AIBU to think armpit hair is a moral issue?

[ICBINEG]

How did it come to pass that the natural appearance of an adult woman has become socially unacceptable?

Adult women have hair on their arms, legs, fanjo and (if you can bear the disgustingness of it all) armpits.

In a not at all surprising turn of events the natural appearance of an adult male is still considered attractive including (god forbid) hairy legs, arms, balls and armpits.

Why have we adopted a prepubescent look as the optimum for women but mysteriously not done the same for men?

AIBU to next shave myself when shaving becomes compulsory for EVERYONE and not just those without a Y chromosome?

Observation of my SIL suggests it can take over a year to unlearn the societal conditioning and start seeing your own hairy armpits as attractive....a whole year to stop thinking the natural female form is repulsive....AIBU in thinking that society is totally fucked up?

It isn't that deeply ingrained - it is a passing phase of human culture. Good grief, for how many centuries in China did women bind their feet, for how many centuries in the UK did women wear corsets, for how many centuries did men have long hair & beards, for how many centuries did men wear hose or tights? The shaving thing is relatively recent. Prior to 100 years ago, or probably even more recently than that, most women wouldn't have had regular access to razors for shaving their pits & legs. It is just a phase. In a 100 years it will probably be fashionable to be hairy again.

Bonsoir I lived in France more than 15 years ago. I bow to your current knowledge - things must have changed. :(

Saying hair removal is a male issue as well...well, that's just not true really. I know that the men of my generation may do a bit of trimming, and the odd one might do a bit of waxing - but in the main they are as hairy as they are.

Honestly if I had a real "choice" about shaving or waxing, I would never do either again. Shaving cuts, ingrown hair, waxing just fucking hurts (and even though I'm used to it, it still isn't "pleasurable" in any way) the sheer time and effort. But I am too much of a coward to actually do it - and besides I'm sure then that the label "Hairy" would be brilliant combined with "Feminist"

From this I'm taking that unless I stop doing what men and porn apparently want to me to do and start doing what some woman I've never met wants me to do with my fanny, I am bad, oppressed and wrong.

Well fuck that for a game of soldiers.

Washing your hair with chemical shampoo is bad for it. If you don't wash your hair with shampoo it returns to it's natural state, cleans itself and tends to look lovely and healthy. I'll wait nicely for the thread regarding the morality of hair washing.

Of course hair removal is a male issue. Men have to shave their chin every single day, and it is socially unacceptable for them not to.

They also have to keep their hair short.

I'm sure plenty of men would love to grow long beards and not bother with shaving it.

I don't think anyone is saying those who shave or wax are BAD or wrong.

Honestly. The conversation is about why society has decided that women should be hair free while men get to keep all their lovely hairy glory.

Honestly!

Someone better phone my male friends and tell them that they're behaving in a socially unacceptable manner then!

Oh and I'd better tell my son to get a Very Short Haircut when I get home

For all you "Clean Freaks" - a recent article about the risks of removing pubic hair HERE

Microscopic open wounds all around your genitals and anus anyone?

shiirly it is truly amazing how different the AVERAGE women's and men's grooming lists are.

I mean sure some men shave and spend hours with the fake tan and make up but for women it is almost a default thing to take a couple of hours to prepare yourself for a night out in some areas of the country.

I mean we are like 'I am happy when I am the yellowist bendyist banana I can possibly be'....and the men are like 'don't tell anyone but actually I like the short stumpy red ones'....

Shiirley I was enjoying a nice discussion and was especially heartened to hear of Emsiero confidence about her choices and respect for others.

Then I read Arf Arf Arf ICBINEG Fri 07-Sep-12 14:46:42 and decided that if my personal opinion wasn't as valid as someone elses personal opinion about what they do with their body, debating like adults with respect for one another wasn't going to happen. Honestly

Dildo, do you really not know any men with beards?? My DH and at least 10 other men I know don't shave their faces. They trim their beards to avoid chewing on their moustache but otherwise they are hairy from top to bottom :)

dildo my husband does neither of those thing and somehow manages not to get abuse yelled at him in the swimming pool....not so in the case of a glimpse of a hairy female armpit....

It is not socially unacceptable for men not to shave their chins. I know several headteachers, successful businessmen, clergymen and doctors with beards.

Oh and probably more senior academics with beards than without.

Well rev would you wax your pubes off if you were the only person on the planet?

'arf' was not so much an expression of humour as despair at the world.

Men have to shave their chin every single day, and it is socially unacceptable for them not to.

It's still unconventional for men to grow long hair (especially in a professional job), and to shave their legs or armpits.

I know it's becoming a bit more acceptable for men to shave legs but there are people who would just think it's wrong for men to shave their legs and armpits even though it's their choice, not society's choice, about what they do.

No need for the sarcasm - It's rude. I haven't been rude to you so I would be grateful to be extended the same courtesy. Thanks.

ICB - I do the fake tan and the worrying about my weight and the shaving and the make up and the NAILS and the perfume and ALL of it. I enjoy most of it, I like the make up and the nails - the fake tan and the shaving is fucking DULLO, but I am acutely aware that the men I meet have just squirted on a bit of deodorant under their pits and round their nadgers.

huh! I just remembered a thread in which someone was asking when it was best to wax before child birth....apparently it is much nicer for the baby to born if there is no hair....

But the sad fact is that in societies, those who are different or who chose to be different will often not be well tolerated. That doesn't mean it is right, but it is a fairly well established societal norm. It happens accross all cultures for different things. Like I said above, the pressure of the majority works well in many instances - but works against in others. Very often, once the "oppressed" minority increases in size, change occurs.

We do so many things that aren't natural, all the time. I'm not sure shaving body hair can be singled out as particularly oppressive.

Dildo some men have beards

Ithaca " Men in the 70s were hirsute,"
I love this! Yes, they were, weren't they :o

That was apropo of nothing btw...as were the bananas...

Bananas - very PHALLIC of you. heh!

Apologies if I took it the wrong way ICBINEG but it did come across as dismissive.

I've explained this on other threads but here I go again.

I do a contact sport. Martial arts. You sweat a lot and end up with someones head between your legs occasionally. Sometimes I need a Tena lady if you know what I mean. So we have sweat and the odd leak. Lovely.

I wax, I wash before a session. Then on the break I go, use a baby wipe downstairs, change my Tena. Waxing gives nothing for the sweat and wee to cling to. I wipe my vagina and change the tena and feel more fresh down there. Pubic hair keeps you clean by wicking the sweat away from your body, but it then stays on the hair until you get washed. Nothing major, unless you are sweating profusely, have slight leaks after childbirth and have someone much closer than usual. I wash when I get home, but I feel better maintaining my personal hygiene in this way.

I don't always wax all off, sometimes I shape and dye it. (Again see previous threads). I have a curve in my spine that makes me lopsided. That is much more visible than a bit of hair. If you want to do whatever with your body, feel free, I will never judge or assume your reasoning. But please afford me the same courtesy, sometimes you do what you can to make you comfortable in your own skin, I tattoo, piece, dye my hair and shave it into shapes. I'm not hurting anyone.

Yes I think its the hairy 70s men and ths bananas, this thread suddenly seems very rude