Duncan Bannatyne vs JustineMN

[MmeLindor.]

Bannatyne is going off on one this morning

Daily Star story about his spas offering leg and underarm waxing for girls of 13 to 16yo.

Funny that he only RTs those who agree with him.

"Mumsnet co-founder Justine Roberts said: ?You?d hope there?d be a longer period of grace for girls to be girls and not obsess about being hairless.?

What do you think?

[MmeLindor.]

My opinion:

I have a 9yo daughter. If she were extremely hairy, and upset about it then I would consider options to help her, especially if she were being teased about it.

Offering this as a service in a salon normalises something that should be seen as a last resort for a child who has unusually strong hairgrowth.

It suggests to our impressionable girls that they are need to make themselves pretty, that their self-worth is tied up in how hairy/pretty/glossy they are.

[HuwEdwards]

This is all over Twitter

[DecapitatedLegoman]

I think it's quite yuck and agree very much with your point that hair removal should be a last resort reserved for those with a particular problem, not something 12 year olds are pestering their mums for.

[MmeLindor.]

I know, Huw. Great publicity for Duncan

Am finding it very amusing that people with names like xxxscrummymummyxxx have said that they have unsubscribed from MN.

[HuwEdwards]

Although I agree with the sentiment behind Justine's comment, I honestly think with the way 'celebrities' of all genres (actresses, singers, wannabes et al) portray themselves, there's not a hope in hell in the current climate of peer acceptance of very visible body hair on a 13yo.

[tabulahrasa]

Hmm, but there's a massive difference between a 9 yr old and a 13 yr old...

I don't think 13-16 is too young, they're at the point where they are going to want to do something about leg hair - yes leg hair and underarm hair should be regarded as normal, but they're not, especially at that age.

[MmeLindor.]

That is sadly true, Huw.

I hate the thought of my 9yo daughter being faced with this kind of shit in a couple of years. Can she not be a child a little bit longer? She has enough time to be an adult woman.

[HuwEdwards]

But agree with you Mme, should be a last resort. Bannatyne just trying to start girls off early on the path of using his spas and paying for expensive treatments that can be administered quite easily at home.

[Knackeredmother]

Well, I was certaintly shaving/ waxing between the ages of 13-16, as were nearly all my friends.
I was very very conscious of how hairy I was and would not want my daughter to feel the embarrassment I did when younger.
I really can't see what is wrong with this.

[TheRealMBJ]

I am very uncomfortable with the whole body-hair removal obsession that seems so pervasive. After all, we are mammals and we evolved to be like we are over millennia. However, I do (occasionally) shave my armpits and (very occasionally) my legs and used to have a full Hollywood wax as well as arms and legs every three weeks. Additionally, I am not very hairy.

However, hair removal by women is ultimately done as an act of sexualisation and gender distinction. And I do find it difficult to accept that girls as young as 13 should feel compelled (through peer and society's pressure) to do something that is so unnecessary.

[SpringHeeledJack]

pretty sure I was shaving my legs at about 14, but waxing??

I'm a bit shocked that a pretty painful process is somehow becoming the norm for women- and now girls

...as well as painful, it's expensive. Fuck off, Bannatyne. Stop making quids out of teen insecurity

[Flowerista]

Spot on Jack. Well said.

[StickyProblem]

I absolutely hate what he's doing on Twitter. By RTing everyone that agrees with him, he's getting more positive comments, I'm sure. I can't believe all these people have thought about this in depth. There's even a FEMALE twitterer saying "she should look after her own kids instead of commenting on how other people bring theirs up". I guess all women should just shut up and stay in the house then. Makes me depressed.

I've unfollowed Bannatyne over this, ha, that'll show him!!! :(

[CalatalieSisters]

The only reason I started to shave my legs at around 13-14 is that a vile boy was teasing me for my v hairy legs. Rather than someone offer me an expensive leg wax I would far rather have had someone say to me that hairy legs weren't a problem and that the boy in question was a prick. I think if my mother had bought me one of Bannatyne's sessions I would have felt really embarrassed, like she was echoing the boy's view that I looked wrong.

Shaving didn't work by the way: he just started teasing me for having shaved instead. You don't beat a bully by going alone with his deprecation of you.

[CalatalieSisters]

alone along

[SpringHeeledJack]

have to say this tweet made me laugh (is it allowed to c&p tweets? or am I violating a code?)

"Mumsnet is becoming increasingly militant and bitchy - the very worst example for teenage girls"

yeah. Let's get those teenagers in the spa, where they belong, instead of getting all shouty

[MmeLindor.]

Catalie
That is exactly the problem. Why should we be making our girls shave so that they won't get bullied? We should tackle the bullies instead. That made me really sad for the childhood you. I hope the bully is stuck in a dead end job with a stong woman boss.

[GeekLove]

I rather liked my hairy legs although I am fair haired. I did not shave them for a long time because I wanted to go against the grain and not be deliberately attractive to boys.
This seems to tap into a much deeper unease in that girls and women must always be on their 'best behaviour' and be attractive to men and must subvert their true personality.

[SpringHeeledJack]

aww, Calatalie (love your name, btw!)

I bet about 25% of the women in this country have a similar tale

[MmeLindor.]

Calatalie
Sorry, I mispelled your name.

[CalatalieSisters]

That's ok, I think I mispelled it too. I think it might be meant to be Collatalie, or some such.

[MmeLindor.]

Ah, yes. Nothing better than an ex-smoker preaching at children to make them want to light up a fag.

[tabulahrasa]

'Why should we be making our girls shave so that they won't get bullied? We should tackle the bullies instead.'

We should, we really should - but, unfortunately it is the cultural norm for women to have hairless legs and underarms. My DD is 11, she's already asking to shave her legs, I'm at the moment saying no - because they're not actually hairy for a start, lol, and I keep telling her that it is normal and natural.

Ultimately though, while I'm obviously not going to let her shave before she's hairy, when she is, it's her decision...

I wish it wasn't an issue for her yet, nor for a few years yet - but that doesn't change the fact that it would be just as wrong of me to force her to keep her legs hairy as it would be to wax her for no reason now.

Once you're at the point where hair removal is an issue, I don't see what's wrong with waxing, I prefer it.

[KatieMumsnet]

LOL SpringHeeledJack, although I do like to be spa'd and shouty

JustineMumsnet is just getting on a train, but thought you'd be interested to see the full quote she gave the Star - obviously they 'forgot' to include the bit about pre-teens, not teens:


"It's a great shame - and a growing problem - that pre-teens are wasting time and money or more likely their parents' hard-earned cash removing their perfectly normal body hair. You'd hope that there would be a longer period of grace for girls to just be girls and not obsess about being hairless."

We're just asking them to include it now...