Since the advent of shaving millennia ago in ancient Egypt, the presence of body hair removal has waxed and waned. The current societal standards regarding body hair emerged in the early 1900’s. At this time, men shaved their faces and women rarely shaved at all. However in 1915, Gillette launched the First Great Anti-Hair Movement with the introduction of the Milady Décolletée, a razor designed specifically for women. According to Gillette’s advertisement, the Milady Décolletée “solves an embarrassing personal problem,” but body hair is not a problem and should not be embarrassing.
According to The Razor Company, women began shaving their armpits when sleeveless tops rose in popularity. As dresses became shorter, women expanded to shaving their legs as well. Razor companies fueled these practices by pushing the idea that hairless women are beautiful and feminine, while body hair on women is gross and unhygienic. In reality, body hair is not dirty. It simply needs to be washed like hair on the head. To this day, these norms have stuck around despite the evidence against them and the double standards that they enforce.
Humans do not grow body hair without reason. According to the Cleveland Clinic, body hair regulates body temperature by standing up to trap warm air near the body when the air temperature drops. Body hair also protects against the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays and keeps germs outside of the body. Shaving, on the other hand, opens up the skin to infections and can result in painful razor burn, ingrown hairs and skin irritation.
Even though body hair is natural and beneficial, women are judged if they opt not to remove theirs. However, body hair on men is seen as normal, even though they grow the same hair as women. Many men shave their facial hair, but any length, from a clean shave to a long beard, is seen as an acceptable form of self-expression. Why isn’t women’s body hair treated the same way?
No one, regardless of their sex or gender, should be pressured to keep their body hair or remove it. They should not be criticized based on their personal decisions, whether they choose to follow societal norms or rebel against them.
