What is something you will never understand?
How somehow society has fooled us all to believe that hair on men = natural, however hair on women = revolting.
The purpose of hair is pretty important. Not only does it keep us warm and partake in thermoregulation, it also is protective by trapping bacteria. Most mammals on the planet have some kind of hair or fur, but for some reason human women should be the exception? This idea is, and always will be, absolutely ludicrous to me.
I distinctly remember my first experience of being laughed at for having body hair - I was 15 and in my physical education class. The girls had to wear skorts and therefore my legs were bare. I hadn’t ever shaved my legs before, even though my mother had told me to - I just didn’t feel like it. I heard sniggering around me during the whole lesson - from both girls and boys. Eventually one of the girls shouted at me, 『ever heard of a razor?』. My initial reaction was embarrassment as I realised that everyone was staring at my legs. Next, confusion took over my emotions as I realised that nobody was making fun of the boys stood around me with much hairier legs. How could the boys ridicule me, when they had never picked up a razor in their life too?
Being the rebellious teenager I am, I decided I wasn’t going to shave because I didn’t want to. Something about the media pushing women to be as smooth as a pre-pubescent child doesn’t feel… right to me. I completely agree with women making this personal decision for themselves, but I refuse to tolerate the media telling women what is right and wrong.
Even my own sister told me that having body hair is unhygienic. Despite this, she has never once said this to my brothers or father of whom have more, darker and thicker hair than me. Somehow we have all been programmed to believe that the hair on women is inherently different, and worse, than what is on men.
Despite how many times society, my family or even strangers tell me that my body hair is disgusting just because I am female, I will still not pick up the razor. Why? Because only I get to make decisions about my own body.
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Pamela Smith
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16h ago