The Prickly Truth: Society's Sexist Standards for Women’s Body Hair
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It’s that day of the week again. Taking my razor from its rightful shelf, I begin to bend, twist, and contort my body in unforeseen ways, attempting to shave off every last piece of stubble. Always failing, I nip myself in every attempt, rushing to grab a band aid before the blood stains my bath mat.
Every week, I endure this dreaded process, and every week, I ask myself, why? Why is it that I must spend an extra 15 minutes in the burning shower, arching, kneeling, hunching my back until my skin feels smooth? I always imagined, if it were up to me, I would never shave another day in my life. Yet, every week, without fail, I always find myself picking up that familiar razor and shaving every inch from the waist down.
Embedded in the minds of young girls at the ripe age of 10 or 12, shaving never appeared as much of a choice. Rather a necessary hygienic practice, much like showering or brushing your teeth. But it wasn’t always expected for women to shave. In fact, women were not introduced to razors until Gillete’s “Safe Razor” of 1915. By marketing this new razor as safe and easy to use, it was suddenly expected for every woman to be smooth, shiny, and hairless.
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Then, around World War II, the trend caught like wildfire, moving fast and covering every inch of U.S. ground. With the rise of sleeveless dresses and nylon stockings, armpit and leg hair quickly became a fashion faux pas. Through the shortage of stockings, women turned to razors, believing hairless legs were the only socially acceptable option.
As society evolved, a new wave of rebellion was ushered in. The hippies of the 60s challenged such sexist and misogynistic ideas like shaving. But, despite their efforts, magazines, television, pornography and clear-cut pop culture continually emphasized the beauty standard of a cleanly shaven woman. Women with natural body hair were to never be seen in the entertainment industry. Even advertisements for razor companies exclude the image of body hair, having models shave what appears to be their bare skin.
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As time advances, progressive forces have set in to move societal thinking forward. Developing as a country, we are continually working to recognize and disband many sexist, misogynistic, and ‘old-timey’ ideologies. However, shaving still remains an untouched debate. Rather than moving forward on such a topic, the removal of body hair has only become more prominent over time. Going from what is expected to what is the norm, shaving has developed into the only presentable, acceptable and hygienic way to display the female body.
Going out in a tank-top and realizing you forgot to shave quickly turns into a political statement. A celebrity showing off the slightest bit of armpit hair at the beach makes the front page news. Although body hair has grown on humans every day since the dawn of time, society still views it as ‘ugly’, ‘gross’, ‘unacceptable’, and ‘abnormal’.
I’ll admit, the feeling of freshly shaven, moisturized legs is hard to beat. But, it’s easy to forget your routine shave stems from one of the most sexist, misogynistic beauty standards to date. Whether you love to remain smooth and shiny, or despise the thought of going hairless, women should not be pressured into any type of beauty standard (especially those imposed by men and capitalism). Society’s judgements and expectations should have no say in the money one spends on razors, waxes, and hair removal procedures. It’s time for society to remove the stigma of having natural body hair and finally normalize what is already normal.
Strike Out,
Writer: Amelia Sturkie
Editor: Shelby Wingate
Athens, Georgia