To wonder why women feel pressure to shave their legs but men don't?

[AliceAbsolum]

Not just legs actually. Armpits. Upper lip, etc.

Also, why am I spending money on nail varnish and beauty products that I don't actually need? Is it capitalism that has told women that there bodies are not good enough and need time money and effort to improve?

Why just because I don't have a penis do I feel the need to pluck my eyebrows?!
Is it a Western thing? A growing up in the 90s thing? I feel like my culture is so engrained its like asking a fish what water is. I wouldn't be seen dead in sandles without painted nails... But I'm starting to wonder why now.

In reality I only ever see people judging others shaving or beauty habits on threads like these.
Shave or don't shave, honestly no one really cares. But one comment that really makes my eyes roll is the people who equate shaving pubes, and men who like that as peadophilles. Having a smooth downstairs doesnt make it look like a childs genitals, in the same way when you shave your legs you don't shrink down to 3foot tall like pre-leg hair.

I like a well groomed man tbh, ime they all trim/wax their body hair too.

If you don’t want to do it don’t do it 🥱
no one is holding a gun to your head

Men do feel the pressure to deal with their body hair nowadays, plenty of them trim their armpits and pubes and loads shave their chests or backs. Before that became normal they dealt with facial hair.

Loads of women don’t feel the need to have painted nails and all the rest of it. I don’t see the problem really, there have always been differences in the way men and women groom themselves throughout many different cultures.

I grew up in a place where hairy women were thought to be more exciting and more passionate. Many of women living there still don't shave/wax anything.

Where, @Emmmie?

teaflake I grew up in former Yugoslavia in the 80's.😆

I don't think there's anything sinister about it, and if you don't like it, you don't have to play along. I keep my nails short and unvarnished for practicality (and because I hate applying varnish and refuse to pay good money for someone else to do it when it won't even last). I don't shave anything I don't feel like shaving, never wear eye-liner or mascara (because I hate it), wear glasses instead of contact lenses (because the thought of touching my eyes makes me squirm), etc.

But yes, the fact is that in much of the world, smooth (less hairy) skin is a cultural beauty ideal for women. There are "beauty" standards for men, too. A short, bald, overweight man isn't considered as attractive as a tall, trim or muscular man with a thick head of hair.

Oh, and they also believed that shaving will make the hair come in even thicker, so that was yet another reason not to shave.

@Emmmie

I grew up in a place where hairy women were thought to be more exciting and more passionate. Many of women living there still don't shave/wax anything.

I've found my people

morosetinkler hahaha maybe. The new generation of women is probably shaving now, but my brother has informed me that my aunt still doesn't. He grew up in the West and was shocked.

My teenage son shaves his legs more often than I do. He is a cyclist though, and very fussy about how he and his bikes look. The preening prior to a race is something to behold - even if he loses it has to be with style. Competitive cyclists are in a league of their own its true, but I do think that generally men, particularly young men, are more interested in their appearance/use beauty products etc more now than when I was young. Not sure that's a good thing mind you as we would probably all be better off not worrying so much about what we look like, but I think the gap between male and female behaviour in this respect may be narrowing.

When my Polish friend moved to Canada in 1990s she was sporting a mini skirt and hairy legs. Needless to say, she attracted a lot of attention. She shaves her legs now, but only in summertime.

@Emmmie

morosetinkler hahaha maybe. The new generation of women is probably shaving now, but my brother has informed me that my aunt still doesn't. He grew up in the West and was shocked.

Oh well, I'll keep looking. I don't shave except for my chin, I do have some standards and haven't since I was a teenager

I’m in my early 30’s and have never been with a man who hasn’t shaved his pubic hair, trimmed his armpit hair etc.

The standards and expectations are without a doubt higher for women however.

I’m not attracted to very hairy men or women, perhaps because I’m not so myself.

Shave or don't shave, honestly no one really cares

Have you ever gone out with unshaved armpits? People do care, very much.

Patriarchy innit. Pure and simple.

Women are perceived to be more desired completely hairless. Even though that includes pain sometimes.

Have you ever gone out with unshaved armpits? People do care, very much

Who's issue is that though? The person who does not feel that they HAVE to shave their pits to be accepted - or the knobheads who are arsed that someone they don't know has hairy armpits.

Pathetic really. What do they do? Point and laugh. Whisper to each other?

This sort of thread doesn't work anymore really as loads of teenage boys/young men shave their chests, backs, pubic hair and pluck away their mono-brows.

Exactly. But I think the OP is ignoring you as it doesn’t suit her agenda.

No one has to remove any hair they don’t want to. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Have you ever gone out with unshaved armpits? People do care, very much.

But why do you care that others are bothered?

NonsensicalWitch

I think it's because men tend to be hairier, so we have to be the opposite....

But men are generally taller than women yet women feel the need to wear high heels!
Why do we make our lives so hard

Op, read the Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf, it's nearly 30 years old now, but gives an explanation of why, at a time women were becoming liberated, they became enslaved by a whole load of (industry led) beauty procedures that ensured they spent their time and energy on that rather than other things. Interestingly as women have progressed those standards haven't dropped to those of men in the late 80's (which was fairly low), men's grooming has increased.

I don't feel any pressure to remove hair, I wax my foof because I prefer it and shave under my arms because I seem to sweat less.

I only shave my legs in summer because otherwise they catch/pull when I'm putting my wetsuit on for open water swimming. In winter I crack on in the pool with hairy legs and could'nt care less 🤷🏻‍♀️

" Because you're worth it."

I like a bit of hair on a man but i prefer silky smooth legs on myself. Sexist I know.