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Shave it ‘Cause it’s Hot A Look Into the World of Shaving and the Connotations Associated with Going All-Natural Kayla Morris 1296
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Shave it ‘Cause it’s Hot
Since the early 1900s America has been obsessed with body hair, or lack thereof. Trends such as manscaping, Brazilian and bikini wax, eyebrow waxing, shaving-legs, underarms, faces, etc. have become more popular over the years, first with women and more recently, a trend among men. So what is this obsession with the hairless body? What makes smooth legs and armpits so sexy? Why is it that society judges when this expectation is broken?
THE BEGINNING OF A TREND As women, and more increasingly men, there is this expectation to be smooth and hairless. It’s sexy, beautiful and “feminine”. This silky smooth skin has become the norm and as history has shown, it has been the case for a long time now. Up until the early 1900s, men’s faces were the only part of the body to be shaved and groomed. As women’s style began to shift into a more permissive fashion, body hair, more specifically, underarm hair, started to gain an ugly reputation (Friebur 2005). As sleeves became shorter the thought of showing an unruly armpit was unbearable, and so began the hairless trend. As women’s fashion continued to change, so did the level of shaving necessity. From sleeveless shirts, shorter skirts/dresses, to capris and shorts, and swimsuits that showed off the bikini line, the more skin that showed the less hair
3 wanted to be seen. Why the fuss? Why must women be hairless while men can turn into gorillas and still be accepted as ‘attractive’ by society?
Sally is Hairy There’s a popular behavior among women when it comes to dating: only shave your legs, pits and bikini line if you plan on having sex, if this is not the plan, then don’t go to the trouble of ridding your body of hair, making it impossible for any kind of intimacy to happen. Therein lies the crux. Socially, women and men alike have been trained to think that a woman with hairy pits and legs is gross, unhygienic and dirty. Most theorists on the subject argue that the reason shaving became a style among women was because of the innocence associated with a hairless body. Growing body hair is a sign of womanhood, becoming an adult, and shaving it all off makes one seem younger, childlike, “innocent”. This ideal that women need to be kept pure, innocent and forever young was one created by men. The solution to women taking back their womanhood is to stop the habit of shaving, and in time changing the notion that women should shave to be seen as feminine. However, even in this day and age where equality among men and women is closer than it’s ever been, a lot of the self-proclaimed feminists out there still shave their armpits and legs. The reason being a fear, not only from society, but from in themselves of how they might be viewed and treated because of a hairy underarm.
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Beard Me For as long as men have had the resources, shaving and grooming of the facial hair has always been a style statement among men. Growing a beard is seen as the manliest thing a boy can ever do, the marking of manhood. There is always the option to shave, and being clean cut is viewed as professional and attractive. There are so many different ways in which a man can style his facial hair: beard, goatee, soul patch, Fu Manchu, and handlebar, etc. However, sporting a beard can have negative implications, especially in the workplace. It’s a seldom sight among business professionals to see a man sporting any kind of facial hair, even if it is nicely trimmed. Having a beard or mustache in a business profession would count you the odd man out and often ruins your chances of obtaining such a profession. Although there are tools out there specific to trimming, grooming and styling facial hair, the same negative connotations of a hairy woman apply to men.
Manscaping is the future According to Urban Dictionary the definition of Manscaping is twofold. The most common and broader definition refers to “shaving, waxing, [and] cleaning up of the superfluous fur� (UD). This can refer to the face (including both beard/mustache and eyebrows), the chest and back hair, leg hair and even the
5 genital region. The less common and more specific definition refers solely to the shaving and grooming of hair below the belt. This new trend has exploded among the male population in the U.S. This trend for men to be hairless creates a double standard between men and women, as it’s both acceptable to be hairless and hairy. Like everything, it seems what’s considered acceptable among men is still a catching up game for women.
THE MEDIA GETS THE FINAL SAY Anthony Synnott’s “Shame and Glory: A Sociology of Hair” (1987:392) pinpoints exactly why women have been chosen to become hairless wonders: “Beauty conscious and fashion conscious women…glory in the style and profusion of the hair above, and the absence of the hair below.” Magazines such as Vogue, Seventeen Magazine and Cosmopolitan all tout different ways in which you can remove hair. All models and celebrities showcased in such magazines are flawlessly hairless, giving the reader an image to aspire. Although fashion targets both genders, females are the main subjects and being bombarded with a code of beauty, any sort of deviation from those rules is a catastrophe. Sure there are awful fads such as crop tops, parachute pants and platform boots but those don’t compare to the gross discovery of some beautiful woman sporting a spaghetti strap whose pits are hairier than Robin Williams’ neck. To add to the media frenzy as the solidifier of all things acceptable, in terms of hair on the body, a top search for ‘hairy celebrities’ on Google comes up with at least 5 links featuring hairy female celebs. Exploring these links further features
6 zoomed in pictures on armpits and bikini lines of well known actresses with captions that explain the horrific scene and degrade the person whose been caught on camera.
It Pays To Be Schick For centuries razors and straight blades have been used to remove hair on the body. All throughout time men had sophisticated shaving kits and barbers who specialized in the grooming of the face; for women, however, there was just the single blade razor. When it became fashionable for women to shave their extremities, Gillette knew that there was money to be made and decided to capitalize on this exploding trend (Friebur 2005). Besides the beauty trends that are associated with hairlessness, shaving the body sometimes serves a functional purpose. In sports, the less hair the better when it comes to competitive swimming. Any little follicle present on the body could add seconds to your time, impeding the hydrodynamics involved in the sport. Shaving also adds camaraderie between teammates whether that be shown through shaving of the head or legs.
ONLY IN THE U.S. OF A.? Access to razors makes a difference as to who in the world is shaving. In underdeveloped countries shaving is less a necessity and more of a luxury. This applies to everywhere in the world, if it is affordable shaving becomes a necessity. Though you would be hard pressed to find an American woman with hairy legs, it’s
7 not as uncommon among those outside of the U.S.A. Although European women are less likely to shave, it is still a popular fashion that is practiced (Synnott 1987). Before it was fashionable, Europeans actually viewed shaving as a poor person’s habit as prostitutes were the only ones who shaved their legs regularly. Over time, this stigma became less of a concern and women started to embrace the smooth and hairless fashion.
TO BE HAIRY OR NOT TO BE HAIRY? This time old question is being asked in the minds of men and women alike. Although it seems for now men have more options, it’s slowly becoming more acceptable for women to have those same options. As women have found equal footing in almost all aspects of rights, the next step is for women to take control of their body hair. Though it may never be seen as socially acceptable for a woman to quit shaving her arm pits and legs, one day it might be acceptable for her to be comfortable with herself to throw out the razors and embrace her woman body to its hairiest extent.
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REFERENCES
Friebur, Robin. 2005. “Shaving is the Pits.” Off Our Backs, 35(5/6):37-38. Summersong. 2005. “Manscaping.” Urban Dictionary. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=manscaping Synnott, Anthony. 1987. “Shame and Glory: A Sociology of Hair.” The British Journal of Sociology, 38(3):381-413.