Body hair societal preferences

[OpalOwls]

I have PCOS which makes the places where hair grows on the body, grow at a faster rate than the norm and I used to be extremely insecure about this and would always remove. I’ve been single now for just over 2 years and in that time have done minimal upkeep and didn’t think too much of it.

I had a conversation with another woman recently, and she mentioned that she likes body hair on other women, because it’s more natural, which has had me thinking since. This is probably the first time in recent memory I’ve heard someone say that they prefer body hair and it made me feel good about myself and Besides legs, I’m more inclined to keep it with this new-found small acceptance 🤣

I’m always curious about trends through the decades. Do you think there is a current trend to embrace the natural, or are the 70s trends long gone?

Honestly, I think it's long gone. I think we live in a hairless female world and I think there is little going back. I love to see little bits of rebellion against this - mainly online - but I think it will always be a fringe thing rather than mainstream.
In terms of female desirable appearance things are heavily skewed towards an unattainable level of beauty, bodyhair has no place in that.

Also a fellow PCOS girlie, I don't tend to bother with much removal other than on my face anymore. I've had laser on my lower legs and arms which means I don't have to do much with them and tend to wear clothes where I can disguise the body hair I don't want to remove or am not comfortable showing

I shave or not, depending on how I feel. I've never had any hair removed by anyone else. DD is 19 and chooses to remove none of her body hair.
ETA- we both have PCOS.

I very much dislike the look of a man who has removed his body hair. Each to ones own, obviously, but if a man shaves his pubic hair, it makes me think of those dreadful hairless cats.

Post menopausal here. My hair growth has stopped by itself. Not shaved my body hair for 3 year's now. It's actually disappeared from my legs.... The only place I seetto grow hair is my top lip qnd chin 🤣

Yeah it seems like we live in the sort of ‘instagram world’ in terms of body standards and expectations. It’s the same with weight, I watched a bit of the inbetweeners movie a few weeks ago (sort of like a hate watch lol) and there is a scene where one of them ends up with ‘the fat girl’ and my jaw dropped when I saw she was skinny with maybe a bigger frame than the rest, now it seems that has changed to, women with big bums and curves, no body hair.

fellow PCOS girlie! 😁 I do get a bit of hair on my top lip I remove

That’s completely fair. I think it’s great that she has decided to keep it, that being said I think my main point is I’m not saying people should do one or the other- it’s completely up to the person and it’s great we’re all different. I just wonder if other women (or men) remove it due to societal pressure. Like for me, I remember when I was younger I saw a guy who made a negative comment on my body hair which made me insecure for a long time- I won’t say too much about it on this thread due to TMI but if you want you can ask. I did remove it for a while after that, but I think I’ve always preferred it on myself, so hearing that positive affirmation was really nice

It's hard to say for sure whether this is my own opinion or whether I've been influenced, but I prefer the look and more importantly feel of not having body hair. I also have/had a lot of body hair, I've always suspected PCOS but never pursued a diagnosis, but I've been using home IPL for the past 5 years or so and it's changed my life. Now I can shave once a week or so and still be more or less hair free.

I don't think there's a particular trend for the natural, and with newer and better body hair removal techniques I don't particularly think that will come back.

Apart from shaving my legs and underarms 3 or 4 times through the summer I don’t do anything else. I’m not overly hairy and I’m blondegoing grey so it’s not too noticeable. My dd in mid 20’s has stopped waxing and is doing similar to me

What kind of body hair are you talking about? I can't see facial hair for women ever being on trend unfortunately (fellow PCOS sufferer).

Well I recently saw a woman walking back from her allotment in denim shorts, with her legs aux naturelles - fine, light brown hairs. Fair to say that from the v. short hair she might not have been overly concerned with societal preferences though…

I’ve been assuming that the trend for shorts-style swimwear reflected a general female disinclination to police their bikini line.

I see women with noticeable arm hair and it's a very long time since I worried about mine (although that is probably just the insouciance that comes with age and no-one ever having commented). Also the occasional hairy armpit - usually younger, casually dressed women wearing a sleeveless top - enough that I too am now happy to wear my sleeveless tops in public on a hot day, without fretting that I haven't bothered to depilate (really not worth the hassle for the number of days it's hot enough for me not to want sleeves).

Pre-pandemic, when I still had a gym membership, the European norm was definitely not for depilation beyond what was needed to avoid hairs protruding from high-leg swimwear. However, the East Asian women I know consider full depilation de rigueur (and none of them uses internal period products - cultural norms around the female body are definitely different) and are quietly disapproving of any European hairiness.

I live in a university city in Yorkshire, which may make a difference.

Any really, but I guess the main area (under arms, bikini parts, legs, bum). I doubt that yeah 😅

I do get rid of it but I’m not religious with it. If I caught sight of my self In the mirror and spotted a stray neck or chin hair I’d laugh and mention it to who ever I was with.

Talking about it takes away the taboo.

I've never been hairy. Even my legs aren't that bad. I can't recall ever seen a woman with hairless arms.

I would have thought the opposite. I am east asian and raised by a mum who basically disapproved of any signs of vanity- she didn't wear makeup, didn't dress up and only shaved armpits (not very regularly either)

I had little idea about hair removal and I learned more about skincare/makeup at university (never leave the house without applying essence, facial oil, spf serum and makeup) but I still only shave my armpits (occasionally and 99% of my clothes have sleeves). I wear a skirted tankini when I swim..v occasionally shave legs (definitely not when it's tights weather) and use a trimmer for upper lip hair and brows. Have a full natural bush.

I think you are right about the internal period products but I love my menstrual cup. I bet my mother would disapprove.

Really interesting about you and your mum’s perspectives