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Woman spends $500/year removing body and facial hair. Why?

"Why are your arms so hairy?" a man I was dating asked in 2013. I recoiled, embarrassed. I had never thought about my arm hairs.

"Because I'm half-Irish and in menopause," I should have said. "It's not arm hair, it's fur," I joked to my hair stylist last Spring.

That's when I began shaving my forearms, in addition to policing hair on my upper lip, underarms, legs, crotch, neck, face, eyebrows and nostrils.

"I think about how else I could use my brain cells without hunching over a lit-up vanity mirror," Natalie Daher wrote in this excellent article.

"I was destined to be hairy, it seems, because of my genetics," Daher said. "My father is of Lebanese descent, while my mother is of Irish descent. I blame dad’s DNA for my hair growth in places considered less acceptable for a woman in America."

[huffpost.com]

LiterateHiker 9 Sep 2
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18 comments

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1

I Googled the origins of women shaving. It was about the changes in women's fashion. In the middle east women have been waxing everything for their wedding (some of the men did too) and some continued after they got married. Check it out.

1

Interesting, given the subject of the article, that the photo of the author has her in a fur coat.

@Kenny_M

It's a fake furry coat. Hilarious!

Can you say "juxtaposition"?!?

1

while serving in the RCAF i wa stationed in germany for 3 1/2 yrs (early 1980s). i noticed early on that the german women didn't bother shaving their legs or armpits. to be quite honest, if the woman was attractive, her body hair didn't distract from her attractiveness, & may even had added to it, in a primal way, imo.

3

Women are held to an unfair standard in this area (and many other areas). I can and currently do show up at work looking like goddamned Sasquatch and no one bats an eye. If a woman shows up with unshaved legs or armpits they're immediately judged.

Fuck that shit.

1

i spend zero on hair removal, and even before diabetes removed my pesky leg hairs that's how much i spent then too. i do spend a nanosecond or two sometimes with scissors snipping a chin hair -- thanks mom!) i may shave under my arms in summer if i get too sweaty and a shower doesn't clean me well enough, but that's not a frequent occurrence and i wouldn't do it just so people don't faint at the sight of me in a swimsuit. if they don't faint at my weird round shape, they won't faint at the fight of a little fur. legs? forget it. arms? never! if someone doesn't like my arms, he can keep it to himself! my guy likes me just as i am.

g

1

My wife is "furry" but her arm hair is far less visible than it was when she was younger, as it's now grey against white rather than black against white. For some reason her leg hairs haven't turned color though. I call her my Hobbit. She's beautiful just the way she is.

When she was forced-bussed the black students would pull and pick at her arm hair to make fun of her.

She went on to be one of the prettiest girls in the large high school she attended; the body hair was part of her exotic appeal, along with her waist-length black hair. Boys fought (sometimes literally) for her attention.

As for the asshat who called out your arm hair, you should be grateful that he revealed his true nature early in the relationship.

1

For me it is the visuals and cleanliness but on the same hand if i expect a women to do it she has already not ,I do it also because i like that look and feel on myself for the same reason unless she does not

2

I’m a fan of hirsute women. That said I don’t think spending $500 a year on cosmetic alterations is all that alarming. $42 amonth? I spend more on coffee. If these alterations make the person feel better or more attractive, more power to them.

2

We are taught , women shouldn't have the hair that turns up , as a part of puberty . Faint mustache , we're going to get bullied for it , under arm pit hair , shame on me , fuzzy leg hair , how unlady like . We are taught how to use a razor , hair removal chemicals , hot waxes to rip the hairs out by the roots , electrolysis , laser , plucking , and what ever else they can come up with , for the entire rest of our lives . And it's just the beginning of the body shaming . And I have to admit , I am also influenced by the grooming maintenance of the people I meet . Shame on me .

1

Um.... we're mammals.

1

Most people are programmed in many ways. Annette never shaved anything and I loved it!!

"Most people are programmed in many ways." No, most people are following what they perceive as social directives. If they lived alone on an island, with no possibility of leaving no one would bother with any of the grooming rituals.

1

One of my first and sexiest girlfriends had hairy forearms, and I've always found that sexy since. Years later, I had a GF who shaved EVERYWHERE and I got turned on by that too. I guess it's an experiential thing. I guess I'm affected by my experiences.

3

$500!!! Nope! That's a nice chunk of change. Shaving is a lot cheaper. If I end up with a mustache I will shave that too!

1

Supposedly, the idea of women shaving was created by razor companies when they were brainstorming how to sell more razors. They needed a way to get women to buy them, so they pushed this idea that women shouldn't have arm and leg hair.

I don't mind hair on women as long as it's not super thick. Hell, if I have thick hair on my limbs, I'd probably shave it myself. Even with thin hair, I occasionally get an urge to shave it all off. I've known guys who looked like their arms and legs were covered in pubic hair and I wouldn't be able to stand that. I guess if I was born that way, but I am big on texture and that's a weird texture.

@Ms_McSteven The reference is lost to me as I've never seen it.

1

T'Pau once said to Leonard McCoy the hair is the hair what can be done. (Or something similar to that)
All humans are not exactly identical.😁

2

My family is from Eastern Europe, and we are a hirsute people. That being said, I take care of hair in places where it doesn't feel comfortable for me (face, legs, underarms), but otherwise I can't go nuts about it.

ughhh tell me about it!! Another eastern european decent here and we definitely did develop hair to keep us warm in the cold climates! :/

1

I appreciate the lost time in removing hair, but $500!!! .. ouch .... thats a hellof a razor

1

I’ve never been bothered by hair on a woman’s body, and I don’t judge anyone’s grooming habits. Shave, pluck, wax, laser, or not—it’s her choice.

When I was 21 I dated a Mexican woman who had hair around her nipples. I love mouthing a woman’s breasts and hers were no exception.

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