This is where it starts to get hairy...

Updates:
I have decided to attempt weekly posts on this blog. We'll see how well this goes once I start to run out of ideas. For now, it seems do-able.

Getting hairy

As a self-proclaimed ‘feminist’ my automatic stance on women shaving ought to be that we should all cease this practice immediately if we want to be enlightened, forward-thinking females. This is where it starts to get hairy. Generally, I don’t disagree with shaving if it is down to one’s own standard of beauty. I like how my legs look and feel when shaven and prefer my armpits without the little hair that actually grows there. If I didn’t, then I wouldn’t do it.

From my understanding it’s really only Western woman who shave in a unanimous way. Why this might be is baffling. No-one really seems to know, or care, why the practice of shaving one’s body hair became so prevalent. I acknowledge that in the scheme of things the answer isn’t exactly cataclysmic but I do feel that this revelation might reveal a lot about our culture.
From what I can gather the idea originated in the US and followed the emergence of new, more revealing clothing trends. This seems logical to me, as it would explain why the idea did not seem to occur previous to this – women’s bare under-arms and legs were not an issue for public concern. Expanding upon this I’d like to suggest that the emergence of further removal of body hair – i.e. the shaving of women’s pubic hair – coincided with the boom of the internet and thus the porn industry (or easy access to it) which in turn made women’s pubic hair a more public concern.

A public concern; or a man’s concern? Certainly the porn industry is male dominated (I intend to explore this further in future posts) and thus the shaving of pubic hair might be traced back to a male idea of female attractiveness. I do think that there are actually a few practical reasons for it. As a rather crude example, it aids in the delivery of oral sex. Rather than being misogynistic this seems rather liberating to me; after all, oral sex is for the pleasure of a woman primarily and not a man. Although, I do subscribe somewhat to the theory that it makes women look pre-pubescent and therefore less threatening, too. The pubic hair does not need to be entirely removed for the aforementioned practices – the idea is quite strange and it seems doubtful that women would come up with it for their own aesthetic pleasure. It’s not exactly easy or practical.

The shaving of leg and under-arm hair, however, is a rather different story. It is more a matter of fashion and vanity on women’s part. It is unlikely that the general public will see whether or not a woman’s pubic hair is shaved (unless she is a model or porn star) – it is far more likely, however, that they will see her under-arms and legs. Western fashion at this time is revealing and so it makes sense to alter ones appearance to suit these trends. Tank tops with bushy armpits are not seen as attractive and I would argue that it is not men who enforce this. Women pressure other women. The concept is pure vanity, which, whilst being somewhat distasteful to some, is not misogynistic.

Whilst I do admire the rebellion against shaving on the grounds that it subverts mainstream ideas of beauty, shaving (of under-arms and legs, at least), in principal, is not an un-feminist concept in my view. Shave or don’t shave – it’s all down to personal preference. Certainly, I resent anyone being pressured to do so against their will but on a personal level I do not feel pressured – my choice is informed, and my own. Let yours be too.

References or influences

I referenced the following article in this post. Give it a read, it’s pretty interesting.
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/625/who-decided-women-should-shave-their-legs-and-underarms
Also, the opening monologue in the Vagina Monologues (Eve Ensler) served as inspiration for this post. If you haven't already, definitely check this out.