Women and body hair

Former Member

I am considering letting my body hair grow, as I have always removed it religiously since my early teens and am curious about how it feels and also how people will react.

I talked about this to a Norwegian friend and she said that in Sweden, a lot of women don't shave their armpits. I kind of found this concept interesting, in that it is a social obligation of how a woman should look and how 'beauty' is a social construct (to shorten down a huge argument).

So a question to the women, or the people who love women...

What is your opinion on female body hair?

If you're a woman/female identified then how do you manage your own body hair?

If you like women, do you find it a turn on or turn off?

Former Member

From my experience women in this country with hairy armpits is quite disgusting as it's below the norm.

I once seen a woman dance in a pub and she had hairy armpits, to no surprise, half the bar was staring and sniggering.

Moral of the story, if you plan to do this try not to expose your pits to drunk people

Former Member

No Me Gusta!

Former Member

I watched a programme on this once where it talked to people on all extremes, extreme regular waxing to woman who literally let all body hair grow in all areas. And also to people who were turned on by body hair on woman.

To be honest, In my opinion armpit hair is disguiting. As are hairy legs on a woman. I could never just, let it grow. Not just for fear of other people seeing, but also for me and how it feels.

Just na na na na.

Former Member

If you do let it grow, please post some pcitures for the sick minded

Former Member

Namaste wrote: »

I kind of found this concept interesting, in that it is a social obligation of how a woman should look and how 'beauty' is a social construct (to shorten down a huge argument).

true, but as you say, the society predetermines the 'flow' and you try to swim against it. Very honorable, but not an easy thing to do as you are quite dependent on other people's opinions.

Of course body hair are "something natural", but so are fingernails and you don't let them grow 2 ft. long.

A very controversial topic, but I have to say I prefer body hair to be maintained as well.

Former Member

i remember when i was in spain i saw this one woman who had armpit hair that mustve been at leeeast 2 inches long :sour:

didnt think it looked too great.

personally, i dont think i could ever let mine grow. theres the odd occasion when ive gone out and forgotten to shave so i have a bit of growth, but i always promptly get rid of it afterwards!

saying that i WOULD love to have the confidence to let it grow and not give a dam about waht people think

Former Member

Are you prepared enough to let people know that you are hairy. Try this, stand in front of a mirror and imagine yourself being hairy, gross?

Former Member

Leg and armpit hair gets itchy if you let it grow, which is why I keep shaving them. I did have about 2 weeks of leg hair growth until last night through laziness. I suppose it wouldn't be itchy if I'd never shaved them, because then they'd be fine.

Former Member

Also I think it's something we as a culture associate with personal hygiene and cleanliness, and not shaving makes you look unkempt and dirty, as if you don't take any effort to maintain a good personal hygeine.

Former Member

I don't think body hair is disgusting.

At the moment, no one sees my legs because it's freezing cold, and my boyfriend's hundreds of miles away, so I haven't been shaving my legs regularly.

Also, my cousins are Spanish, and they don't always shave their armpits. The first time you see it, it's a bit strange, but you just get used to it. It's only a bit of hair. I do shave my armpits because I think it's more hygenic, and besides, I have black hair so it would be very obvious.

But I think it's a personal choice. I don't like my body hair to be on show, I even remove the hairs from my arms, because my hair is so dark. But I don't judge other people on what they want to do.

Former Member

Leg hair, in the winter i can sort og get not shaving, but armpit hair in the summer eugh, especially with all the sweat and stuff, as well as looking ming i think it would smell bad (like blokes armpits!)

Former Member

Virus wrote: »

Are you prepared enough to let people know that you are hairy. Try this, stand in front of a mirror and imagine yourself being hairy, gross?

No, I'm absolutely beautiful thanks, with or without hair, which is currently at about its longest state.

Former Member

I stopped shaving my legs when I was pregnant and it became too much of a pain in the arse (I've always considered it to be so, but it was even more taxing) so I never resumed the habit afterwards.

I always remember my mum's reaction when I first shaved my legs (at quite a late age, relatively speaking, I think) she was so disappointed and I remember at the time suddenly feeling regret. Why did I do that? I've started off this neverending cycle of obligation or alternatively feeling shame at my body's natural state. She [my mum] has never shaved her legs and to be honest the hair is barely there, I always remember her legs being very smooth when I would cling to them as a little kid. She doesn't shave her armpits either, though I think she used to. I still do, I'd like to stop at some point. She's a very strong woman, and has never been a social outcast as a result, though by some people [women as frequently as men] it is seen as a very aggressive, radical statement.

I care about how my legs look, maybe if my hair was very coarse and thick I would feel differently. Who knows? What I will say is that it's very liberating to just not bother, and no one has ever commented negatively. On the contrary

I pine for all the time I spent shaving my legs. I could've been learning a new language, reading a book, pressing flowers or unicycling. Life's too short (and my pockets are too shallow, the sheer cost of hair removal is another issue) :thumb:

Former Member

Unicycling is so overrated though, you're not missing much

Former Member

I don't like the look of leg hair or armpit hair, but then I am not everyone in the world, so I do what I want and leave everyone else to it.

Former Member

I'm generally very lax about my body hair during the winter months. I'm too impatient to shave for ages on end just to have it grow back (with an added itch) so when I do come to removing body hair, I normally lay down a couple of strips of hot wax and be done with it, I tend to do this more during the summer months or if I'm going clubbing where a lot of flesh will be on display.

There have been a couple of times at the gym where I've had a bit of regrowth and I wonder if anyone can notice, but most people don't care.

On other women, I've never really known many women to allow their hair to grow (bar one friend, her son's favourite colour is pink, oh the horror(!) ) but I have no opinion on it. Women's bodies are under the spotlight enough, it's a shame that women get a lot of stick about stuff like this (especially from other women) but as long as insecurity breeds insecurity, it won't stop. Especially now as they're starting to advertise hair removal products at children... (I think Nair advertised a 'Pretty' range for 'first-time hair removers)

Former Member

Personally I like shaving, I like the feel of my legs after I've just shaved them and they are all moisturized, silky and shiny. Generally shaving makes me feel cleaner and more immaculate. I guess to me not shaving or shaving is like the difference between going out in a scraggy tracksuit with unwashed hair and no make up (not shaving) or going out in nice new clothes, made up and feeling good about my appearance. I will go out in both states and don't feel like I always have to be sparkly and groomed, but the latter is preferable to the former.

Former Member

Mings me out a wee bit, was sitting next to a random Norwegian lassie on the way back from London a while ago and she was quite obviously "au naturale".

Not the nicest few hours I've spent in my life, maybe she just didn't have a wash though?

Former Member

To put it bluntly, it's disgusting. Although you said things such as shaving bodily hair are social obligations, they're social obligations for a reason; unshaven armpit/leg hair on women suggests bad hygiene and laziness and isn't pleasant to look at. Whether those people do actually have bag hygiene and are lazy is irrelevant and isn't the issue. People don't want to see size 18 women running around in skimpy clothes, they don't want to see fat hairy male builders' arse cracks, they don't want to see wrinkly naked old people and they don't want to see hairy women simply because these are not commonly accepted as attractive. Although many may consider it admirable to go against the grain of these social normatives, it breaks down to how the masses are going to view it. It's rare you're going to find people in this country who are as accepting of it as the Scandinavians, so you're going to be severely limiting yourself in terms of future partners. Sure, in a perfect world people would get to know the real you, but the fact is people like something nice to look at while they get to know the real you. What's on the inside may be more important than what's on the outside, but both is better than one and disavantaging yourself in terms of looks when you don't have to (or to make a point about society) is quite simply illogical.

The only way to balance out the negative opinions of others' (ie, the lazy/hygiene thing) would be to over compensate in other areas of physical appearance, but that somewhat defeats the point.

Former Member

i shave most of my body hair, although im pretty lax about my leg hair. I dont think women should feel obligated, but i realise its difficult socially when there is such horror and disgust from a lot of people for some reason.
My mother never shaved her legs or her armpits, and i remember getting quite picked on at school because i didnt shave mine. I eventually got peer pressured into doing it though and have just kept up the habit, although there have been times when i havent done it, and tbh, no boyfriend ive had has been that bothered, although most have had a slight preference for it being shaved, ive never experienced repulsion by it.
my boyfriends opinion when i asked him, was that hed be more put off by lots of leg hair, than by armpit hair.
I think people assume armpit hair is smelly in itself, when it isnt. Its totally down to cleanliness

Former Member

Kiezo wrote: »

To put it bluntly, it's disgusting. Although you said things such as shaving bodily hair are social obligations, they're social obligations for a reason; unshaven armpit/leg hair on women suggests bad hygiene and laziness and isn't pleasant to look at. Whether those people do actually have bag hygiene and are lazy is irrelevant and isn't the issue. People don't want to see size 18 women running around in skimpy clothes, they don't want to see fat hairy male builders' arse cracks, they don't want to see wrinkly naked old people and they don't want to see hairy women simply because these are not commonly accepted as attractive.

I personally find men with very hairy armpits a bit disgusting, and would prefer if they shaved it. I had a boyfriend who removed his underarm hair and although at first I found it strange, I started to appreciate it and now I see that as the norm, and am somewhat repulsed by men with big hairy bushes under their arms. But I have to accept that the majority of men in England are not going to shave their armpits. It's just a social and cultural thing.

Former Member

katchika wrote: »

I personally find men with very hairy armpits a bit disgusting, and would prefer if they shaved it. I had a boyfriend who removed his underarm hair and although at first I found it strange, I started to appreciate it and now I see that as the norm, and am somewhat repulsed by men with big hairy bushes under their arms. But I have to accept that the majority of men in England are not going to shave their armpits. It's just a social and cultural thing.

Well yeah, that was my point :razz: You're going to get the odd guy (and girl) that like hairy women, but you'll be hard pushed finding them. With things such as shaving armpits, there's no real reason to break from the social norm unless you really prefer yourself the other way seeing as there's no real advantage or disadvantage for either. Unless maybe it taking more effort to keep clean in summer due to sweat and body odour, but that's kind of a moot point given that there's several ways for that to be avoided. (Which I guess is a moot point in itself if letting hair grow was a time factor issue in the first place...)

Think long and hard about it whatever you do. This isn't the same as dressing a certain way that's different from the norm of society, or holding different ideas. This is something which very few people are going to understand and accept.

Former Member

I shave my underarms/bikini line about once a week, which is long enough not to look too bad with the regrowth and not irritate my skin.

I'm a lot lazy when it comes to my legs, when I'm not in a realtionship it tends to be every month or so, normally when I decided to wear a skirt for something. I dont even shave in the summer that much more but then I wear trousers 99% of the time anyway.

Former Member

Personally I shave my legs and under my arms. I don't like look of hair there, and stubble looks even worse! But I don't think it's 'disgusting' as some people have been saying. It's only hair, and it's only natural so there can't be anything wrong with it. It's just personally I wouldn't like the look or feel of it, and it would make me extremely self-conscious.

Former Member

most people don't notice actually.

Former Member

StrubbleS wrote: »

true, but as you say, the society predetermines the 'flow' and you try to swim against it. Very honorable, but not an easy thing to do as you are quite dependent on other people's opinions.

Of course body hair are "something natural", but so are fingernails and you don't let them grow 2 ft. long.

A very controversial topic, but I have to say I prefer body hair to be maintained as well.

Nope, I'm not doing it just to go against society... I just don't see why I should and want to know what it's like.

Why should women do it and not men?

Former Member

Virus wrote: »

Are you prepared enough to let people know that you are hairy. Try this, stand in front of a mirror and imagine yourself being hairy, gross?

To be honest, I don't look at myself and think "gross", just like I don't look at other women, regardless of size, complexion, body hair, skin colour or dress sense and think "gross".

I don't find hairy women disgusting. I find all women beautiful, even the size 18 women in 'skimpy clothes'... It really doesn't bother me at all.

I do find muscles on women sexy, I have a thing for blondes, I like body mods but that doesn't mean I am repulsed by people who do not possess what arouses me.

Former Member

katralla wrote: »

most people don't notice actually.

Yeah I can imagine.

Just because you leave yourself to grow does not mean you have to walk around naked with your arms thrust behind your head.

I remember being at a bar and a woman on stage took her top off because it got hot and to fix her guitar (she was a very cute Chinese German/Germasian? lol) and she was hardly stick thin, but cuddly and didn't shave.

I wasn't really disgusted by it, nor did it make a big deal.

It's actually surprising what high standards people must hold women to if they are as offended by body hair as some people on this thread. Personally, I have no issue with women dressing and grooming how they want. I don't get what the fuss is.

Former Member

I only rarely shave my legs, and that's because a)I don't have a fella and b) because I only wear trousers so no one sees them.

I could never leave my armpit hair though, that's just dirty.

Former Member

Namaste wrote: »

Why should women do it and not men?

The same way women "should" wear skirts and not men. The same way women "should" wear high heels and not men. The same way women "should" wear bra's and not men.

Need I go on?

EDIT: Also, you shouldn't need us to tell you that not everyone is as accepting of the human body in all its forms as you are. Just because you don't find it repulsive doesn't mean other people are going to be cool with it.