Every so often the issue of body hair on women flairs up like oral herpes within the popular consciousness. Most recently it was due to a photo shared by Leonardo DiCaprio of him when he was a baby, being held up by his father and his mother who just so happened to have hairy armpits.
By this point men being up in arms about how body hair on women is gross does not surprise me. If anything it’s boring. Men, if you’re okay with the glaring double standard where women are shamed and bullied for the retention of their body hair while you’re celebrated for being rugged and untamed and hipster for the retention of yours then that’s fine. It’s your life. Be a hypocrite. I don’t care.
What gets me is when women tear each other down over it. I can guarantee every single woman reading this article has at one time complained about having to shave. Complained about the inevitable shaving rash. Complained about the extortionate cost of a Hollywood wax. Complained about the fact that the silky smooth finish of a freshly shaven leg lasts all of about four hours before the pesky blighter’s start shoving their way up through your skin again.
So why would you blame another woman for not wanting to go through that hell? Why would you blame someone who has decided their time and money is better spent elsewhere? So what if you think it’s ‘unladylike’ to be hairy; if your identity as a woman is defined by the fact that you’re hairless that’s good for you, but that’s you. Other people can do whatever they like. Why do you care?
Let’s be real, women have to deal with enough shit from everyone else without us turning on each other. I support a silky smooth leg with the same fervour as I do a furry, hairy, Amazon rainforest leg. Or vagina. Or armpit. Or arm. Whatever, just live and let live. If you don’t I’ll punish you by showing you my hairy leg. And you might die of shock. And the world will be less one ignoramus. And all will be well.
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