Do you shave for you or for men/women?

[Ofashynessthatiscriminallyvulgar]

Hoping this doesn't offend anybody. I'm talking about all over, legs, armpits etc.
I shave my legs and armpits every day as I like the smooth feeling and I get stubble after even one day. I even have to pluck my chin hairs most days and have regular dermaplaning as I seem to have a very hairy face.
However I realise that I'm conditioned to think bodily hair on women is 'gross'. It's expected that women have smooth, hair-free bodies, of course you see the odd woman with full armpit/leg hair in retaliation, but generally not. I remember forgetting to shave once, going out in a dress and feeling so ashamed and 'dirty'.
Men don't have these pressures.

For society. If it was socially acceptable/normal i wouldnt shave at all.

I can vaguely see a hygiene thing on pubic hair.

If all the beautiful women in magazine had a moustache I think people would start putting mascara on their peach fuzz and say they werent doing it for anyone else but themselves.

I get all weird and icky when sunscreen or antiperspirant clumps on my very fine body hair so prefer to remove it altogether. Otherwise it feels like I am covered in Pritt glue, eew.

Mostly me. I don’t really like body hair. I don’t like how it looks or feels.
I feel fresher & smoother with shaved legs and armpits. I get my bikini line waxed for the same reason. I don’t care if other woman have hairy legs etc. it’s just not for me.

Generally, most people have very little awareness of the pressures and constraints that society puts upon us. Posters will say 'my decision and only mine' but will be influenced by the discourses around them.

I shave for the same reason I get my hair done and put on makeup- I like the way I look.

Would I do any of those things if no one saw? Obviously not.

Sad isn't it, it's the least of their worries

I removed mine from being a teenager, and have removed it regardless of my relationship status. Am I influenced by society? Sure, I don’t doubt that societal norms have had an impact, but is that something I care about/feel the need to reject? No.

I think in my case it's fair enough to be influenced by expected social convention of not smelling🙈 In winter I can get away with no bother usually unless I workout regularly, but in summer I would rather not risk it. I pass enough people on buses in summer to actually consider getting and giving out free deodorant samples.
It's kind of like social convention of brushing teeth.
I know men who shave for same reason.
Some of us are just weird sweating people.

I shave underarm because it’s harder work not to in terms of smelling as am very active and legs because when I let them go I feel so much cleaner after I shave. I used to religiously get underarm and bikini waxed and loved the feeling afterwards and if we were more well off I’d definitely go back to it!!

The fact that posters are saying they having pubic hair means that you smell just shows how well the social conditions and advertising has worked! Big business is really good at playing on women's insecurities. It tells us our bodies are leaky, smelly, imperfect- and they have just the product to help!

*conditioning

@CurlewKate To me I think the clearest sign of being conditioned is saying ' I do it for me just like I do my make up and hair because I think I look nicer' yeah but why do you think you look nicer? Where did this idea come from?
It's all this 'because you're worth it' advertising and brainwashing and all the associations that being 'groomed' means looks after herself, beautiful, successful, a 'good' person worthy of admiration and love, you're aspirational and feminine, clean and hygienic so you have good manners, too.... 😂they've really done a number on us women.

If it helps I don't support businesses like that aimed at women with pink tax and buy men's shavers😂

I definitely do it because of other people. I have lots of thick dark hair on my legs and vividly remember being shamed for it as a teenager by both kids at school and family members. I quickly learnt I had to shave them daily to avoid the comments about how disgusting I was. If I don't get time now I feel gross.

and all the associations that being 'groomed' means looks after herself, beautiful, successful, a 'good' person worthy of admiration and love, you're aspirational and feminine, clean and hygienic so you have good manners, too.... 😂they've really done a number on us women.

And men. Men's make up sales are riaing steadily, the amount of shavers, gels, beard and hair waxes, skin products etc you see getting more and more shelf space are there because sales are up. The sheer amount of barbers everywhere! I can see it on DH and friends.

We are all under expectation of looking and smelling well, yes for now women more than men, but that will equal soon imho. As if woman would go all hot for unkept guy with whiff of body oudor and scruffy hair and clothes. Same like guys not going hot for woman like that.

Also, we all know one of the signs of depression is slipping personal hygiene. So yes, beeing clean and "groomed" is a sign of looking after yourself really. Though I guess it dependa of what we defined as groomed? Like ott stuff or just simple clean and tidy?

I do it for other people. I actually like body hair on women and if i see someone confident enough to leave it, i think its cool. However whenever ive let mine grow, after a while i feel self conscious, and at the moment, i dont need any extra obstacles

I have an issue with that Gillette bikini area shaving ad. I already mentioned this in anther thread about ads. It's TMI firstly but what troubles me most is it's everywhere. It's on digital billboards in 2 shopping centres I've been to recently. I was walking along with 10 yr old DD and we are watching a woman in knickers shaving her pubes, how is that ok? It is 100% social conditioning for the next generation and it upsets me that my girl is already being told to remove something she doesn't even have yet.

I work out a lot and as I've said upthread I mostly don't shave my armpits but will do sometimes. I can hand on heart say that for me, there is no difference in smell/lack of smell if I'm hairy or not. I don't think it's a hygiene thing as otherwise it would be for men as well.

The couple of times I've experimentally removed all my pubes I thought I smelled weird, I didn't like it.

I wouldn't say I shave for me, but I wouldn't say I shave for men either. Shaving is just the norm because that's what we are told to do to be well groomed.

In fact, certainly as I've got older, I'm more interested in impressing other women than I am men. I want to look well groomed and fashionable. I'm not trying to appeal to men, I want to look like I've got my shit together.

As a side, I'm not very hairy anyway because I'm blonde. So hair removal is no big deal for me, a quick go over with a razor once a week is enough. I think it's a bit more of an issue when women have thick body hair and are made to feel gross when it's perfectly natural.

I do it for other people. I actually like body hair on women and if i see someone confident enough to leave it, i think its cool. However whenever ive let mine grow, after a while i feel self conscious, and at the moment, i dont need any extra obstacles

Yes exactly how I feel.

I couldn’t give a monkeys about the smooth feeling. I shave me legs/pits because I’m a woman and feel (rightly or wrongly) that I’ll look weird if I don’t

Those two statements are contradictory. If it's only about what you like, then you'd keep doing it even if no one saw.

same.

Legs for social reasons in the summer. Pubic hair very occasionally for dh if I’m feeling particularly generous. Chin hair for me - cannot bear a prickly hair there.

But if I were the last person alive on earth I definitely wouldn’t be looking for a razor.

I wish women could also grow beards, proper ones, and that it was socially desirable. It would be so much easier than faffing about plucking the chin and neck hairs and it would cover neck sag as we age.

Nice beards are apparently quite a faff to. I am afraid we can't win this one🙈