Skintimate...or not?

Let me be straight up before I go on a rant.

I DO shave.

I am not against shaving.

Shaving my legs/underarms makes me feel feminine.

I go long periods of time without shaving sometimes, but it's usually because I am too lazy.

That being said, I am neither for OR against women having to shave.

But I do have a problem with the principle of it.

Let me give you some history. I found it interesting, maybe you will too.

-People began shaving 1000+yrs, B.C. Razors were invented centuries B.C. and men and women alike shaved the hair on their faces, heads, etc.

-Alexander the Great made shaving popular in the Greek times, he even shaved before a battle.

-Eventually, cultures adapted the trend as a way to groom themselves. And so on and so on and we still see shaving today.

OK. SO.

Let's look at America.

In 1915, women were browbeaten into shaving underarm hair by a sustained marketing assault. (leg hair came later.)

The aim of "The Great Underarm Campaign" was to inform American womanhood of a problem that till then it didn't know it had, namely unsightly underarm hair.

To be sure, women had been concerned about the appearance of their hair since time immemorial, but (sensibly) only the stuff you could see.

But as fashion changed, dresses became sleeveless and showed leg, companies told women that they needed to shave when wearing those things.

The leg shaving campaign caught on much quicker and was more successful, as it was more practical.

Still, blaming fashion isn't consistent with history, because Greek women shaved EVERYTHING. (Notice how no naked Greek statues of women have pubic hair?) So it's more of a feminine statement, I suppose. Interestingly enough, Mediterranean women today don't usually shave. In fact, America probably puts the most emphasis on shaving.

So why not in Europe? It is, I suspect, just a matter of taste in Europe. Body hair can also be interpreted as a sign of adulthood, and body hair distinguishes women from girls.

(Alexander the Great made himself look younger, which men wanted to do, I suppose.)

All of this brings me to my age-old questions:

1. Why are women expected to shave their legs/underarms, always, but men with facial hair (if trimmed/kept well) are accepted?

2. Do we, as women, really shave because we WANT to, or because cosmetic companies (run by men) tell us that we have to?

3. Why is underarm hair and leg hair "unsightly" on women but not men?

See, we are socialized to do certain things and believe certain things. We see hairy legs on a woman and feel uncomfortable/grossed out. But why?

I argue with my mother on this issue a lot. She is appalled that I am even considering taking a stance against shaving.

She argues- "It's gross. It's dirty."

My response- "If leg/underarm hair is unclean, then why aren't you telling Randy and Richie to shave theirs?"

She argues- "Girls are just supposed to."

My response- "WHY?"

No one can tell me why. Even if they say it's just a feminine norm, I still must ask WHY is it feminine?

Is it just a way for men to keep us down?

This sounds really paranoid, but think about it.

Women in china have their feet bound at a young age. It makes it so their feet grow disfigured, the goal being that eventually, women cannot walk long distances. They stay put.

Think of how much of a hassle shaving is sometimes. We have to do it very often, we can cut ourselves, it's time-consuming, and alternatives like waxing are extremely painful. But if we don't, we are thought of as "hippies" "crazy feminists" or lesbians.

Remember, I do shave. But I don't shave often.

And I shave with bitterness.

(That sounds like a good Melissa Ethridge song title. I shave with bitterness.)