As you asked: shaving. It’s not highly problematic but it’s not a neutral act when put in context.
It carries a small number of risks: from ingrown hairs, to opportunistic infections, abscesses and even sepsis. If more women than men shave and shave a greater surface area in average, it follows that they are more likely to suffer these consequences. It is sometimes mistakenly associated with hygiene – especially for women.
Shaving costs time and money, which mothers in particular tend to have less of than men or fathers. Women earn less than men on average, they bear more of the domestic mental load and they are affected by the pink tax. Despite having less time and money we spend more on this activity, thereby the costs to us are disproportionate compared to men. As a pp said, this is viewed by some feminists as a useful distraction against political organisation, or on a personal level using that time, energy and money for a more self-actualising activity.
Pubic hair removal recreates a prepubescent look and was popularised by porn as it was a novelty (a way for the industry to make more money) and so the genitals could be clearly seen. If porn popularises the sexual ideal as hairless, then women with pubic hair are less sexually attractive, while men do not have to remove their hair to remain sexually attractive. If a prepubescent look is idealised then it is one step towards normalising paedophilia and suggesting the adult female body in its unaltered state is not appealing.
Something that irks me is that swimwear and underwear is frequently not made with pubes in mind. If you don’t want the messy look of them coming out of a bikini or just exposing them in general, as a private part, most attractive swimwear is out of the question unless you remove the hair. Why is the standard bikini not some nice swim shorts? Women are not as able as men to be spontaneous about a fun unplanned swim.
These are some of the negative aspects of shaving.
The consequences of not shaving include self-consciousness, fear of negative attention or judgement and actual negative comments or looks. Fully grown out underarm hair would definitely get stares. Humans are social creatures and ostracism is harmful to us. The more women comply with body hair removal, the more women who don’t do it stand out, and the greater the pressure to conform or otherwise suffer social repercussions.
Now think of men and the primary area they shave: their face. Some men have beards and some don’t; a man will often alternate between the two throughout his life. It’s a non-issue. Men don’t think twice about going around with leg hair and underarm hair and have not been told it’s disgusting or had jokes made about it. In our culture it is dignified and manly for men to have body hair but slovenly, unhygienic and unfeminine for women although both occur naturally. So the choice for women when it comes to body hair is far more constrained than the choice for men. Thus making it a feminist issue.
When I said some of this to my friend, she realised she basically started shaving because everyone else did, and never really considered not shaving. She grew out all her hair for about 2 years then went back to shaving intermittently. Whatever she does is her choice, except now she’s making it with a bit more agency than she was before.
Saying you like shaving is only really a valid statement if you can also not shave and not face or fear any negative consequences.
It’s about questioning “is this act, in the wider context in which I am performing it, an anti- or pro- women act?”