My feral leghair, and why I’m going to grow it.

I struggled with the yes or no of removing body hair for years. Last year I stopped removing most of my body hair – I do still pluck my eyebrows because I prefer how they look trimmed and thinned. It’s scary at first and even now sometimes I contemplate shaving, but there’s also something daring about it all.

I’ve never shaved my legs, my Mum said it was a pain in the arse and that I shouldn’t start…so I didn’t! I’ve never felt societal pressure to shave them, but then again I was raised in a household that took pride in non-conformist behaviour!

I shave my legs and underarms, but not with any regularity. I shave my underarms because I do find that I get sweatier in my armpits if the hair there is longer – but I don’t do it often. I shave my legs because I like the feeling of smooth legs and clean sheets. Again, I’m not regular in this habit, but I definitely do it – perhaps every few weeks?

My armpit hair is quite dark and coarse, and I don’t like how it looks. Maybe this is something that society has made me believe, but aesthetically I just don’t like it. As it happens I don’t often wear tops without sleeves, so it’s about whether I like the look of it, not others. Leg hair is not nearly as dark/coarse so unless someone was quite close to my legs they woudln’t even see it, so it’s more about sensuality than appearance there.

I didn’t remove any body hair until I was in my 20s. Then I moved to Sydney and suddenly felt the need to. I have never shaved, and never will. I do wax sometimes though. I average probably 2-3 times a year.

Sometimes I don’t mind my body hair at all. I quite like my underarm hair in fact. And the only issue I have with the leg hair is skirts, because even I, who was a “hippy” and was lucky enough to grow up in an area where it wasn’t completely unusual to have hair, question how skirts and hairy look. On me. I love it on others. Or at least, I love the though on others. To be honest, it isn’t something that I notice. So.. if I don’t notice, why should other people?

It’s funny you should post this now, it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot over the past week or so. I haven’t shaved my legs for the past…god, maybe 6 months? I honestly cannot remember the last time I did. Out of pure laziness, I’ll admit.

I get the “Ewww, omg that’s so gross!” from my younger sister, and have tried explaining the role of advertising etc as factors in why she thinks that way, and have also yelled “YOU WOULDN’T SAY THAT IF I WAS A GUY!”, but she doesn’t seem to want to think about it any differently.

I’ve been shaving under my arms less lately, I guess because I’m thinking differently about the ‘hygiene’ aspect of that.

I don’t know, I feel like it’s a behaviour that’s not presented as a ‘choice’ to young females. And I think that the fact that NOT shaving is an option just never occurs to most women. It’s something a lot of people just accept as an inherent part of being/identifying as female.

At first I wanted to say you are brave, but I am not sure that is the correct word. After all, making a decision based on your convictions should simply be an act, not necessarily bravery.

Yes, in answer to your question. This subject does make me very uncomfortable as it comes with so much personal significance. Not at shaving my legs or underarms, but shaving my face. Letting my leg hair wave in the breeze is easy for me, even with all thoughts of consumerism and feminism aside. With my face though, it is never going to happen. Even when faced with a coma, my sister and I have a plan in place how to deal with this!

The identity that I am comfortable with does not have a beard and I have no desire to push any gender boundaries. Others’ may feel differently and that is their choice. Obviously I wish it was not even an issue for me:(

Thankyou for you openness Natalie.

I only ever shave in summer and then when I can be bothered. I’ve never had enough underarm hair to bother about it. As for girlie bit shaving or waxing, I find it gross and wrong to want to look pre-pubescent!

Interesting post. I was actually thinking about this myself recently, about the things women go through to be “feminine”. I remember being 14 and called “Magilla Gorilla” at school because I was yet to start shaving under my arms. I begged my mother to let me start and she finally relented. So I started shaving my legs and under my arms and have been doing so ever since. In winter I usually go a week or two without, but in summer I do it every couple of days. I do have very dark, coarse body hair thanks to a double-whammy Maori and Mediterranean heritage, and so I feel my body hair is very noticeable and I feel much better when I get rid of it, although whether this is conditioned in is an interesting question.

What I also find interesting is that it’s only in the last couple of years that I’ve started paying more attention to other hairy bits such as my eyebrows or bikini line. I literally went for YEARS without caring about either of those things, but once I started caring I couldn’t stop.

With Summer rearing its head, this is an issue that will be at the forefront of my mind. I don’t think I’m ready to stop my hair removal regime just yet though.

I shave my armpits because I notice if I don’t I sweat more. I shave my legs maybe once a month in the winter, usually a bit more often in summer and I do it because I personally like the feeling of cleanly shaved legs once in a while. I’m not really worried about whether or not people are going to notice my hairy legs if I wear a skirt and no tights.

This might be a bit TMI but my biggest concern about body hair is pubic hair. I feel like there is a expectation from most guys (particularly guys who are teenage/early 20s) for women to never have pubic hair and this assumption that it’s gross or unsanitary. I suppose we have porn to blame for younger men expecting this but I really, really hate it. It makes me really happy to see someone like Sasha Grey who actually has pubes, it’s so rare to actually see a naked woman with pubic hair these days!

I don’t shave my armpits, I stopped when my ex lover and I parted ways and I wanted to try and see if I could grow it out and braid it (I tried I can’t) during this period of time I hooked up with my current beau and just before we were about to do it I warned him I wasn’t shaving my armpits as an experiment he said something along the lines of “well I’m not going to f**k your armpits” with the exception of occasional modelling job I no longer shave my pits any more, my armpit hair is straight fine and minimises sweating and odour

as for my legs I have a sparse but black and coarse bad of hair that grows from just above my ankle to my mid calve It’s odd looking so it gets epilated every couple of months

As for my facial hair I still undertake brow, lip and chin every month or so

Though I often hear people say they find hair on women’s bodies gross, I’ve never actually heard anyone comment on anyone’s leg or pit hair (irl) directly. I’ve stopped regularly shaving since two years and though admittedly my leg hair is pretty blonde, my pit hair is dark and wild and the only thing I ever heard about it was ‘oh, you don’t shave?’, to which I reply, ‘not regularly’ and then we all shrug simultaneously. Yet, this kind of demoting of hairy women is still rampant in random convos. It boggles me how we’ve been lead to believe women’s body hair is gross, but male body hair is acceptable, yet a lot of people do not see the double standard. When did this belief actually start?

People hardly noticing my body hair, and my girlfriends encouraging me to grow it have really made this stigma disappear to me (in time). The stigma has disintegrated so completely even that I am not really sure if shaving or not shaving is a feminist act or not any more. It is definitely a ridiculous current beauty ideal but it’s not limited to women any more, and I don’t find it oppressive (especially compared to old ideals such as foot binding and new ideals such as cutting off one’s labia etc.). Though that may have something to do with my open-minded social circle and seeing my mother only shave exactly once a year. To me it has become simply intertwined with laziness. I only shave these days occasionally during winter because I always wear tights and it kinda hurts my leg hair (does that make sense?) and as a part of a very infrequent pampering ritual. I’ve kind of given up on shaving pit hair because I think that’s pretty on women (also : everyone).

Also, I need to comment on the sensation of feeling your leg hair blow in the wind, all mighty and free. IT IS ONE OF THE BEST FEELINGS EVER. (capslock needed)

I started shaving my legs at twelve or so because I was on swim team and everyone, including the guys, did it to reduce drag. I would’ve shaved my arms too except the first time I tried I got ingrown hairs and my mum noticed and made me stop. I haven’t shaved my legs in a couple months now. I still shave under my arms. Started shaving my crotch because it embarrassed me that it poked out of my swimsuit, continued because it’s fucking itchy if I let it grow back to any degree. Not because I want to look pre-pubescent (like I could with my tits and ass), but thanks for the judging kathryn!

Cat, I know what you mean about freshly shaved legs on sheets! It is a gorgeous feeling.

I’m sitting here writing this with hairy legs! Pretty sure I’ve only shaved once or twice this winter but more so because I just didn’t want to spend that extra time standing in the shower with my already screwed back sending bolts of pain through my body every time I bent, twisted or turned.

Body hair for me is another non issue (along with fat/not fat), couldn’t really care less if someone shaves or not. I do however prefer the feel of smooth skin on myself, particularly with freshly shaven legs jumping into fresh bed sheets!

hmmm….this is a tough topic. but to answer the questions you posed at the end:
I don’t particularly like my body hair. I don’t hate it, but I feel itchy and uncomfortable when I don’t shave. Which brings me to why I keep removing it- I’m more comfortable with less hair. I have skin problems and it seems the extra exfoliation from the razor is actually soothing to my perpetually flaky skin. If I shave every day I don’t get itchy and scaley (sorry if that’s tmi.)…and I even shave my arms for this reason. Some days I wish I could shave my head so that my scalp wouldn’t be itchy! But that’s where I draw the line.
and last- few topics are uncomfortable for me:)
oh and…I remember the feeling of individual hairs moving in the wind…and that extra sense they give you…you are not alone!It was pretty cool,lol.

That’s an interesting topic. I personally shave/use cream on my legs because I am really hairy and I truly hate the feeling of hair there. But I totally respect people who don’t shave. The “funniest” part is that hair seems to be a nono for men too. It’s really rare that you see a model with chest hair. It’s like it’s not considered manly anymore.

That’s an interesting topic. I personally shave/use cream on my legs because I am really hairy and I truly hate the feeling of hair there. But I totally respect people who don’t shave. The “funniest” part is that hair seems to be a nono for men too. It’s really rare that you see a model with chest hair. It’s like it’s not considered manly anymore.

I always remove leg/underarm/private area hair because I personally feel a lot nicer when I do. I hate getting into bed & feeling my own leg hair against my other leg. This is my personal stance & I think that each person should be entitled to their own. Good luck in sticking to your new convicitons! You will sure save a whole lot of time & money!

I freely admit that I worry about what people will say and think if they see my hairy legs and underarms. I wish I didn’t. Being of swarthy, very dark haired stock means five o’clock shadow the next day after I shave. But if I let the hair grow, it seems to get really itchy and I break out in a rash? Annoying.

I used to get teased about the hairs on my arms and called a gorilla. I also remember when I broke my leg in grade 8, I had a full cast, up to my thigh. It eventually went to a calf cast and the amount of hair (CURLY) under the exposed bits was kind of amazing. I got teased about it when I went back to school and shaved it that afternoon.

So, I guess a part of me is still that 12 year old girl, worried about being teased for the dark hairs on her legs.

I remove my body hair because I actually tend to be a bit BO-ish when I let it grow under my armpits and because I use a natural deodorant which come in block form (from Lush which is pretty fantastic with or without hair) I want to prevent as much “Dim SIm’ smell from seeping through as possible. Plus it makes it easier to apply the block deodorant when it’s all nice and smooth under there. I don’t wax my arms at all – just leave them as is, I don’t have a ‘Mo’ or any stomach or lower back hair (and for a half Maltese, half Italian that’s amazing) and I remove my leg hair because I tend to get ingrown hairs if I don’t – used to be a serious problem when I was a kid. And downsairs is ala naturale as there’s not a forest down there at all…

And in truth I’ve justy never liked it – even on guys. A little bit on the male population = ok. A lot = um no thanks babe. Not a fan of the hair – I don’t like the sensation for some reason, yet nails on a chalkboard – no problems there :|

However as I’m currently undergoing chemo, hair in general isn’t such a huge problem as there’s not much of it left…

I totally felt the same way when I first started shaving, initially so excited and then it so quickly became such a chore. Of course I kept up with it though because that’s what society dictates, and now that I’m 29 I look back with amazement at the absurd stuff I’ve done and ideas I’ve bought in the pursuit of femininity. Aside from what was seen in the media/fashion, cleanliness was something that was pretty drummed into me in terms of shaving under my arms, why I didn’t even question the fact that men didn’t have to and it didn’t make them unclean or dirtier seems odd to me now. My lesbian aunt (argh! society was right, it is the lesbians who don’t shave!!11!) didn’t shave and while her reasons made sense to me, I also didn’t want to be different like she was.

The more aware I became of the reasons behind hair removal, the idea that those who are hairless and therefor more attractive also mirror the body of very young girls, and that in some tribal cultures body hair was the indicator that someone was sexually available (ironic/gross that in light of that hairlessness is generally considered more sexually appealing) – the less I could stomach it all. Combined with the waste I was creating the idea of stopping made more and more sense. And so I did, for awhile. I went for one summer without shaving under my arms, but shaving my legs because I like the feel of it personally but this summer I started shaving again. I’m not totally sure why, but like you mentioned I get scared of social rejection. It’s amazing how strongly years of social conditioning of how to be female from the media effects us. Even armed with all that knowledge, it’s so hard to make a change.

I don’t really think it’s wrong or right to shave, or not. Especially because even if I don’t shave, I still perform femininity in other ways, and I’m happy in that. However I do think this conversation is important because while of course its everyone’s personal choice what they do to their body, it is important to question why we do the things we do and not just accept that there is only one way of being. Especially when a whole lot of the things we do have their roots in some rather disturbing ideas.

Great post!

I shave my armpits because it’s like ten seconds of work, but I hate shaving my legs. I still do it when I want to wear a skirt, go swimming or expect to be pantsless around somebody. So far the only personal gain that doesn’t have to do with external factors is that my legs dry faster from the shower without hair. Otherwise, I hope to run into a partner who doesn’t give a crap about hair.

What I really want to know more about, though, is how fat women deal with hair in areas that are hard to reach when you’re fat. (i.e. bikini line)

The only way for me to prevent body odor from armpits (and other places) is to shower regularly. I doubt a lack of hair contributes anything in that matter.

I like my body hair; when I shave my legs, it feels like they’re numb because I lost the sensitivity of the hairs on it. I do think the dark hair on pale skin is ugly, but I doubt how much of that opinion is mine and how much of it is conditioned by society’s current phobia of body hair.

I just tend to remove it because this city is a fucking oven and I can’t stand the heat. However, as a lazer hair removal survivor (I went that far! So much money wasted!), it takes about 2-3 weeks until I’m hairy enough not to stand it. Basically I only do armpits, legs, mustache, and a bit of pubes trimming for practical sex reasons (TMI SO?). However, I have never done my arms because I’ve got the right to bear arms (see what I did there? ;)) and it’s not bothersome at all. But now, typing this right after reading your article, I wonder why, if it doesn’t bother me to have hairy arms, does it bother me to have hairy armpits or legs? Is it just because those places tend to be more covered in clothes and get hotter and sweatier? Or is it something else, something psychological?

My partner finds me attractive with and without body hair, and he actually adores my hairy arms; although it’s none of his business really. People don’t tease me about body hair because they’re used to my big, IDGAF, feminist, crazy self; maybe because they’ve finally “given up” on me conforming to certain standards. But what about me and my opinion about my own body hair? Your article is going to make me ponder for a while. Thank you so much.

When I was 11 or 12, I begged my parents for a razor and shaving cream in order to feel like I “fit in” with the rest of the girls that were my age. As I continued through my teens and young adulthood, I continued shaving every single shower. It was ritualistic, and I felt very grown up.

When I was 22, I stayed at my mother’s house during a vacation home. My mother called me over as I was headed to the shower with my razor. She looked at my legs and said “I am so envious of you. You don’t need to shave.” I asked what she meant, and she said that my leg hair was blonde, so why was I doing it? I looked down and realised she was right – I’d been shaving for A DECADE even though I had no leg hair to speak of!

All of my body hair is extremely light blonde and barely noticeable even in direct light. Yet due to social pressure, I had been doing this unnecessary maintenance every time I showered for ten full years without even thinking about it.

Currently, I shave my armpits and delapitory cream my bikini line as needed (every 2-3 showers), but those are purely personal preference (I feel uncomfortable and sweaty when I have hair in either place – and tend to sweat a lot more). I’m now almost 27, and have shaved my legs maybe twice in the last five years since my “revelation”. I realise my experience is likely different from most due to the colour of my body hair, but I still have had people I’ve dated recoil in horror when I told them I never shaved my legs — up until they saw them. It is sad what women are expected to do to conform to a specific beauty ideal.

While I totally support any woman’s decision to do whatever the hell she wants with any aspect of her body, I gotta say, I’ve never felt more judged than when I decided to shave whilst living in amidst a radical feminist/queer community.

If you want to shave, but you’re concerned about wastage, I deeply recommend an old-school style safety razor which uses actual razor blades instead of plastic handle/disposable blade combos. Real razor blades last far longer than the disposable crap sold as razors now, and while it takes a bit of effort to get used to using them, I’ve actually had far fewer cuts/nicks using them than modern razors.

I generally let my leg hair grow in the winter. I am single and have been for a few years now and since no one was there to complain about it I just let it grow. I do however shave my underarms often I can’t stand the feeling of hair there. I am sure now that it’s getting close to fall here I will be letting my leg hair grow again. I was never one to shave my bikini area just cus that really bothers me. women SHOULD have hair there only girls are bare in that area. Yes I have dated many men who like the bare look and seriously it bugs me and I have talked about it with them and they still won’t budge on that but then I have also dated those who like hair. Not that I do it for guys generally but not having to shave is freakin awesome lol I get out of the shower so much quicker.

I like the look of hair on women but I personally can’t stand the stuff under my arms. Like one person, I LOATHE the heat and hair there bothers the crap outta me. I barely move all summer for fear of fainting in the humidity. I don’t do my legs or arms or anywhere else, it’s all there and if someone doesn’t like it, don’t look. Hubs doesn’t care one way or another but then it’s my bod and my self image and I’m feeling fine the way I am.

Like one of the other commenters, I also (at least partially) started shaving with regularity because I was on a swim team. I was about 8 years old when I started swimming, and this was also when I hit puberty. I had pubes, pit hair and dark leg hair in grade three. I kept shaving because I wanted to look like a little girl again and not draw attention to the fact that my body was changing way earlier than my peers.

I stopped shaving for a year or so in high school in accordance with my “non conformist” attitude and social standing. I started again a few years later because quite simply, I like how it looks and I am comfortable with that level of femininity performance. I just shave my pits, calves and pluck rogue facial hairs. I stopped shaving my thighs and bikini line because I have not found a way to combat the horrible ingrown hairs I get in those places. But I do get them waxed occasionally.

I have no problem with body hair on women, and in fact I believe it looks nice, however it’s not for me. As for shaving for your partner, I see no problem with that. Whether our preferences are shaped by the conventions and climate we grow up in or not, it’s difficult to intellectualize them. I prefer a clean shaven man and reasonably well dressed and groomed man, so I generally return the favour.

I have an excessive amount of body hair (thanks very much PCOS) and I’m much hairier than many blokes, it’s also jet black for some reason! I have friends who have very light growth and it looks great. For some reason my hair is long, black, and really really thick and feral.

I grew out my armpit hair for a few months and developed the worst fungal infection of my life (cracked and bleeding skin, pus, the lot!) that took 6 months to fix. I couldn’t keep it dry without toxic chemicals and the hairs got caught in the deodorant ball. Unfortunately, go “au naturale” smell wise wasn’t an option as I worked in a very posh office.

I get what you’re saying, and embrace women who can do it, but I can’t be one of them. I feel much worse with a hairy body. I get the feeling that you can be fat and have acne (as I do) but if you’re fat, have acne and are hairy all over then it’s just too much for people to cope with. One day I may be strong enough, but not today.

Wow, why do so many people say hair or dark hair or lots of hair looks ugly, and never never mention what they think of MEN with hair? Because it’s all about what’s considered pretty for women-shaped bodies. Okay, sure, but acknowledge that you’ve bought into a certain gendered idea of beauty, yeah? Rather than pretend it’s some abstract objection to all hair below the neck. And also, saying “I don’t see how anyone could find X hair comfortable” NEVER seems to come with wondering how men “cope” with it!

I go through stages I guess. It’s no something i’m anal about. I tend to not shave my legs during winter, I’m always wearing stockings/leggings/pants, so only my boyfriend & I know it’s there. I have very fine leg hair anyway that you don’t notice it unless you really go looking for it. My underarms I shave more often then not & yes, it’s everything to do with what other people think. I don’t mind underarm hair, but I don’t have the confidence to rock it, I admire any female who does. I pluck my eyebrows, I like them to look neat & I get the odd hair on my chin due to PCOS that I pluck.

I’ve never done the scorched earth bush removal, I don’t truck with that myself. I’m lazy as all hell in winter about shaving my legs and underarms because it’s extra warmth, right? But I like the feel of my newly shaved, pale flabby calves against cool cotton sheets on a hot summer night (yeah baby). I also really love that feeling of wind shifting the hairs on my legs in summer. I will shave my underarms in summer because it’s gingery and tends to shed in weird clumps and gets caught in my bra and pulls. That was eye-wateringly annoying! :p

I have always thought not shaving during winter etc was ‘lazy’ and ‘unladylike’. When I realised at the age of about… 25? that actually it was just because I wanted to do it my own way? Total load offa mah mind.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I have for years refused to shave my hair because, “I was made with each hair rightfully in its place. Why should I remove it for society’s standards?”

I stopped shaving my legs years ago and instead use an epilator. this means that leg hair grows back much slower, so I don’t have to do it all that often. In winter I don’t do it at all, thanks to tights and pants etc, but in summer I try to keep the pins hair free. I don’t really care when I’ve go hairy legs (and neither does hubby) but I must admit to really liking the silky smooth feeling when I do epilate. Underarms only get done if I’m going swimming (which is rare). I’ve got much bigger issues when it comes to facial hair. I can’t cope with that and get my face waxed every 5-6 without fail.

Wonderful! Youre inspiring. Ive been rather wishy washy with my hair removal. Sometimes I will remove it before wearing skirts, but other times I dont. I have to say, I feel just as beautiful either way. So more power to the people who choose to do what they want! Hair is beautiful!

Do what you want with your own body hair, but I find the feminist argument fr not shaving difficult to swallow in the context of someone who regularly blogs about mainstream (albeit bigger) female fashion. Skirts and dresses are just as gender-normative, and the disposable fashion of now is far more wasteful and contributory to oppression (where do you think most of your Asos/Evans/City Chic purchases originate?).

For the record I both remove hair and wear skirts & dresses from chain stores. But the irony of your post does not sit well with me.

I’ve done the no-hair thing, and I’ve done the hair thing. And these days I swing comfortably between them depending on how I feel and what I want to wear.

I actually quite like my underarm hair when I let it grow. Can’t explain my fascination with it, but it’s really a little pleasure. (If I’m weird, I’m okay with that :D ). But when I’m getting dressed up, I tend to wear things that are a little bit fetish-y – corsetry and so on – and hairless skin seems to go with that, to some extent (but I think that’s also quite true of males, so I don’t really feel like I’m buying in to some kind of standardised ‘feminine’ there).

I really couldn’t give a rat’s arse any more if people see my hairy legs. Sometimes I shave them, if I want to wear something I think would look odd with a lot of leg hair (like fishnets, maybe). I like the way shaved skin feels, so sometimes I’ll shave my legs just because I like the feel of it. But I feel pretty good about being able to say I do it for myself rather than anyone else. I don’t need to depilate to fit in, I don’t need to be hairy to make a point. Yanno? (Not that I’m suggesting that anyone who leaves their body hair alone is necessarily making a point).

Okay, so now you all know my depilatory habits. Hurrah!

I’m a bit lazy. I’ll shave my pits if its gonna look like I’m wearing a short sleeved top out of the house. I have the same philosophy about my legs but they never get seen. I’m more uncomfortable about why I don’t like people seeing my legs than the hair.

Overall it works out to shaving my legs maybe twice a year and my pits about 4 times a year.

I’m a bit lazy. I’ll shave my pits if its gonna look like I’m wearing a short sleeved top out of the house. I have the same philosophy about my legs but they never get seen. I’m more uncomfortable about why I don’t like people seeing my legs than the hair.

Overall it works out to shaving my legs maybe twice a year and my pits about 4 times a year.

I am actually going to do a post on plus-size women and waxing. I got a twitter DM from someone asking if I feel self-conscious about getting waxed because of all the extra… well, fat. To be honest, I LOVE getting waxed. For myself, rather than anyone else. I did it when I was single and I do it now I am in a couple. I wear tights a lot in the UK so it is barely something I even have to do due to societal pressure – but I like it. I actually find it relaxing and it makes me feel refreshed. And, I’m an “all-off” kind of girl.
I never judge people who make the opposite choice from me. To be honest, I sometimes let my armpit hair grow quite long before getting rid of it. I have an affection for it actually – like, it’s SUPPOSED to be there. But then I do feel refreshed too, when I remove it.
I think hair and removal should be a very personal thing. I know manscaping is now also very common and from the men who I know that do it, it is about feeling lighter and groomed. I have to admit, I find men’s chests weird to look at when they are waxed. I wonder how far society pressure will go though before most of society – male or female are like hairless cats.
I like that there will be a couple of fury lovers still about. x.

I’m with catdraco here — I tend to let my sense of occasion dictate my shaving choices. My partner (male) seems to care more about his bodily follicle management than I did mine. I tend to wax once or twice in summer just for the feel and the pamper, but I live in a world of black pants and blouses so the onset of hair is less noticeable.

i shave my legs about once in the winter, and once a month in the summer. i shave my pits about once a month year round. i trim my “down there” hair because i’m not a fan of invasive feminine hygiene products. mostly my shaving coincides with a need to be really, really, skin scrapingly clean. it’s also the time i exfoliate like crazy. no one really comments on my hairyness or hairlessness. i remove facial hair through personal preferance.

I have so many contradicting opinions on hair removal. I get my mo waxed, pluck stray chin hairs and my eyebrows and in the middle of summer, I freak out about if I have one single hair on my legs. In winter, however, I don’t give a toss about having hairy legs or armpits. Sometimes my husband makes a Chewbacca joke but it doesn’t really bother him or me.
To further complicate matters, I am very opinionated on my right to have hairy arms and am also completely against brazilian and triple x waxes (however I’ve had my bikini line waxed numerous times). The only person who has really commented on my arms is my mother. In my adolescence, I was embarrassed enough to attempt shaving them but quickly realised that was a monumentally stupid idea. So I bleached for a while instead, but now I’m at the point that I really don’t care anymore about who knows that I have hairy arms. If only I could adopt that approach to my legs and my facial hair.

I used to shave legs and pits semi-regularly and bikini line whenever swimming was on the cards. Then I got lazy, and started wearing boardshorts. My husband has always declared he doesn’t care whether there is hair or not and I’ve been with him for almost 22 years so I’ve never felt any pressure one way or another from that direction. These days I shave my legs maybe once or twice a year and then not above the knee and my pits maybe 3 times a year if I happen to feel like it. I wear shorts and sleeveless tops irrespective of whether I’ve shaved or not. Admittedly this is made easier, in the sense of not challenging societal norms much, by the fact that you have to get pretty close to my legs to tell that there’s hair there.

I do quite like the feel of freshly shaven legs, but not so much that I can be bothered to do it regularly and I’m pretty neutral about my body hair in general, it’s just part of me, I don’t feel any particular need to do anything about it.

I’m more interested now in how to negotiate the hair question with my almost 12 year old daughter. She has at least one friend who already shaves her legs and being a dancer (ballet, jazz and hip hop) I know it’s going to become an issue eventually. I suppose it will just be a matter of having conversations that help her to understand the context in which women make choices about body hair and doing the helpful and supportive mum thing about whatever she chooses to do.

Actually, I’m already doing the same with my 13 year old son. He’s got a fairly noticeable proto-mustache happening and when my mum asked me if he was going to start shaving I instinctively responded by saying “He can shave if he wants to but I’m not going to be pressuring him into it or even bringing the subject up.” So apparently I’m an equal opportunity body & facial hair autonomy proponent.

I gave up shaving my armpits and legs a few months ago, after being on and off with it for a year, and it’s great! It seems that promoting women removing natural body hair is one of the many ways in which women are being told their bodies are WRONG just for…being how they are, naturally, and creating a phobia of one’s own body being percieved in its natural state. Also, it’s another mode of crippling women financially; siphoning off the, already lower, wages of women by promoting all these ‘must-have!’ products, which, as you say, are also hugely wasteful!
There’s an advert for an epilator which presents it as ‘Saving YOU time and money!’ The idea that NOT removing you body hair saves you most time and money is not considered by the media, which, perhaps, implies, they might be biased?
Nobody has ever made an issue of my body hair; one of my exes, when I apologised for my mass of pubic hair, just shrugged, grabbed his own, and said ‘What’s the problem?’

Sometimes I shave; sometimes I don’t. I’m inconsistent. I do shave to appease other people – society – because I swim quite regularly. I know it’s to appease other people when I do it. My (male) partner and I often swim at his parents’ pool, too, and they’d be shocked. I shave my bikini line (quite a lot, actually, which is one part personal preference and one part my partner’s preference, and he does a lot of shaving/manscaping, too, so okay), my legs, and my armpits. I don’t tweeze or wax my eyebrows, and I’ve never done anything to my arm hair.

I’m fair-haired, so even if I do feel the pressure to shave, I don’t feel pressure to do it often. I shave my armpits and bikini line most frequently, the former because I find armpit hair itchy, the latter because the growing-in stage is always itching and irritating. (Also, I’m fat, and I find that a very trim bikini line helps reduce chafing/chub rub in the summer.) I should mention that the fairly-thorough (i.e. most of it) bikini shaving is a pretty new development. I’ve been with the same primary partner for fourteen years (sometimes monogamous, sometimes not) and it’s only within the last year that I’ve done much regular bikini-line shaving.

I can go a couple of weeks before my leg hair becomes noticeable to someone who isn’t up close to it.

In the winter, I often go for weeks or months without shaving my armpits or legs, but I eventually do start again, either because of itchiness (dry skin + cold climes + leg hair = a goddamn lot of itching, for me), or because my leg hairs are getting really caught up in my tights and they start pulling. Maybe this is a curly hair thing? I like to wear skirts and dresses year-round, and in winter (Canadian) this means tights are an absolute necessity.

I’m not at all squicked by the look of body hair on other people. My partner has never complained or criticized me for any quantity or location of body hair, but he definitely prefers a smoother look and feel, and I admit that I love the feeling of my legs, just-shaved and -moisturized.

I try to shave infrequently so as to minimize waste.

I gotta disagree about the odour thing. Well, personally at least. If I shave or not, I get a residue of smell, that seems to cling to the hair or the root of it. If I wax or tweeze the hairs, I get no odor and almost no need for deoderant.

As for hair removal in general, I wish I had never been pressured into shaving my legs as a teen because I was basically hairless anyway and the hair I had was that nearly transparent body hair. Now my hair grows back much thicker and longer.

I probably shave my legs about 3 times over autumn and winter, and if I do it’s for the sensation of smooth skin. I think in shorts weather I would shave because of that stigma though.

In my bikini area I shave everything because I feel that it’s more hygenic.

I get a bit lazy with shaving my legs in the winter but I’ll put my hands up and admit to being a hair removal freak! If I could afford to, I would quite happily get laser hair removal from the eyebrows down. I’m naturally not a very hairy person and my friends all think I’m insane, so it’s definitely something I do for myself. On top of the usual hair removal, I shave my arms, all the way up (hands included) and wax my ‘stash/side burns/cheek fuzz. I’m not so ridiculously anal that I couldn’t leave the house without doing it and I have periods where I lapse, but the moment I notice hairs, I’m swift to get rid of them! I realise it is ridiculous and is probably linked to feeling feminine but I just don’t like being ‘hairy’!

Hi Bec, the idea that shaving causes hair to grow back thicker has been proven false. It really does not make a difference. It’s just that hair does tend to get thicker as we get older and people usually start shaving young when it is lighter.

I do shave my legs and arm pits, but only as “needed”. And, fortunately, my leg hair is quite light except in a few spots and I don’t have to shave above my knees. That combined with working from home means that I can go a few days even in summer. I also use an electric razor so that I can avoid using all the disposable stuff and dry shave.

I shave because I like the look better. Perhaps I wouldn’t if it that was the fashion, I don’t know. I don’t wish for anyone to feel that they absolutely *must* shave and I think that the stigma is ridiculous, which includes calling it “dirty” or “unhygienic” which is just nonsense (how is having a little hair on your body so much more unhygienic than having even more hair on your head?). There have certainly been times when I’ve gone out and forgotten to shave or just didn’t think it was worth it. I admit that I felt a bit self-conscious, but it wasn’t the end of the world. But, like I said, my hair is lighter.

I have been surprised to spot a few women going very visibly unshaved in public. I hope that they didn’t take my second glance the wrong way. It’s just so unusual to see. But I was glad to see them.

” making a decision based on your convictions should simply be an act, not necessarily bravery. ”

Well, making a decision based on one’s convictions is often brave when following your convictions may lead to negative consequences. I’m not sure what the negative consequences would be here, but it can be a bit scary to face a society that treats body hair on women so negatively.

I stopped shaving my legs in winter 1989–haven’t done it once since, not even for my wedding (long dress anyway eh?). My memory is that it took a couple summers before I got used to seeing my hairy legs in shorts and short skirts. Now I live in a beach town, wear whatever’s comfortable, and don’t even think about it, actually kinda get a kick out of the occasional stare; but it does take some time to get there.

I would sooner stop shaving my armpits than my legs. The reason is comfort. I have very sensitive underarms, and even the best razors and creams leave the area bumpy, burning and itchy. I actually really love the sensation of bare, lotion-ed legs. There is nothing like going to bed at night with freshly shaved calves! I am not brave enough to stop shaving my armpits during the summer, but maybe one day I will be. As far as other body hair goes, I keep my bush full, but have to tend to chin and upper lip hair due to PCOS. Although some women proudly wear facial hair, (and more power to them) I feel like my facial hair is not natural for me, but rather a symptom of a illness that I resent.

[...] My feral leghair & why I’m going to grow it [...]

I gave up on shaving my legs a while ago. Maybe two months? My hair is fairly fine so it’s not super obtrusive, and I acknowledge I might keep shaving if it was darker…but as is, I have really sensitive skin & I am *so* prone to razor burn that I just really couldn’t be arsed to do it. Part comfort, part laziness. I’m not as prone to razor burn in my armpits & I hate the stubbly feeling there, so I’ve kept shaving them. As far as “down there” – it’s a little untamed right now, but I usually keep it trimmed. I gave up trying to make my bikini line hairless and just got a swimsuit that doesn’t show it, because the razorburn/chance of ingrown hairs is a thousand times worse there and it is SO painful! Not worth it.

I haven’t shaved my legs in quite a few months. I tend to let it go au naturel as it doesnt bother me & most of the time no one except the boyfriend gets close enough to see that my legs are hairy so I dont worry about that either. Its lovely! and also I like to run my hands up it as it can be really soft!

I just get a swimsuit that covers the bikini line, however when it comes to my armpits, I still shave everynow and then – I can never get over the itchy stubbly bit without breaking & shaving!

Hooray for others who don’t shave!

Hair removal for me, for the most part, is a seasonal and occasional thing. During the summer months, I shave my legs twice a month; in the winter, my legs don’t get shaved from November until March (I’m in the U.S.), mostly because I actually think it keeps my legs warmer. I will shave my legs more often if I am going some place fancy or getting dressed up. For awhile, I didn’t shave anything because my skin is sensitive and I get miserable razor burn and ingrown hairs. I still do but I’ve learned how to avoid it or get rid of it when it happens.

I am full of contradictions though. I stopped shaving my armpits when I was 16 because I thought it was silly and haven’t looked back, which I am really grateful for. I think hairy pits are totally hot on women and it makes me smirk when I get a double take from someone when I am wearing a really feminine outfit. I trim both my armpits and my pubic hair about twice a month the whole year round. I keep my pubic hair short and occasionally shave the vulva because I dig the way it feels during sex.

The only “excess” hair that I remove because it embarrasses me is the dark stuff that grows out of my chin and my neck. I pluck that shit out as soon as I see it. I see the hypocrisy in it but goddamn, I do not like it when there is a random black hair sticking out of the side of my face.

Overall though, I really only remove hair when I feel compelled to or if it starts to bother me. I ceased giving a shit about what people think or societal expectations. That shit bores me to tears and I have long since checked out from social pressures to be not hairy or, for that matter, since it’s related in a lot of ways, not fat.

I personally have taken a lot of time to think about my body hair and what my shaving or lack of shaving means to me. Do I want it there? Why do I want it there? and how does it make me feel as a person?
When I started to think about it areas such as my legs and pits didnt bother me as much as my vagina. I long for a smooth, hairless (not completely) vagina! Why? Not because its what someone else finds sexy, and not because its what I am told is now sexy, but because it makes me feel clean, and neat, and in control. That in turn makes me feel sexy which is why I will continue.
The same follows through for other parts of my body, but to be honest to the extent of my nether regions.

I occasionally shave my legs, wax my underarms and get a full bikini wax. The frequency that I do all of this is dropping as I have started to wonder why I’m doing it.
I’m quite hairy in some places. My arm hair is very fair and it almost looks as though I haven’t a skerrick of hair on my arms. But my underarms and bikini are very dark and lustrous and no sooner do I wax/shave them, and it all grows back. I can’t help but think what a great sign of health this is. I wax my underarms because I find that they get very smellly if I don’t.

I recently grew my pit hairs out a bit, but then I trimmed them off for a photo shoot where I was supposed to be fat and sexy at the same time. I got worried that trying to be fat AND sexy AND hairy at the same time might have been too much, and sometimes I feel a bit weird about this decision. I felt like I was policing my own body! And it made me think a lot about how, as a fat lady, I am always very keen to emphasise the LADY bit, with lipsticks and hair bows and skirts. I get a whole lot of joy out of performing feminity like this, but I’m also not kidding myself that I’m doing this of my own accord. And I wonder how much my need for the femme-ness is based around some kind of weird cultural compensation for the fat-ness.

Best of luck to lovely hairy bits!

As someone who shaves off all axillary hair, and has since puberty, I will say without hesitation that I have often wondered how men deal with it. It is scratchy and uncomfortable, and contrary to the claim that it serves as a barrier to friction, it induces chafing on me. I also find it aesthetically displeasing on both sexes, but particularly on men, as they tend to have thicker, coarser body hair.

I cannot speak for anyone but myself, but for me, it has absolutely nothing to do with gender. I simply like bare, smooth skin.

As someone who shaves off all axillary hair, and has since puberty, I will say without hesitation that I have often wondered how men deal with it. It is scratchy and uncomfortable, and contrary to the claim that it serves as a barrier to friction, it induces chafing on me. I also find it aesthetically displeasing on both sexes, but particularly on men, as they tend to have thicker, coarser body hair.

I cannot speak for anyone but myself, but for me, it has absolutely nothing to do with gender. I simply like bare, smooth skin.

All vaginas are internal and hairless. I assume you are referring to your mons pubis or outer labia, or public area in general.

Interesting and precisely how I feel on the matter! I haven’t been shaving my underarms or legs for years now. It started because I just didn’t have the time with two children, then I read a few feminist zines on the subject and came to realise all the things that you’ve mentioned in your post. Having a daughter too, I felt it was important to give her the right example – I really don’t want her to feel like she should have to shave her body hair because I do (as I did when I was a kid) and I also wanted my son to understand that he shouldn’t expect women to be shaven either. I still have spells of shame (as you said though, it’s not my own – but projected on me by external forces), but I get over it a lot faster than I used to. My son asked me last year why I had beards under my arms – it used to be the case that a comment like that would have me diving for the razor, but I thought it was hilarious and best, felt perfectly okay about it.

Sometimes in public when I lift my arms, I feel a bit embarrassed but it’s mostly because I’m already paralysed by social anxiety and being heavily tattooed, I get stared at enough. So being the fat, tattooed, hairy lady – well, sometimes I just feel like a complete fuckin spectacle. But I learned a long time ago to avert my eyes from the stares. I guess I have to work on not shying away from being myself and being proud of who I am, but I’ve got a lot of conditioning to undo, so it’s taking me some time.

Great post! This is something I feel really passionate about so I’m beyond pleased that, having a large readership, you might have an impact on a whole bunch of people.

How beautiful is that pic of Sophia Loren, even with the hairy underarms. Do you know when the social pressure to start removing underarm hair started? Was this photo taken before or after that?
You are right though, it was probably created to create a self-consiousness in females so they could sell a product.

Interesting post! I have never seriously thought of growing my leg/underarm hair out. Sometimes it does get rather furry, but if I am going to wear a skirt or dress, it’s coming off. It’s partly because I hate the way it feels. I started shaving at 10 and I like the smooth feeling. Also, my hair is NOT a bit of blond peach fuzz. It’s dark, coarse and fast-growing, just like the hair on my head. I can’t “get away” with skipping a few days, and in the case of my underarms it feels so gross to me if I let it go several days that I usually shave it even if no one else would see it. I have to admit that my husband likes it better when I shave and that factors in.

One thing I would never do is get a Brazilian or remove hair in that area in any way, other than light bikini line shaving if I happen to be wearing that type of swimsuit (maybe once a year). Some women are so self-conscious about this that they feel the need to shave/wax while pregnant for fear of offending medical professionals. There are even spas that have marketed to this insecurity, which I think is shameful.

My mom said that my great-grandmother (who lived in the country and never wore a bra, either) experimented with leg-shaving once. It grew back prickly and her husband told her never to do that again.

Oh, Natalie, I’m even more a fan of you now that you’ve tackled this! I read a really interesting post on Tumblr late one night that basically said, even if you’re shaving your legs because you like it, how do you know you really like it? I’d been grappling with whether to stop shaving for some time by that point, and it really put me over the edge. Because honestly, if I weren’t inundated with advertising from the time I was old enough to comprehend language, would I really have the idea to remove all of my leg hair? Probably not. That was about six weeks ago.

I have really mixed feelings about my leg hair. On the one hand, it feels pretty delightfully subversive to me to walk around in above-the-knee skirts with my legs being all hairy (even if it is disappointingly pale, sparse, and generally not visible from outside my personal bubble). It’s nice not to have to worry about when the last time I shaved was, and am I going to hit the itchy five-day stubble mark soon? On the other hand, it’s been over a month and it still doesn’t feel normal. It bothers me that individual hairs tend to point in different directions. I miss having smooth legs. Was this something you (or anyone else here) dealt with once you stopped shaving?

I do shave my armpits still, because I’m naturally a pretty sweaty lady and I’m concerned about pit stains and odor. The bush grows pretty prodigiously and I’m more or less inclined to let it, so there’s trimming but no actual hair removal. I’ve been an eyebrow-plucker for a few years and am considering letting them grow back in because that’s the one aspect of performing femininity that I find actually physically painful (I swore off painful shoes at a very young age thanks to flat feet).

I’ve begun to struggle with performing femininity in general… on the one hand, it’s subversive to perform femininity and do it well, as a fatty. It’s subversive to dress well. On the other hand, there are some days where it’s just onerous, and those days I definitely don’t hesitate to just throw on jeans and a T-shirt. And does my hairiness undermine other aspects of the performance? I just don’t know. Too many questions!

I used to shave legs and pits semi-regularly and bikini line whenever swimming was on the cards. Then I got lazy, and started wearing boardshorts. My husband, who I’ve been with since I was 18 (almost 22 years now) has never cared one way or the other about my body hair so I haven’t felt any pressure from that direction, he’ll notice if I shave of course – he’s not completely oblivious! I do remember the pressure not to have hairy legs in high school, and comparing razor injuries with friends! I don’t remember any time since high school when anyone apart from my own children has let me know verbally or otherwise that they’d even noticed my body hair status. But that may be because I don’t pay attention.

The reason I don’t pay attention is that I really don’t care what any individual decides to do about their body hair, I don’t think about other people’s hair so I forget that there might be people thinking about mine. I do care about the societal pressure to conform and the negative body image stuff that characterises a natural body as gross and disgusting because I think that’s very damaging but I don’t see how having opinions about what other people should or shouldn’t do, even in the privacy of my own brain, helps combat that at all. So I don’t do it.

These days I shave legs about once or twice a year (and then not above the knee) and pits maybe 3 times a year, if I feel like it. I’ll sometimes get in the shower intending to maybe shave my armpits and then get out again and be dry and half-dressed before I realise I didn’t do it. I wear shorts and sleeveless tops irrespective of hairiness. As far as my legs go it’s made easier, in the sense of not being much of a challenge to societal norms, by the fact that you have to get kind of close up to tell whether I have hair.

I’m more concerned now with how to handle the hair question with my almost 12 year old daughter. She has at least one friend who already shaves her legs and being a dancer (ballet, jazz and hip hop) I know it’s going to become and issue sooner or later. I guess it will simply be a matter of having conversations with her that help her understand the context in which women make choices about how to deal with body hair and then doing the helpful and supportive mum thing in regards to whatever she decides to do. (Just no razor injuries please!)

Actually, I’m already doing this with my 13 year old son. He has quite the proto-mustache going and when my mum asked when he was going to start shaving I instinctively replied “He can shave if he wants but I’m not going to pressure him or go out of my way to bring the subject up.” So apparently I’m an equal opportunity body hair autonomy proponent.

Hmmm. Interesting. I shave my legs, but mostly because I like how they feel when they are smooth. This winter I’ve been shaving whenever it occurs to me – usually about once a fortnight, and only up to my knees. I am now in a steady relationship and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care one jot about how hairy or not I am – I might ask him what he thinks tonight. Before that I was having casual sex with someone and would usually shave beforehand, but again mostly because of how it made ME feel. If I couldn’t be bothered, I didn’t. I’ve mostly stopped shaving my underarms, although I think I will again in summer because of the sweat issue. I sweat quite a bit and I sometimes ride my bike to work and it CAN get a bit pungent. I don’t mind the smell, as long as it’s not more than a day old it’s a nice natural smell, but I think I am still too afraid of being the fat, weird, smelly one.

Last summer I realised halfway through that I had stopped bothering to shave if I was going to wear skirts. I still shaved about once a week anyway, but having forgotten to shave wasn’t a problem if I was going to put on a skirt. But then, a bit of stubble is not the same statement as lush growth, is it?

I remember so clealry being ashamed of my hairy legs in high school. Everyone else shaved or else had light hair and you couldn’t tell. My parents were hippes and I had to BEG my mother to buy me a razor. I knew some very dark Italian girls who shaved their arms, too!

I agree that fashion is gender normative, but disagree that my conflict is intentional. We live in a society where we are systematically conditioned to operate within gender norms. Girls are taught to wear feminine clothes, remove hair, minimise the space they take up, etc etc. As a woman who identifies as feminist, I’m all about peeling away the layers of conditioning I’ve been subjected to.

As a fat woman, I blog about clothing (not fashion or trends really) because fat people have limited access to clothing (and are pretty much excluded from actual fashion). Are you saying that I should just shut my mouth and stop blogging? I’d prefer to investigate what options are open to me, and challenge assumptions about gender as well as size. I’ve already blogged about the notion of flattering outfits, perhaps you missed it?

I think it should be up to each woman what she wants to do. I know I go through stages where I don’t and some where I just half to. I prefer to shave in the summer because I find especially, in the armpit sense, it reduces odor. I’m not obsessed about it by any means and it always makes me laugh ok roll eyes when I people get all excited or grossed out by a woman not shaving. Hello! that’s how we are supposed to be. Mustache hair is another story.

Honestly, it took me two summers before I was comfortable with the look and feel of my hairy legs out in public (and I was living in the US South, so covering all summer long wasn’t a realistic option). It can be a long process of adjusting.

Thank you!!!!!for bringing this issue to light – ive only just found your blog and your ideas on this have totally sold me on your awesomeness!!!
Its a hugely emotional/insecurity issue for me and i have long, dark hair in some kinda unconventional areas (stache, healthy snail trail ect.)that i feel i need to make some decisions on. Im in two minds – on one side im really actively working mentally to ‘own’ it and be proud because it does fit in strongly with my sense of self as a feminist woman and if anything, makes me feel more naturally feminine (fertility concepts come into play for me in a way). On the other hand, i have to admit to myself that it really does make me feel physically unattractive (by my own standards of whats attractive) and insecure when it comes to meeting people/considering what others think of me.
so i dunno – anyone wanna weigh in on these ideas? its really good to have a sounding board to bounce these ideas off – ive never voiced them to anyone but my partner (who is completely supportive and attracted to my hairy body :P)

I shaved for the first time when I was 12, for the exact same reasons you did. I wish I never had. My leg hair is blonde to the point of invisibility; it’s only noticeable on my shins where it’s darker. I’ve never really been a regular shaver, and I’ve never really been ashamed of my leg hair. Maybe it’s because you can’t see it, maybe it’s because I like the feeling of the breeze in my fur. Either way, I shave my legs once every three months or so – when there’s a special (and sexy) occasion coming up or something similar.

The armpits are another story, although it’s much the same. I only razor the dark hair there when I’m going sleeveless in a social situation like a party. If I’m just bopping around the house or doing errands, then forget it. Again, I’ll shave if there’s a sexy occasion on the horizon, but it’s not often. Maybe once every two weeks – less in the winter.

My husband doesn’t say anything about it, but I know that he likes the smoothness of clean-shaven legs. When asked, he doesn’t care. I shave for him because it’s a texture change and feels good for both of us to experience. But other people? Screw ‘em. I’m more than happy to let the breeze run through my hair legs and pits.

I am pretty comfortable with my leg, crotch, and armpits being hairy. However, my lady beard and mustache are treated with pure hatred on my part. I don’t think they are ever going to be something I can let grow. I’ve told my fiance it’s his job when I’m in a nursing home to come and pluck me.

I’m conflicted on this issue. I have no problem letting all of my other natural grow but I just can’t be comfortable with my facial hair. It’s purely a society thing. I think the bearded lady from Carnivale is fucking hot. Yet, I could never let that happen to myself. I’m not comfortable showing that face to the public, I don’t feel attractive, and frankly it’s very irritating to have a beard and a double chin. That shit scratches my chest.

I’m sure when I’m an old lady my beard will be flapping happily in the wind despite my mandate to the fiance. For right now though we’re at war.

I shaved when I was going to do a bellydance performance because I accepted it as part of the “costume”. But I default to hairy. I tend to wear long skirts and sleeves anyway, so its a non issue for me, usually. Its an issue that fascinates me. My mother is HORRIFIED that I would have armpit hair. She sat me down for a Serious Talk as a teenager about how unhygenic it was. I asked why my brothers didn’t have to shave. She said something about men being dirty animals. Oddly enough, she didn’t have a problem with leg hair. When I was an exchange student to the states, I caught a guy in a bar eyeing me with the fascination some find for the deformed. I worked out he’d caught sight of my leg hair. The German girl I was with laughed and tried to expose hers. (So blond you couldn’t see anyway.) The guy we were with was increasingly uncomfortable and physically moved away from me when in the course of the discussion I said I hated sleeping with people with shaved legs because they scratched mine. (Do you think I should have explained the occasion was a platonic one with my tranny flatmate because we were both so cold in winter?)

I have hairy nipples too. I don’t get too hung up about it but I do generally pluck for new lovers. Somethng to share with them later. :) Once, with a lot of effort, tweezers and superglue, I beaded my nipple hairs. My female flatmates loved it and were jealous they could only decorate with piercings; my bi male lover shrugged wryly; the other boy Totally Freaked. He was visibly relieved that my creativity did not survive a soak in his hottub, and I lost all the beads down his plughole. I was disappointed, I’d really got a crick in the neck doing it. Super Straight Boy never seemed to have a problem with my hairyness though, just my fashion sense.

I remember a friend of mine in primary school being unmercifully teased about her hairy legs by the boys. Also a teacher’s aide sniggered about and considered dirty somehow because she didn’t shave her armpits. They both seemed like fine people to me. I checked – the boys were wrong – the teacher aide didn’t smell. I concluded boys were stupid.

This conclusion had further evidence in uni years when two male housemates on separate occasions asked me why I only shaved the top part of my legs. They were simply so ignorant of regular female anatomy that it never occurred to them that females might have unnoticably fine hair there. It never occurred to me to feel diminished by their plasticised ideal, I merely snorted with annoyance and loudly and slowly told them facts.

I’ve done the full brazilian, as part of a hairbrained girly bonding expedition with the flatmates. The boys liked it. Bi-boy thought it was practical. I thought I looked like uncooked plucked chicken, and bugger going through that pain again. Should have just gotten matching tattoos with them, like normal people. I discovered that many people, including my boss, who regularly take off most hair everywhere, think brazilians are hardcore. Leaving the tiny landing strip is this huge line between femininity and pedophilebait. From this hairy girl’s point of view this is bemusing.

Shaving your legs to go with the aesthetic of high heels and rockabilly skirt, that I can understand. I’d do it, if I was dressing up. I choose flats for my back though, and long skirts, honestly partly to avoid the hair thing being an issue for other people. (Damn, I wish I’d worn a short skirt to vote, to see if only the Greens volunteer approached me.)

My uni training was as an actor. Maybe why I see hair as just another optional costume. I remember another first year wondering whether to shave her pits for a our current play. She was at the centre of our final Ta-Da with her arms above her head. She said she didn’t care either way. A couple of us were militant she shouldn’t HAVE to. ( and she didn’t have to; the director said nothing) I sided with she should because it would draw focus in a way we didn’t intend in that scene. I think I would still stick with that, although if she cared, and she was told to shave by the director, that would have been an entirely different matter, and I’d have argued for a costume alteration so it wasn’t an issue.

I guess I feel it shouldn’t be a big deal, but for a lot of people a lot of the time, it is, so should be respectfully accomadated on an individual basis.
( I go to great lengths that my mother never sees my armpits. And last time I visited in summer for a week, I scissored it off short. I’ve also never mentioned to her that I do actually vote for those filthy greenies, although it wasn’t my hair growth that warped my values that way)

I just celebrated my 3-year anniversary with my leg hair, and I’ve been doing the hairy pit thing for 3ish months. I absolutely love having this hair… it has become such a source of empowerment and confidence for me when I get to show it off. I really appreciated this post and am going to share it with my friends :)

Yes I do! Trying to shave my actual vagina may be a little painful, and tricky…

Hmm I guess you are right about what you say, and I knew it before I read your post. I mean it is obvious that shaving your body hair is just something that is so normal and traditional that we don’t question it, we just do it. Even though be maybe just do it, because society wants us to.
I always do it, because I feel uncomfy with hairy legs, I don’t like the feeling when I am lying in my bed and feel my legs rub against each other with hairs on. So at all I would say it is up to everyone if she (or even he) like to shave his legs, arms or whatever.

What I really don’t like about this post is this quote: “I knew that it was on the list of Things To Do In Order To Be A Proper Female..”

WTF? I mean we are talking about acceptance and tolerance all day but than there is a list of things you have to do to become a “proper female” ? What if I like shaving my legs, what if I do it for me, not for my partner? I am not prober female, because I am not fulfilling thing on this list, that some female activist put together?
Why is it alway sooo bad to just do what society accepts? I mean of cause you should think about it and make it clear to yourself so you know that most of the ideals or standards aren’t what we really need but just what society and traditions learned us to do so. But why is the only way to get out of this to be against it?
I guess that many women who don’t shave their hair are doing it in an act of “I am against it just because society want me to do it!”.

I hope you understand what I mean…

Ahh that’s actually my poor writing there. Shaving/ body hair removal is what we’ve been trained to do to be a Proper Woman!! I’m questioning that conditioning in this post.

I stopped shaving my legs in May of 2003, after my senior prom and didn’t shave them again for close to five years. I continued to wear swimsuits and shorts, I just didn’t give a shit if other people were judging me. IT WAS WONDERFUL. I shave now every once in a great while because I WANT to, rather than because I feel like I have to or should. I still get shit from people I love, but I school them on their ignorance each and every time. I shave my armpits sporadically and find it much more pleasant to have armpit hair.

I don’t shave anything and haven’t since for 3+ years. Its fantastic! The only comments I get really are from my mom and sister -and that rarely happens anymore. I think a lot of people have strong opinions on my body hair but they realize that it is rude to bring up to my face. The exception of this is kids (I work with kids) -

This summer at day camp my 7 year old client and I had this exchange:
Client: Why do you have hair under there? (my armpits)
Me: It grows there naturally and I don’t shave it off. You know that most women grow hair under their arms right?
Client: No they don’t
Me: Yes they do, most women shave it off but I don’t want to
Client: You should
Me: Why?
Client: Because then you will be more beautiful
Me: Men don’t shave their armpits so I shouldn’t have to either
My client, bored with the conversation jumped in the pool

A couple weeks ago my 7 year old nephew also told me I should shave basically for the same reason.

What disturbs me is that these 7 year old boys have already been deeply conditioned to believe that shaved armpits on women is more attractive.

I’m all for individual choices -if you want to shave then fine- but I believe that folks also need to own up to the fact that the reason they might find shaved legs and less hair on people in general so attractive is because they have been conditioned to believe that from birth.

[...] shaving under the old arms gets invented, and then they invent a product to minimise the irritation caused by shaving under the arms.  [...]

[...] at definatalie.com writes about her feral leghair and why she’s going to grow it.  She includes a great [...]

[...] so I thought I’d better not.  And before I got around to doing anything about it, I read this post from definatalie.  And I started to think about it.  Why do I shave my legs?  Lots of [...]

I love the feeling of wind in my leg hairs when they’re long; it’s a warm, fuzzy feeling. I gave up on shaving this winter to an even greater extent than I usually do, because I wasn’t going to go dancing. And then we had a holiday in Australia, and I shaved it all off so that I could wear shorts and not feel like everyone was staring at me the whole time. I need some hairy-legged buddies that I can hang out with to boost my confidence in being hairy in public.

[...] My feral leghair, and why I’m going to grow it (from Definatalie, a very inspiring blog). What you choose to do with your body hair is entirely up to you, but don’t get sucked in by the media’s insistence that body hair on women is somehow unhygienic (if it’s not dirty on men, why would be dirty on women?). If you find the sight of a woman’s body hair disgusting, then perhaps this is simply because it’s such an unfamiliar sight. Ultimately, it’s not your place to judge. Do what you want with your body, and let others do what they want with theirs. But do read the article. It’s fantastic and contains some interesting analysis on the history of women’s body hair becoming objectionable. Surely, this can’t be a revelation to any of us in the western world. We know that advertisers and marketers create problems within our bodies and our lives, even if they are perfectly natural and normal bodies and lives, and then they offer a magical product to solve our new problems. Apply it anywhere, it’s the same old trick. Hand sanitisers, home scents, any product you see on morning TV… we’re whipped into a frenzy of insecurity that can only be relieved with the topical application of a specific, ridiculous, product. The issue with hair removal is that it’s not ridiculous to us anymore because the tradition is so ingrained. Even if that tradition was manufactured within living memory! [...]

I was never pressured into or prevented from removing body hair by my mother, she made it clear that it was my choice. So, that left just me and societal norms to battle it out. I avoided shaving or waxing my leg and armpit hair for years as a teenager, despite feeling tremendously embarrassed about it. I would trim my underarm hair and only wear t-shirts with longer sleeves, and avoided shorts and skirts in favour of 3/4 length pants in Summer. I distinctly remember being teased in high school when I was about 14 for having hairy legs, and it was this ridicule that finally pushed me to start shaving. I’m now 23, and over the last few years have been slowly making the leap to hairy and happy. Firstly, I just shaved in Summer, then I progressed to unshaven armpits, but shaven legs, and finally this Summer I am planning not to shave at all. I seem to have experienced a profound shift the last few months – for the first time I am relishing my hairy legs and armpits, and feel amazingly sexy and feminine. I think it helps that my parents and partner are both very supportive and love my hairyness.

I read a little saying today, which I love:
“All the hours I save on body hair removal I devote to revolution!”

I modelled for a life drawing class a few times a coupla years back, when i was a non-shaver. So I was full bush, lovely couple of months worth of leg & pit hair, being nude for money. The first thing my mum asked me? ‘Oh god, Belinda, please tell me your shaved your legs & underarms? At the very least your underarms!’ She was literally more horrified by me being hirstute than the whole naked for strangers part. It was interesting for me, because she forbade my from shaving my legs until I started high school.

Now, I shave legs & pits, but totally (and unapologetically) let my pubes run riot. I’ve had it all off before, and it just seemed…. creepy. I felt sorta plastic or something. I’ve been considering a bit of a trim around the bikini line, but only because I’m about to make myself my first ever actual bikini. It seems like it might be fitting.

Oh, and I swear I smell less when I don’t shave under my arms. This will definitely sound weird to SOMEBODY out there, but I actually prefer my body odour when pit-hairy

Hello! I was looking for that Harper’s Bazaar advertisement when I found your post. (I’m a lindy hopper, so silly crap about dancing is always fun to have.) But what a great find! I’ll have to keep looking around your blog. :)

I don’t shave anything. I drunkenly showed off my furry pits at a high school reunion and I did so with such jubilance and pride that no one gave me any crap to my face. I think what really stings the most is hearing someone comment in common conversation about “Ugh, my legs look so gross. I haven’t shaved in a week, blah blah.” Maybe I’m beyond shame but I just say something like, “That’s not gross. I don’t ever shave my legs.”

The key isn’t shaving or not shaving, I think. Many people seem to have commented that they don’t shave in the winter or only shave when they have to wear something that would show it. The key seems being ashamed of people seeing the hair. If it’s okay to have body hair then it’s okay to have it show with a sleeveless top and it’s okay to show it with a skirt.

I have self-injury scars on my shoulder, so I don’t wear sleeveless things very often out of shame for THAT. (I really shouldn’t be ashamed of my struggles with mental illness and self-injury, but I am. It’s not just a gender issue. I’m mostly not interested in having to explain to people that ask that I have self-injured.)

I think hairless bodies and striving to make the female body hairless is too eerily like trying to make all women look like children. Hairless, pure, children. It’s another way that we reduce a women’s power is to make them like children. Beings to control, simple beings, unpowerful beings. I am an adult woman and I have power and look at my hairy legs.

I don’t hide my hair for fashion. I don’t wear tights to cover leg hair, I don’t shave for special occasions. And I certainly don’t mess with my junk.

I don’t shave my armpits or pubic hair. My armpits, I got out of the habit of shaving initially because I have some scars on my shoulder that I always kept covered up, so my clothes covered my pits anyway; then I noticed that they actually were much less sweaty and smelly when they were unshaven, and saw some glamour photos of someone I knew, who explained that she didn’t cover up her hairy pits in the photos because she was proud to be unshaven and personally considered it sexy. Although my initial reaction was “ew, that just doesn’t look very nice”, I kept going back to the photos, and after a while, decided that it looked… interesting. Slowly, I became desensitized to the conditioning that pit hair = gross, and got comfortable with my own. I stopped shaving my pits about two years ago, but until last year, I was still self-conscious about it – tried not to raise my arms if my sleeves were too short, worried people were looking, etc. One of my big regrets is that after much deliberation, I decided to shave before wearing a spaghetti-strap dress to my prom. Alongside the kick-ass flat knee-high boots I was already wearing with my ballgown, it would have looked great.

Pubic hair: luckily, no one really talked about it, so I assumed it was normal to leave it unshaven, although I did shave the “bikini line” before going swimming. Once or twice I tried shaving it all off, and it felt kind of interesting, but I thought it looked REALLY weird and childish, and the ingrown hairs and itching as it grew back were just horrible. When I try to shave any part of it (mainly just the sparse scattering that spreads a centimeter down my thigh), my skin objects terribly, with ingrown hairs all over the place and crazy itching. Luckily, I finally came to terms recently with just letting it be. I trim it because I prefer how it feels when it’s a bit shorter, but not that much shorter. It’s really annoying to hear my male AND female friends talk about how gross it is for women to not shave their pubic hair! The guys never seem to feel obliged to do away with theirs, and no one seems to talk about how creepy it is to go back to looking like your genitals are prepubescent!

Leg hair, for me, is just a visual thing. I don’t mind leg hair as a concept, but mine, in my opinion, is funny-looking, so I shave it if I’m going bare-legged. That said, I’m not often bare-legged, between living in chilly England and having some scars that I’d rather keep to myself…