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The hair removal industry is making money hand over fist as society tells us that body hair has to go. Once again we’re being told that natural is disgusting, so we have to do something to make ourselves fit the unnatural cultural mold. Even though most people grow at least some body hair and it’s totally natural, we’re being trained to see it as something that has to be stopped.
Personally, I think the obsession over body hair is ridiculous. It used to be just women who were expected to shave, now even men are shaving and waxing and getting laser treatments to remove the hair that nature intended for them to have. Why is society so bent on going against nature? Not only are we being taught that being hairless is more attractive, we’re also being told that it’s more sanitary. The sanitary part is untrue, and the attractive part is a matter of opinion. That opinion has been skewed over time as the media takes control of more and more people’s minds.
I’m not a fan of people shaving or waxing their genital area. I know there’s no scientifically documented connection between pedophilic tendencies and shaving, but I believe, as many do, that there is one. When people mature they develop hair in certain regions. Wanting a person to look like a prepubescent child is more than a little disturbing. With the way the media is sexualizing children at younger and younger ages, it’s not hard to see a connection between the “youthful” appearance of bare genitalia and the other unnatural thoughts.
As for the point of being sanitary, it’s a myth that being hairless is cleaner. The simple fact is this: it all depends on how well you clean yourself. A hairy person can be just as clean as a hairless one, it may just take a few more minutes of effort. It’s also been shown that shaving and waxing, since they cause irritation and tiny open wounds, actually increase a person’s chances of ingrown hairs, infections and even their likelihood of catching STDs.
The whole hair issue is something that started (in the US at least) with fashion designers wanting women to remove “objectionable hair” so they’d “look better” in more revealing styles. The media has gone crazy with it from there. Since everything natural is considered wrong in today’s society, it’s on more change we’re told we have to make to be attractive and “normal”. The truth is, hair is normal (though some nationalities have more or less). There’s nothing wrong with it, and there’s more risk associated with getting rid of it than leaving it alone.
I will say I’m all for keeping body hair under control if you want to. Trimming is fine, and for those who don’t like bushy armpits or nether regions, it’s a good choice. It’s also a safe choice since it doesn’t hurt the skin. Honestly though, I think people need to wake up and realize that there’s nothing “gross” about having body hair. I’ve known a few women who didn’t shave their underarms or legs, and it never bothered me, or their lovers. Other people looked at them strangely, but that’s just because society is messed up.
One of the biggest things people need to realize, and it’s the thing the media doesn’t want you thinking about, is that you’re interacting with people, not body parts. We are human beings with thoughts and needs and personalities. We’re not just the sum of our physical appearance. Society wants to keep us so focused on how we and others look that we don’t have time to think of anything else. Wake up people. If you see someone out in public with visible body hair, get over yourself and realize that there’s a person under there, and that person is what matters, not how they look.
