Will my DD aged 18 be mocked for this?

[hippospot]

Or sniggered at, ridiculed or ostracised?

Having unshaved underarms at uni.

She has her own style, quite quirky / dark academia, it really suits her. She's bookish and amazing. Tall and striking. I'm so proud of her.

But when she tried on her prom dress I admit the bushy underarm hair shocks 50-something me. At her age I wouldn't have had the confidence or daring to stand out at all.

I offered to get her a razor in the past and she seemed affronted and insisted she likes her body hair. Her body, her choice. I didn't ever mention it again.

The thing is she's at a selective girls school where there's a fantastic ethos of acceptance, lots of clever girls like her and a lot of neurodiversity. I'm worried her uni experience won't be as accepting. She's going to a traditional Russell group uni this year with a lot of public school types.

I'm conflicted about saying something to her again.

WWYD?

Yeah right.

Dying your hair, painting nails, especially if applying those things which are stuck on is absolutely not keeping your body the way nature intended.

Applying tret LED masks etc and all those other routines discussed on here, most of which I've never even heard of, let alone use, isn't keeping your body the way nature intended.

Just to be clear, I shave my armpits/legs/etc, wear make up and wear nail varnish. There is no problem in any of these. Just as there is no problem being au naturel.

I stand by what I said and am not going to discuss further with any more strawman arguments.

Your argument is incoherent. You've chosen for reasons known only to yourself to create a false distinction. None of those things is "au natural"

It's ludicrous to say dying your hair, particularly if it's to hide grey hair, is keeping your body as nature intended.

I did not say they were the same ffs, I said Just to be clear, I shave my armpits/legs/etc, wear make up and wear nail varnish. There is no problem in any of these. Just as there is no problem being au naturel.

I did not say shaving etc is the same as being au naturel lol, keep spawning crap.**

To be clear, my first post was stating there is nothing wrong in being au naturel, it should not be looked down upon if people want to be as nature intended.

If you cannot understand that then I throw my hands up.

Why do we say 'au naturel' when we're talking about body hair?

First post I made on this thread.

@PhaedraWas Now stop trying to change what I meant. It's derailing the thread.

If she does, she’ll have to deal with it 😣

Nah I doubt it will be an issue. If anyone does comment or tease, she can decide for herself whether or not it matters to her.

I think hairless armpit is a bit of a sign of an older generation. I go swimming in an area of London that is quite cool (I am not cool) and lots of the young women have hairy armpits. Makes me a bit sad I IPL'ed all mine off...

Whilst she is cocooned in a school where people don’t bother her about hairy pits and whilst at university she might get away with not shaving because that is what her generation do. (Although dd and her friends who aren’t that much older and definitely not the Towie types wouldn’t dream of being out in a sleeveless top etc with unshaven armpits)
What she has to realise is that she won’t be only dealing with her generation when she gets out in the world of work
In the world of work there is every other generation and they won’t keep their opinions to themselves if they see furry pits in a short sleeved top

Ultimately it’s a PITA having to shave so not shaving will just present her as lazy
It’s something that might cost her a job if interviewers don’t think she will fit into the team.

My 17 year old doesn't remove any body hair. Still likes wearing dresses/sleeveless tops sometimes. My 19 year old orefers to shave. I think anything goes with young wonen now.

Ask her if she wants to dye it to match her outfit.

I think losing your job over a couple of hairy armpits is a bit of a stretch.

I’m early 30s and none of my friends shave. I don’t either. I think it’s a generational thing.

Why would anyone wear a sleeveless garment to a job interview? It's not appropriate, regardless of your armpit hair decisions.

And why would you want to work with such judgey cunts anyway?

Haha what have I just read 😂 how would someone even see her armpits?!

It is her choice, and she sounds very wise!! But don't worry, I think its also a trend. If you go to Brighton you will see!

No she won't. She will naturally gravitate to like minded people anyway and the no shaving thing is not uncommon these days! Back when I was at uni it'd probably have been something I saw as odd, but wouldn't stop me being friends with someone- why would it?

Of course no one should be shamed. Many posters on this thread are mocking the clean shaven people for not leaving their body natural and bowing down to the patriarchy. It's fine to be either.

I agree. And my legs feel itchy when they're unshaven for some reason.

Oh I get that too!

I think, though, it's as the hair starts pricking through again.

Once when I was bedridden for some time (when I first discovered MN actually!) I let them grow right out because I wasn't really able to shave them and eventually it moves through the itchy stage to full swishy softness! But the whole process wasn't for me.

My dd who was one of the party girls at school and uni was and is very much of the opinion that you do what you want with your body. It really isn’t a thing now to care what other people are doing with their bodies. She’ll be fine and people will respect it.

Just as a general observation (from my aged position!) there seems to be more of a divide between younger women adopting low-maintenance, less feminine/sexualised looks and those with high-maintenance, feminine/sexualised style.

Most of the younger women I work with don't wear make up or shave and are usually in loose jeans and trainers. The younger women around where I live are typically fully kitted out with hair extensions, nails, fillers, perfect make-up and either wearing figure-revealing sportswear or glammed-up outfits.

Amongst group A no-one is going to blink at a fuzzy underarm, group B it'd be social suicide.

I don’t see this in the teens I know. They’re far more fluid with their look than in my day when you stick to your tribe via a defined style of clothes / hair.

this lot sometimes look like porcelain dolls and sometimes look like Kurt cobain. The emo kids mix with the sporty kids, with the glamorous kids, with the street style kids. They seem on the whole to be very relaxed about trying out different looks for different occasions “the vibes” rather than rigidly sticking to one identity.

It’s no biggie.
There’s not much you can do to shock the youth of today.
Kids are cool anyway but this generation of young people is something else. They’ve evolved!