A wrote a post a while back about how hair on people isn’t gross, it’s just natural, but I saw a video recently that was really digging into the topic of hair on women in particular, and it got me to thinking. I really have never been able to understand what the big deal is.

I know that historically speaking, contrary to what many people think, the trend for women being hairless is neither an American construct nor a new one. It’s been around for a really long time. In Egypt they really went all the way, and would shave every part of their bodies, including their heads. Both men and women wore wigs and it was common for them to be completely hairless. So the idea has been around for ages, for both aesthetic and health reasons.

The thing that gets me though is the current “war” on hair. It’s no longer a choice so much as it is a socially enforced necessity for people, especially women, to shave, wax or otherwise remove as much of their body hair as possible. A woman who doesn’t have shaved legs and underarms at the very least, is considered disgusting. I don’t see the sense in that, and I think women need to take control of their bodies back in this and many other ways.

I have never been bothered by women who don’t shave, and I’ve known several. I’ve seen chicks with hairy pits and legs, and I never said anything about it. Sure, it’s not what you expect in today’s society, but it takes me all of five second to get over it and no longer give a shit. I’m talking to a person, and that’s what I care about. Whether they have hair on their bodies or not is about as concerning to me as the color of their eyes or skin. In other words, it doesn’t matter one little bit.

I am, however, bothered by the total lie the media sends out that having hair is unfeminine and unsanitary. Neither is true. Nature put hair on women’s bodies, which means there’s nothing wrong with it. Some have more or less than others, but if a female is genetically designed to have it, then it can’t be a detriment to their femininity. As for being unsanitary, that’s a load of crap. A totally waxed bare person can be dirty and stink, and a hairy as hell person can be clean and fresh. Hygiene and hair have almost nothing at all to do with one another.

I say if you want to quit shaving or shave less, do it! Screw what society and shallow-ass people have to say about it. It’s your body. Do what you want with it. I’ve quit shaving as much because it messes up my skin, and I frankly don’t give that much of a crap what anyone thinks about it. I’m a person, and that’s what others should focus on, not something as trivial as whether I have some stubble or not. People need to stop thinking about and caring about all this stupid, shallow, media-driven crap. It’s just hair, and doesn’t mean anything when it comes to what kind of person someone is.

Briana Blair

Briana Blair is an author and artisan. She has published more then 30 books and thousands of articles across multiple sites. After practicing Paganism and witchcraft for 25 years, she's now on a journey as an atheist and skeptic. She's eclectic, unpredictable, and always evolving. Facebook - Twitter