I remember when I was thirteen, one day on the way to school I noticed that I had hair in my armpit- I was fascinated. That same year I begged my mom to let me shave my legs- all the girls in my gym class had started shaving and it seemed so cool. Fast forward after a few years of shaving the coolness wore off. I was tired of the red bumps you get when you shave often, I was tired of spending money on razors, but mainly I was tired of feeling pressure to always have no body hair. In this society I think people actually forget that hair naturally grows from women. Society doesn't deem body hair acceptable for women so much that in razor commercials the women are shaving already shaven legs.

So when I was 20 I decided to not shave anytime unless I wanted to. I don't shave 90% of the time but sometimes if I feel like shaving or if it's too hot to have body hair in the summer I'll shave. My showers are quicker, I save money by not shelling out $6-9 on razors and shaving cream, but mostly it turned out I actually like my body hair. I genuinely like having armpit hair and leg hair. It is beautiful and so am I with or without it.

Now don't get me wrong, this is in no way shaming people who enjoy shaving. If anyone wants to shave- do it. I mean anyone, people who i identify as male or female, anyone. At the end of the day it's your body hair. It's just hair. It's crazy that this society has put so much pressure on body hair. This article is about educating people on the history of body hair and accepting people whether they want to shave or not shave.

The history of body hair:

Body hair removal way back in Egypt when women would actually remove all their body hair (even on their heads) by using tweezers made of shells and a mixture of beeswax and sugar. Then in the Roman empire body hair was considered uncivilized- so wealthy had smooth skin and no body hair was a sign of class. A French Barber created the straight razor for men in 1760s and the first women's razor wasn't invented until 1915. Through out history, especially for women having body hair was seen as uncivilized. Flash forward to current times and there are still set expectations for body hair. The most obvious one is that women are still expected to be groomed and hairless. Men body hair trends go in and out of style with mustache and beards. Though judgement and assumptions are made about men who prefer shaving their body.

Gender Roles and Societal Beauty Standards.

"Why do people care so much what I do with my body hair?" Honestly, who knows. It probably has something to do with the gender roles and beauty standard that society has forced on us since birth. There are a lot of societies around the world that have far different standards on body hair than America- though most societies also have other things they are strict about when it comes to their beauty standards. At the end of the day every society is going to have different gender roles and beauty standards and if you want to defy them - do it. As long as you're happy with the way you look, thats all that matters. I know under some circumstances this is easier said than done.

So reader shave if you want and don't if you don't. Body hair does not define you and is nothing to be ashamed of.

Authors' note: I know a lot of this article has focused on my personal preferences and breaking gender roles and societal beauty standards, but that's mainly because this society prefers women hairless and men with groomed hair but still leg and armpit hair. So all preferences are accepted, but the ones I wrote about and focuesed normally aren't accepted in this society.