Can we start an anti "nail" campaign?

[2rebecca]

As a GP who frequently washes her hands, allotment owner and instrument player I really hate the trend for women to have immaculate nails that cost a fortune, scratch people and mean women can't do anything useful. Where t f did this horrible trend come from and how do we give women back the use of their wonderful hands?

jennymanara but they manage to wipe their own arses and are happy with their nails.

If someone wants to have long nails, that means they have to change how they wipe their arse, that's their choice. I dont know one woman with ultra long nails, that has them like that it isnt a choice for or complains they have to miss out on doing something because of them.

If they felt they were missing out, they woildnt have them.

Long false nails are not new. They have become more popular in the last 25 years because the product has changed and become more cost effective and quicker to do. So salons can offer at a reasonable price.

Not because women feel they HAVE to have them. Long natural nails are just as restrictive because most people dont want to break a long natural nail then grow it again. With false ones you just go have it repaired.

In short, they arent new, no women is forced to have long restrictive ones, if they love long nails and miss out on stuff (I actually dont believe this is true) and change how they wipe themselves......its their choice to do so.

I find ling hair restrictive and too warm. I like short hair because my head guard goes on better and I dont sweat as much. I dont sit and look at women with longer hair and worry about how they would put their head guard on comfortably or deal with the sweat. If they want to kick box with long hair or not kick box at all. It's entirely their choice.

I played the piano for 12 years as a child into my teens. I am not sure you could.

But again, how many women really want to play the piano and dont because they feel they MUST have long nails and so dont learn. Most would have the nails relived if they had a burning passion to learn.

I have long natural nails and use the nails to type rather than the pad of my finger Lanaha

For women with ultra long pointy nails it’s probably a bit slower and tappier but very few jobs involve pure speed typing all day anyway

@jennymanara

1. Posts factually inaccurate comment

1. Posts comment that could be easily construed as being offensive

1. Suggests critical debate is somehow some sort of a fight

1. Bows out blaming others

Bravo, it’s barely 7am on a Sunday morning and you have already managed to encapsulate the spirit of far too many threads on here

@jennymanara Ah I see, so presumably by that logic I was talking about the dramatic change in more recent times to women having pubic hair and then not having pubic hair women in renaissance times didn’t ever have pubes! Lucky things, I’d have saved a fortune.

I’m not being argumentative I’m just absolutely fed up of women trying to police other women’s autonomy to do what the fuck they want with their bodies in the name of ‘feminism’

HirooOnoda you forgot 'seems overly concerned about the technique some women to wipe their own bum.'

Did you know slacks were invented by a lesbian group in the US trying to promote to some lesbians a more "socially acceptable" version of trousers that lesbians could wear? I’m fully confused now- why couldn’t lesbians wear trousers?!

Holdthedamndoor If it weren’t for such thoughtful concern over the years I shudder to think how I would have ever figured it out

There seems to be some compelling information that suggests the lesbian thing isnt true.

But who knows?

I can’t get worked up about nails.

I absolutely do not see them as the same as high heels, body hair removal etc as I don’t believe there’s the same expectation that they must be done as there is for removing body hair. Same with heels - never heard of an employer insisting women have long painted nails as they have with high heels, Cannes film festival insisting on heels etc.

I’m 36 years old and just recently bought my first (clear) nail polish and cuticle stick. I bit my nails until I was 15 / 16 and since then I’ve done nothing with them. They grow and I might cut them or break them. If there’s a sharp bit I’ll file it.

I’ve still had people compliment me on my nails even though I’ve never done anything to them - never had a manicure or given myself one.

I bought the clear nail polish as I was going somewhere extremely posh surrounded by wealthier people than I, and I thought maybe it would be necessary to make at least a bit of effort with my nails... nope, most of the women there had very normal natural short nails, unpainted.

I don’t think there are many women who feel such pressure to have immaculate nails that it stops them from doing the tasks they want to do.

I think there are plenty of women who feel such pressure to remove their pubic hair that they frequently have it ripped out painfully. That’s much more of a concern to me.

I’m fully confused now- why couldn’t lesbians wear trousers?!

Evelyn Jackie Bross
capturedandexposed.com/tag/lesbian/

And others from history www.stuffmomnevertoldyou.com/blogs/9-women-arrested-for-wearing-pants.htm

@Deathgrip Sorry I wasn’t being as precise as I could, I realise women of all sexual preferences had to fight to wear trousers- I just hadn’t realised that lesbians invented a more ‘socially acceptable’ version of trousers, called slacks, that specifically lesbians could wear. The links you’ve posted don’t explain that. I had always taken the term ‘slacks’ to simply be another term for trousers en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slacks_(disambiguation)

See the body hair issue doesnt bother me recently.

When i was younger it did feel like it was something women had to do. Though I never felt I had to have my pubic hair waxed and no man has even objected.

However I grew up in a house where my dad shaved his arm pits and mum didnt. He was a police officer and insisted when his pit hair was long the smell hung around more in the middle of a shift. Without it, he felt less smelly.

Recently though alot of my Male friends remove all their body hair. Most are heavily into going to the gym and it's quite normal in body builder circles for men to shave or wax it all. I work with several men who also remove their body hair.

And the last 2 men I have slept with (my now dp and exh of 15 years) both removed their pubic hair. Infact I have more than both of them. Dp likes to wet shave his balls. I am a bit 'meh' about it.

I trim mine and wax, myself just the bit between my thighs. Because it makes me feel more comfortable

I would also say when I ask my friends about pressure to wax, most of them actually dont do anything and dont feel it. These friends range from 25-60. Plenty of them wear tops where you can see arm hair sometimes etc.

I would imagine that if I knew lots of women that felt they have to remove their pubic hair, or the man they were with made them feel like that. I would be concerned.

But that's not my experience.

I see. I don’t think they meant that lesbians invented lesbian-specific trousers - have certainly never heard that. Just that lesbians were instrumental in normalising trousers for women. Happy to be corrected if I’m wrong!

Agree with @Holdthedamndoor and sincerely hope this thread doesn’t descend into another pubic hair policing thread. I started removing mine not long after I got it at around 17, I just wasn’t a fan. I’d not seen porn really at that point as it wasn’t as widely available as it is now. In fact some of the first I saw was very much the full bush type!

Did you know slacks were invented by a lesbian group in the US trying to promote to some lesbians a more "socially acceptable" version of trousers that lesbians could wear?

This was the quote about lesbians inventing slacks. It does come across as lesbians inventing trousers for lesbians.

No problem @Deathgrip the poster very much said invented Did you know slacks were invented by a lesbian group in the US hence my confusion

How judgemental. Why do you care what other people do with their nails or wear etc. Each to their own.

@DizzySue here here Sue. If this is the height of anyone’s concerns then I want that life. Meanwhile in the real world burning issues that impact on us all go unresolved and at least a small part of that apathy and inaction is down to the proliferation of such spurious issues that continue to muddy the waters and erode understanding of the wider issues

*I would imagine that if I knew lots of women that felt they have to remove their pubic hair, or the man they were with made them feel like that. I would be concerned.

But that's not my experience*

Which is fine, but I think your experience is unusual, especially for women under 30, and men generally, although I agree that more men are removing body hair these days than previously.

However, men don’t have a history of centuries of being told that “excessive” hair is related to insanity and criminality, or masculinity, or of hair control methods that can burning, scarring, ulceration, strokes, even cancer
www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/02/the-casualties-of-womens-war-on-body-hair/514983/

The couple of men that ive known who remove body hair don’t feel social pressure to do so - they know they could happily walk down the street with visibly hairy armpits and legs and no one would bat an eyelid. I don’t know any women who have the same feeling, it’s just that there are some women who (thankfully) don’t give a shit.

And pubic hair is another matter entirely which I won’t even start with - there are a few factors but one very obvious one, which is making the removal of pubic hair as much “standard female grooming” as leg shaving.

So it’s just a coincidence that porn has promoted a hairless look, and (at least partial) pubic hair removal has become pretty much ubiquitous in young women?

Sure.

Did millions of women really wake up one day, independently and without any social influence or having gotten the idea from anywhere, decide to remove their pubic hair? Of course they didn’t. Much like the majority of western women didn’t independently decide to start painting their faces, and that large numbers feel they can’t leave the house without it.

I don’t understand this reluctance to acknowledge social pressure and industry in our behaviours. I don’t feel comfortable having hairy legs on show in public. I wear swimming costumes that cover my pubic hair. I know it’s because I’ve been conditioned to find my body unattractive in its natural state and fear the reactions of others. I still conform to it, but I do recognise there’s a cause.

I think it’s very unprofessional in some professions and hate seeing them on childminders and teachers etc

I'm not sure how me having acrylic nails affects my ability to teach children 🤷‍♀️

Long nails are not new - my mum always had extremely long, painted nails when we were growing up - natural nails.

I started using long press on nails in the 80s then moved onto glue on ones.

Had my first set of acrylic nails around 1995 and have had them pretty much permanently since then.

I can do anything I need to - gardening, decorating, cooking, cleaning and brought up my children without incident.

I don't feel anyone has forced me into having them, I like and want pretty nails and mine refuse to grow! it's my choice and I don't judge non manicured nails so please don't judge mine.

This isnt about pubic hair though.

Yes men can walk down the street with hair. It's still more socially acceptable for men. But there is increasing pressure on men to look a certain way. Also I walk down the street with hairy pit, I dont really keep up them. Also exercise with hair pits and arms. Never had a comment from men or women.

The hairless look as come and gone lots of times over thousands of years. Egyptian men and women used to remove all body hair. Theres a lot more to it than porn.

But again, no women I have ever discussed this with either get waxed or full waxed or do it because they think that's what's expected. I am not convinced it's the problem that MN would have you think.

I also think if a woman chooses to remove her pubic hair purely because she wants to, I am not concerned. If a women feels she has to have it removed, then it's a concern. I still think it's up to the women to decide.

I don't really see what other women do with their bodies as my business. We've got plenty of organisations out there lobbying to make our bodies public property so I think it's best we focus our attention on them and not each other.

So it’s just a coincidence that porn has promoted a hairless look, and (at least partial) pubic hair removal has become pretty much ubiquitous in young women?

I also disagree with this. But that's my experience. Maybe the young women are all very unusual.

My older female relatives are more likely to keep up with waxing, than my younger cousins.