We humans can be an illogical lot.
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