There is no one right way to go about body hair; whether you grow it out or shave it clean, the decision is yours to make. However, the former option might make some people uncomfortable.

Redditor u/IndependentOcelot832 opened up about being ostracized from the friend group because of her body hair. To make matters worse, one friend took it as far as booking an appointment with her waxer, but the OP chose petty revenge instead.

Even though body hair is natural, quite a few people choose to remove it

Image credits: Nickel_Bell (not the actual photo)

This woman chose not to shave her body hair, which made her friends uncomfortable

Image credits: András Bögöly (not the actual photo)

Image credits: microgen (not the actual photo)

Image credits: u/IndependentOcelot832

Women seemingly face more pressure when it comes to body hair

Image credits: bruce mars (not the actual photo)

Despite being completely natural, body hair is something some people choose to remove. And whether you prefer embracing your natural hair or being silky smooth, at the end of the day, it’s completely up to you. However, society has deemed one more conventionally accepted than the other, especially when it comes to body hair on women.

Some studies suggest that, based on society’s views, a woman with body hair is considered less sexually and interpersonally attractive than her hairless counterpart. Moreover, she might be seen as “less sociable, intelligent, happy, and positive, and as more aggressive, active, and strong”. Women removing body hair has become so normative over the decades that in some people’s eyes, it has rendered hairlessness the “appropriate condition” for the female body.

British philosopher and professor of Global Ethics at the University of Birmingham Heather Widdows suggested that nowadays, it’s the hairy body that stands out, despite it being the natural one. She pointed out that women tend to remove any visible hair, including the private area, and research seems to support the idea—a survey of over 3300 women revealed that nearly 84% of them at least groom their pubic hair.

But the professor—and author of Perfect Me: Beauty as an Ethical Ideal—also emphasized that men too have started following hair removal practices, which has led to new techniques, known as the “back, sack and crack” waxing, or a “manzilian”, sometimes also called “boyzilian”.

Body hair removal practices reportedly date back as far as the Stone Age

Image credits: Sandi Benedicta (not the actual photo)

“Today, most women feel like they have to shave. Like they have no other option. There’s something deeply fraught about that—though perceptions are slowly changing,” Widdows told CNN. And even though the perceptions are slowly changing—seemingly when it comes to both men and women—you might wonder, how did shaving become such an inherent part of people’s beauty practices in the first place?

CNN suggested that for women, hairlessness became a norm back in the 20th century; though even before—as far back as the Stone Age—ancient civilizations would get rid of body hair as well. (They would mostly do it for hygiene-related reasons or to show off class, in the case of Ancient Romans, at least.)

Changes in fashion trends in the 20th century were what prompted the popularity of the hairless body in the US. Sleeveless dresses, shorter hemlines, and other similar alterations of clothing exposed more skin, which now had to preferably be smooth. In order to reach the goal, shaving creams and razors appeared on the shelves, one of which—the Milady Décolletée, launched by Gillette in 1915—was marketed specifically for women.

Over the last century, as people went from embracing their natural hair to shaving it only to grow it back again, the topic never seemed to have lost its relevance. That’s why most people now tend to have a certain preference when it comes to body hair; however, their choice doesn’t mean that people around them should (not) shave accordingly too.

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