Approximately two years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. I did something most people would call disgusting and very few girls would even consider. I put down my razor and let my armpit hair grow freely, just as Mother Nature intended, ultimately becoming a walking feminist stereotype. However, I didn't stop shaving solely because I'm a feminist; there are much more important gender-related issues to focus on, so why is body hair such a big deal?
Many are unaware of the origins of female shaving, yet blindly follow along with the societal expectation that women should be like hairless cats. We aren't pressured into shaving because "it's just what women have to do;" It's because of an advertisement in the 1920's depicting a woman with shaved armpits and several companies unleashing marketing ploys to encourage women to jump on the hairless bandwagon.
When I first stopped shaving, I did it as a kind of social experiment. I wanted to see people's reactions. When the first sprouts of stubble began to show up, it was my parents who first took notice, and they were not happy. They tried everything to get me to shave it, including threatening to shave it while I was sleeping (thanks mom). As my hair continued to grow, I found that it was surprisingly much more comfortable than being completely hairless under my arms. I didn't have to worry about chafing, in-grown hairs, or accidentally giving myself the dreaded shaving cuts. Strangely enough, I have never felt so comfortable with and confident about my body until I stopped shaving.
Once my armpit hair grew out to its full length, more and more people began to notice. At that point however, hairy pits had become the norm for me, and I had completely forgotten that my armpits were deviant from society's expectations. While it had become a funny joke among my friends and I, others would boldly tell me that I was dirty, disgusting, etc. I almost quit choir because the male student teacher couldn't pry his eyes off of my armpits. It was impossible for me to raise my arms in any circumstance without someone taking notice.I found this utterly ridiculous, especially when male students could walk around freely, letting their armpit hair blow in the breeze, without being gawked at. People thought I was dirty, even though I washed my armpit hair twice as much as any boy. Despite this, I still don't plan on shaving my armpits any time soon because the comfort enormously outweighs the negative attention.
In no way am I saying that women shouldn't shave their armpits. It is your body hair, and you should be able to do whatever you want with it: grow it out, dye it, shave little designs into it, or remove it altogether, without backlash. Some people hate to be hairy, while others don't mind it, and that is perfectly okay. Telling other people what to do with their bodies is not okay, though. It is my personal preference to keep my armpit hair the way it is, but there are so many misconceptions about female body hair that society as a whole needs to stop encouraging. Doing whatever you want with your body hair is a concept that needs to become common practice, for the pressure for women to shave is frustrating and archaic.
