Stigma behind not shaving.
Her Journey

The stigma behind not shaving my legs.

Shaving is not my thing. YES, I don’t shave and I had confronted this multiple times. I stand in the shower and enjoy the water drops marking the edge between the hairs. Within me, it raises the level of the epitome of romance. That’s only the place where I don’t get judged for having hairy armpits or legs.

I’ve confronted and even after that, people expect me to hold the razor of leading ad so I can wear the shorts, skirts, and sleeveless. Multiple times, they pointed toward my hairy legs saying that makes them embarrassed. To this, it has given me insight into why body hair is considered dirt on women and not on men.

Maybe the inheritance, I have minimal hair growth. Growing up, I never faced such aggression against female hair. And, I embrace them, I accept them. Simply, because they exist is a part of me. I feel I do not need any extra modified reason to not shave. Because it is as simple as other growing parts of my body.

But within no time, I started receiving comments. For the first time, I felt gross for having hair when my date told me: “that looks unhygienic.” I started hiding a part of me from the embarrassment. From avoiding people to scratching was enough to make me anxious.

Beauty STIGMA,

I heard clean-shaved women are more appealing than women with hair. And the very general rule to look appealing or being attractive is for males instead, choosing for themselves. The beauty stigma compels the women to present themselves with smooth legs. But I guess they forgot, that we evolved with HAIR in the first place. Unrevealed Thoughts

The stigma around body hair being unhygienic is untrue. Untrue because the advertisement shows the shaving of already shaved smooth legs. That marks the line to achieving for perfect beauty standard on the fake plinth.

The very ground rule of social construction defined hairiness as being associated with masculinity and hairlessness being associated with femininity. (the not required lesson that I got) They suggested to me, ‘to hide or shave’ because society gets offended as it disturbs the identified classification of what males and females should be. Because that makes me less appealing to men. And, both option is against my will.

Sometimes I heard females saying, they shave for themselves. That may be true only if they are honestly accepting their hairy days without the emergence to shave. But still, I feel, that the leading advertisement broadcasting beauty stigma encourages the need to shave among young females. Is male privilege real?

It’s NORMAL to shave! Why don’t you?

Firstly, it’s normal because we have normalized this. And unfortunately, this normalization leads you to question the acceptance of human evolution. Giving the name of hygienic is saying dirt to those who accept their hairy armpits and flaunts, which is dishonorable. I don’t know, why this is the compulsion that gives sudden ache before shaving. (not sure, but I guess we all get the thought of “let’s not shave”)

I do not shave because I do not feel to. And, I do not feel to because I accept and embrace every spot of scars. The stardust of body hairline is me and choosing to shave or not is optional for me. Also, my unshaven armpits getting nervous around the shaved armpits is natural because of the fear we are living. I was self-conscious and still, I get nervous. Maybe, because of the controversial rumor.

So today, I challenge the narrative. Not only the narrative of being feminine but also, the existence. Let’s break down the definition of patriarchy and the colony of beauty capitalism.

Dig the myth taboos around and break the barriers that say,

  • Hairy armpits or pubic hair is dirt,
  • The hair is not appealing,
  • The men-haters grow the hair,

Break every taboo that says women have to be available as per the declaration made by the misogyny mindset. Crush the myth that says to uphold the beauty standards. Shaving or not shaving is not limited to that. It is something more to the autonomy of bodily rights, something that we are bound to have naturally after every cut. An ally for EQUALITY.

Shave because you WANT to, not because you HAVE to. Don’t let social convention interfere in your BODILY RIGHT.

The Final,

What men want should never dictate what a woman does to her body. They are not granting us and we cannot risk keeping them on the pedestal.

I may not be aligned with the defined statement of feminism and such movements around the globe, but I believe, the movement talks about the choice that gives the right to choose for their betterment. The choice that says, it’s natural to not shave. The choice that says, it’s not compulsion and controversial because that’s what we are.

Break down the attitude that stops you from wearing. Because after this long incessant journey of realization and self-care, I am back to my old days (before the date). I flaunt as I used to in fact, more confidently. I put shades of foundation and mascara and all but still, that is my desire which may change overnight. Similarly, you don’t have to shave your armpits or pubes. Your body is perfect just the way it is. And, no one holds the right to say my natural growth is dirt.

Keep Loving, Living, and Sharing. Instagram

( This post contains a few links and ads and images from Pexels which helps me to run this site. And also, this is all my self-expression through writing nothing demeaning.) Medium.

I'm an easygoing, passionate, and a bit humorous person. One of my favorite and best things is connecting with people through my words. For me, it's all about getting in touch with new people and discovering their life experiences.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *