Did you watch the Golden Globes this year? Were you moved by Mo’Nique’s emotional speech? Were you caught up in the “issue” of her leg hair?
Wait…what?!!
Yes, that’s right, because there are those who insist on anally analyzing every aspect of women’s bodies (especially those on red carpets) NYDailyNews.com went ahead with a story titled, “Mo’Nique: least superficial actress ever? Before Golden Globes most moving speech, flaunts leg hair”.
Yeesh.
Here’s a bit of the article…and make sure to watch out for some of my favourite bits, like…
“And if she was at all embarrassed by her shaggy state…”
“..she picked up the skirt of her long gown on the red carpet, exposing the issue.”
“A long dress covers a multitude of personal appearance sins…”
“Mo’Nique may have been so wrapped up in preparing her remarks, in fact, that she forgot to take care of a little beauty matter before the awards - shaving her legs.And if she was at all embarrassed by her shaggy state, she didn’t show it. On the contrary, whether inadvertently or not, she picked up the skirt of her long gown on the red carpet, exposing the issue.
A long dress covers a multitude of personal appearance sins - until you pull it up.
For true Mo’Nique fans, however, her hairy red carpet appearance will come as no surprise.Mo’Nique has actually been on the forefront of a laissez-fair policy toward leg hair for many years. She showed off her unshaven gams on a 2006 appearance on “The View,” after prompting from Barbara Walters.
She told Walters, and by extension a national TV audience, “I must show America what a real leg looks like … because it’s too much in the morning, every morning, to shave, to cut, you got Band-aids baby,” she said after popping out from behind the hosts’ table to show off her unshaved calf.
“I really think hair on a woman’s legs is a black woman’s thing,” she later added, after pointing out that she does shave under her arms to avoid “stink.”
It’s not the first time she’s sported this look on the red carpet either, having drawn attention at last years NAACP Image Awards over the same issue.
Love it or hate it, she’s one actress you can’t say is overly obsessed with her appearance.”
(you can read the entire article here)
Why does the article start by saying she forgot to shave her legs, and then go on to talk about how she chooses not to shave them?
I’m confused by this whole thing. Why is this even a big enough issue to warrant mentioning? Who friggin’ cares?
Except that perhaps I agree with Amanda Palmer that hopefully this might help to change things for the better. The Dresden Dolls performer was also at the event, and along with wearing a super-sexy dress, also proudly showed off her natural hair:
After the event she tweeted: “hopefully between me & Mo’Nique, we’ll change the cultural beauty & shaving standard this year.” (@amandapalmer)
So I ask you…
Do you choose to shave / not shave? Why? Why not?
And why, oh why, is women’s body hair such an “issue”?
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37 comments
I do shave, usually only once a week, and mainly because I prefer the sensation of smooth, freshly oiled, legs under my stockings or club clothes. I also prefer to be clean shaven in the bikini area because again the skin is more sensitive without the fuzz. But that's definitely a personal choice.
Posted by alumiere
January 21, 2010, 2:18 PM
I usually don't shave in winter, legs or armpits, and NEVER do bikini. If I'm going to be showing them I usually do but I'm not hung up about it. I don't agree that shaving armpits cuts down the smell. If you wash often enough - and that's less than most people think they need to - there's no problem. It's when you remove the hair that the sweat has nowhere to go and is more of an issue.
What really makes me mad though is an increasingly ingrained attitude that somehow a hairless woman is 'natural' and 'right'. Women are humans and have body hair. Get over it. Especially some men who insist that women have bikini waxes/shaves. It's learned behaviour and preference. Those men should do it themselves and suffer the pain and regrowth around their own delicate parts before they go too much further. I love what Amanda Palmer and Mo'nique have done by being themselves in this public sphere.
Posted by Angelique
January 21, 2010, 2:39 PM
I shave my legs and armpits occasionally, more often in summer. I cannot understand how anyone can bear the itching of regrowing pubic hair, though. And neither do I understand why anyone would want their partners' privates looking like little children's. Because that's the only function body hair has, to indicate sexual maturity, isn't it?
Posted by Jules
January 21, 2010, 2:58 PM
That's a very odd article..... And it makes no sense at all with the whole "she forgot to shave" and then stating something else later. Never mind.
The whole shaving thing:
Legs: No, I don't shave, I find that it's an insane waste of my time, and since I only shower every third day the itching would kill me. Yes, that probably makes me an icky person - not showering every day. But my skin feels way better with that, and when you wash every day it's not really an issue, you see? It's all about general hygiene.
Armpits: Nope, did it on and off for a while, but decided that again, it was a waste of time, it irritated my skin (no matter how I did it), made my deodorant itch and so on and so forth..... It was generally very annoying.
Bikini-line/whatever other parts: No way, did it a few times, didn't like it, it itches like Hell and looks very stupid on me. I mean, I got smaller-than-A-cup boobs - I looked like a 12 year old if it all came off *grins*
But my main thing against it was, that when I gave it a thought, I realised that I didn't do it for my own sake, I did it to please other people. The whole "Oh my God someone might find my armpits disgusting!"-thing. And I decided that it wasn't really my problem - if you got issues with bodyhair, then I'm probably not your type.
I think it's scary that so many people freak out because of body hairs, that they find "no hair" natural, clean and hygienic (when it in fact allows tons of bad things to access your more vulnerable parts of the body). If you wash like you should, find a good deodorant that works out for you - then it's way better, I think.
Then again, if people feels that they feel better with shaving, fine, but don't expect me to do it, and don't act like shaving is the universal truth and an all over kind of aestethic *sighs*
So, yay for hairs! And yay for wonderful hot people as AFP who dares to do as she wants (I don't know who Mo'Nique is, having no TV, but yay for her not shaving her legs as well)
/Miss Octobass
Posted by Octobass
January 21, 2010, 3:14 PM
I think it started when I was really young, and I started getting hair.
I was in the hot tub at someone's party beside my friends and one of my first crushes.
I was going to slip of the step so I raised my arms to balance, and my little boy crush yelled "she has armpit hair! Oh my god!"
-I'm pretty sure I was like 9 at the time,
and had barely any- But it was a big deal to me then.
So I started shaving, and I just never stopped. It's just a habit now.
I've realized by now that I have such mixed feelings about shaving.
I speak out about why women are expected to shave and men aren't, and I always defend women who don't.
I guess I'm just use to it though,
and I like feeling all smooth. It's kind of refreshing.
But if there were no rasors left in the world I wouldn't freak out.
I even have a boyfriend who wouldn't care if I didn't shave, so I pretty much do it for myself.
I agree with the armpit thing, because the hair does make me feel more sweaty, because it holds the moisture in, and then it feels bad to put deoderant on.
ps. I LOVE Amanda Palmer, she is god.
Posted by Sarah
January 21, 2010, 3:35 PM
i rock hairy pits all year long, clean up the bikini line but leave it alone otherwise, and generallt shave my legs and remove my facial hair.
i think it's something to do with scraggly loner hairs vs. a thick, dark, sexy little thatch of hair. i prefer to have either lots of hair or none. this applies to my head, too-- being almost-bald was great, having long, curly, fluffy hair is great, the growing out stage is brutal.
also, in my time rocking the hairy pits, only one person, my ex-GIRLFRIEND, has ever reacted negatively. most people either don't notice, don't care, or aren't dumb enough to say anything about it. & it's never put an appreciable dent in my sex life. i think the whole issue is blown out of proportion, honestly.
Posted by e.
January 21, 2010, 3:50 PM
I shave because I believe it looks gross when you don't.
Posted by dyrt
January 21, 2010, 3:51 PM
I do shave, once every few months, because clean shaven legs can be pretty and nice. But I really don't feel like I have to shave all the time - who has the time and energy? I don't want to feel like I should constantly be worried and careful that god forbid, no one will see my hairy legs.
I just don't think hairy legs are ugly or gross, and I hate how EVERYONE seems to think that.
Posted by Orin
January 21, 2010, 4:37 PM
I shave my pits because I feel gross when I don't. I don't think I've ever shaved my legs on a regular basis. I hate how it dries out my skin, and if you don't keep up with it everyday you get that horribly prickly stubble. I'll shave my legs for special occasions where I'll be showing them off (like a wedding) but other than that I never do. I've never gotten a complaint from the BF about my legs either. I have to add tho, I have really fine, pale body hair so a lot of times people don't realize I have leg hair till I point it out to them. Maybe that's cheating... ::shrug::
Posted by Manda
January 21, 2010, 4:50 PM
I personally agree with Amanda Palmer and what she said in a webcast few days ago where we (her+fans in the chat) about this whole thing.
I personally shave like 4 times a year..pretty much on a seasonal basis! LOL! It's not really planned or anything.. I just shave when I feel like doing it, and don't when I don't feel like it.
I really think maturity and destroying gender barriers goes mostly through freedom, and yes.. even freedom to decide not to shave!
I feel confortable with not shaving but don't blame those who do.. I just wish they would be able to do the same sooner than later!
Posted by Indil
January 21, 2010, 5:01 PM
I shave under my arms once a week, because I don't like getting stinky. But, I hate shaving them because they get itchy the next day and it's annoying. I only shave my legs in summer because I like when they're comfortable and smooth. Winter I never shave my legs, and sometimes I let my armpits go for a while. I shave in my nether regions with an electric shaver because otherwise it starts to get too hairy and uncomfortable.
Posted by peppamint
January 21, 2010, 5:30 PM
Why does the mass media insist on judging women's bodies instead of their talent?
I havn't shaved my legs in over a year and a half. I shave my armpits whenever I feel like it. That's how it should be; it should be a personal choice if and when you choice to shave.
Women with hairy legs unite!
Posted by nak.
January 21, 2010, 5:53 PM
I have really thick dark hair on my legs, so it was really nice seeing attention called to Mo'Nique's. I shave because I get ingrown hairs if I don't, but it's not like the four-hours-later stubble and razor burn is sexy.
Posted by Leilani
January 21, 2010, 6:23 PM
i haven't shaved my legs in...longer than i remember. occasionally, i'll shave them just to enjoy the minuteness of the task, but i figure i never show them off so i shouldn't waste time shaving them. i shave my underarms only when i remember, which for me is maybe once a week. i do shave my arms, but more the dark hair on my arms (which are often the only skin i show off besides my face and neck) "disrupts my pale," if that makes sense, and because the hair on my hands and wrists catches in my jewelry.
i certainly don't think women should NOT shave, but i also don't think they should be COERCED into doing it. keeping yourself clean is more important than having child-smooth legs, after all, and having body hair does not prevent a woman from BEING clean.
Posted by the raven
January 21, 2010, 6:47 PM
I don't shave. Anywhere.
And I can not for the life of me understand why is is such an issue!
Why is it not for men to not shave?
Why is okay for men to TELL ME that I HAVE TO shave. And that it is what I am MEANT to do.
I often don't wear bras either.
I don't think anyone has the right to tell me what to do with my body, especially men. Do they have my body? No!
If people want to shave, they should. But I despise this culture of women HAVING to shave. I don't like shaving and don't see any need in shaving. So I don't. If you want too, good. But don't degrade those of us who don't shave and who like our body hair. Of all the people I know who don't shave, not one of them is ever horrible to someone who does shave.
It's hair. It isn't going to hurt anyone. It's natural. I wish people would accept that.
Posted by Taliae
January 21, 2010, 8:10 PM
I shave as little as possible. I never wear tank tops anyway, and much prefer tights and leggings to bare legs, so it's never a big deal.
If I do bare my legs or pits, I shave. That happens once or twice a year. Pits more often than legs, just because in summer I get hyperhidrosis or whatever and need the antiperspirant to soak in (easier on shaved skin than hairy).
No one has ever died from my lack of shaving, so I figure there's no problem.
Posted by B.
January 22, 2010, 12:26 AM
I shave practically everywhere hair grows in the summer. I live in Australia and when it gets really hot (104 degrees Fahrenheit), body hair really makes you sweat. I think men should do it too.
In the winter, I only really shave my underarms, because to me, it feel uncomfortable.
Posted by Erin
January 22, 2010, 2:29 AM
well, i shave my legs twice a year. once at the beginning of summer and once half way through. i don't have very hairy legs but do have a few wirey ones that stand out and drive me crazy. re: armpits, i only shave them when my pits smell, and with all my hormones lately it's growing like mad and needs a shave once a week. i get pretty rank if i don't. i'm hairy every where else (and i pluck my eyebrows once every 6 weeks or so).
Posted by diandra
January 22, 2010, 3:40 AM
I don't shave anything. Not only can I not be bothered, I -gasp- prefer the way it looks. On me, and on other women.
Of course, I respect people who choose to shave, but it's just not my personal preference. I find it appalling the way women's body hair choices are made a public issue, and how pervasive the attitude is that body hair is disgusting. It's just hair, people.
Posted by Z
January 22, 2010, 5:47 AM
I shave, sporadically.
In the winter, I tend to let the leg hair grow because shaving's just not worth it. In the summer, I shave my legs because they get to this point where they feel really grimy if I don't. (Though I realize, if I could get past that point I probably wouldn't give a damn anymore...)
I shave/wax the pubic area. Not all of it. Because I don't like the feel of the hair near my labia or inner thighs.
Armpits...sometimes I grow it out, sometimes I shave. I keep wanting to see how long I can get it, but I usually break down and shave due to the aforementioned grimy feeling.
And I'm sick to death of the double standard when it comes to women's body hair.
Men can be as hairy as they place and you don't hear a crowd of people going "Oh, gross."
Posted by Morgan
January 22, 2010, 8:42 AM
I shave when I feel like it, or when I have a photo-shoot (at which point it *all* comes off -- depilatory cream sucks ass, but it's way cheaper and rather less painful than getting a Brazilian).
These days, letting my legs/pits/pussy go natural is more a matter of money/time/pain-threshold/indifference than anything else.
I mean, yes, I've been known to stay hairy as a political statement before but, personally, I *like* not having buckets of body-hair.
Put it down to me being Femme if you must - I know that the whole "hairy dudes vs hairless chicks" is all to do with how masculinity and femininity get coded in relation/opposition to each other - but I like the way my legs (among other parts) feel when they're hairless. I like the smoothness of my own skin when my legs brush together. As such, I'd actually prefer to get them regularly waxed (but see above re: pain threshold).
<*shrug*>
Anyway. That's my two cents.
- TTFN,
- Amazon.
Posted by Amazon Syren
January 22, 2010, 9:18 AM
I think this:
http://wonderinaliceland.blog.com/201...
Let's make 2010 the year of the hairy.
Posted by Alice
January 22, 2010, 1:01 PM
I shave when it'll be seen in public and I don't delude myself into thinking I actually like it. (Not that I mean to infer all other people who shave don't like it either, but I can't imagine all of them shave by choice.)
I'm different already so why put another strike against myself? I want so badly for it to be my choice, but people would think I'm gross/stupid if I don't shave. Shallow people, perhaps, but it's still people I deal with.
However, pubic hair is a different story: I get rid of it whenever I have time.
Oh, we're talking about facial hair, too? (One of you. That's a good subject, too.) I would never stop plucking. I kind of can't.
Posted by Pati
January 23, 2010, 12:45 AM
I do my pits pretty regularly because I get all hot and sweaty at work and shaving cuts down on the smell..
Legs....eh. Only if I have to wear shorts to work (I work with all guys...it's just not worth the argument / commentary to go without shaving... they'res standing up for what you believe, and then there's not wanting to argue outside in 110 degree heat with 5 guys...) I could care less if they're shaved this time of year.
Other places, never. I get a nasty rash. One week of being hair free isn't worth it. :(
Posted by Beth
January 24, 2010, 1:36 PM
Thankyou D. Cole.
This IS a big issue, as you can see from the amount of comments. For anyone, especially a celebrity, who is always on public show, to bring this monster into the open is bigger than I think most people feel like admitting. If there's any place where the world thinks body-image feminism can be silenced for good, It's in this debate. This is about bucking both gender and sex barriers, if you feel it's something you can pull off.I appreciate that idea, mentioned earlier, in passing by someone. If that sounds like exaggeration, here's why. Every summer, me and my mother have the same long, bitter, below-the-belt-hitting argument about weather it's my duty to shave when I wear dresses. I can be socially awkward in other ways, and she wants to protect me. I don't even have time to wash my hair as much as I'd like to, much less shave, but in the hot weather, when I want to wear a dress, I want to wear a dress! And (perhaps because I don't shave), my legs are very sensitive. My mother has brought home every shaving method you can think of to try to get me to shave and once or twice a summer pulls me into the esthetician's for a professional wax, which feels like a treat enough that I put uo with it. But, dam it, I'd rather have a nice facial or something. Who have I shaved for? Mostly my mother and women I think will judge me and never in any other time but the summer. And then only if I feel forced. I'll shave for a friend who once commented on it,because I feel I have something to prove to her about how normal I am. I'll shave (and think about my appearance generally) among the girls who's high school clique I somehow still wish I'd been in. I'll shave for job interviews. I shave for boyfriends early on, until I trust them enough not to. Every time summer comes around, I wonder if it will become a habit. I think it will next summer. I'm sick of my mother and others making me worry and it's gotten to the point where I don't feel I have an authentic choice anymore. If I want to wear cloths which draw attention to my looks and show legs, I have to shave. The alternative is simply to react from what I think makes sense, despite everything and then end up feeling guilty and paranoid about it. All this despite the fact that my mother is a feminist who didn't used to shave her own legs. Also, there's always the issue that I'll be put in some femmenist cliche box people start thinking of me as a "hairy-legged" feminist. Good for everyone who has found a way to make peace with this practice weather you do it or not! I appreciate that the issue is being talked about again. I can't be the one to make change happen here. I just don't see it happening soon. I think the best strategy for me, at this point is to let the world win and wait until something fairly extraordinary happens.
Posted by Myra
January 25, 2010, 2:19 AM
This is pretty interesting. It seems a lot of the people who do shave legs or such only do it every so often. I personally have stopped shaving my legs in the winter, but the pits are a different matter. There seems to be a bit of an argument about pit stink here. I once had a friend who never shaved her pits. Her pit hair was really long, and she still only used Women's deoderant. THEY STANK REALLY BADLY! It smelled like rotten spice, and no matter how much of a feminist I feel I am, I CANNOT stand horrible body odour, no matter what the gender. The truth of the matter, ladies, is that if you choose not to shave your pits and let the hair grow right out, only MEN's deoderant can mask the smell. Women's deoderant is mean to be applied to the skin, men's to your pit-hair. Body hair is one thing, horrible odour another. Please keep clean in some way or another.
Posted by Jess
January 25, 2010, 9:23 PM
why worry about little things like monique's legs?
body hair is nice on a ldy
Posted by jim
January 26, 2010, 2:43 AM
i don't shave. at all. i think it's tough and more human.
Posted by clarabee
January 26, 2010, 10:59 AM
I don't shave anything. But then, I am a guy lol. I do think women should not be pressured to shave. Heck I even like hairy armpits on women. I think it's totally sexy.
Posted by Donuan
January 27, 2010, 3:56 PM
I shaved in my early teens, and then after I had my awakening of, "Oh my, this is totally a socialized thing," I stopped shaving.
However, not shaving did make me feel self-conscious. I fully believe that hair removal should be a choice, and that it shouldn't be an expectation. But personally, I like having smooth legs and armpits, and I think I have the right to make that decision, as do Amanda Palmer and Mo'Nique have the right to their decision. Shaving or not shaving doesn't make anyone better than anyone else, or more feminist for that matter.
Posted by Bee
January 28, 2010, 5:30 PM
I think That's an important point, Bee. It helps me to do what gives me confidence and worry less.
Posted by Myra
February 4, 2010, 3:37 PM
ladies- you want the oral pleasure, break out the hedge clippers. the rest i could care less about.
Posted by squidfist
February 4, 2010, 10:16 PM
Well done Amanda Palmer - women with unshaven armpits are powerful and beautiful you look so lovely with your sleevless dress, natural armpits and black nylons -such style. just keep doing it!
Posted by Michael
February 7, 2010, 5:31 PM
i've been all over the map with the shaving thing - it's really just about what i'm feeling like at the time. Currently i shave my legs because i'm enjoying them being smooth, but i never, EVER shave my armpits. i think armpit hair is sexy, on anybody. i don't wear deodorant, and i wish others would give it up, too. People should smell like PEOPLE.
Posted by maka
February 9, 2010, 9:30 AM
@Maka:
Some people smell more 'like people' than others. Deodorant is a good equalizer. As if there weren't enough things to discriminate on, the smelliest people would become an outsider class, for nothing more than the fact that their bodies produce more oder than other people's.
You can talk all day about minor societal changes like that, but I don't think schools and businesses are going to start to do 'smell sensitivity training' in class.
Posted by Steve
February 9, 2010, 10:15 AM
I do shave my legs and under my arms. Mostly because I don't like the feeling of hair under my arms and putting on leggings feels weird to me while having hairy legs, though I don't shave them often.
I do not, however, shave my pubic area. I've tried it and hate it! I will never shave or trim it because it's too much work and just ends in itchy, burning, uncomfortable-ness. Besides, I like the look of my fluffy muff.
Posted by LexieDi
February 12, 2010, 1:09 AM
I'm 18, and I've never shaved any part of my body. I still feel uncomfortable about wearing bathing suits and sleeve-less shirts, but I feel it would be more of a hassle to shave. My mother told me when I was 11-ish that it was my choice, and if I ever wanted to learn how to shave, she'd show me. She also pointed out several points, including that hair is natural, She herself shaves, but she has never made me feel like I'm not pretty. (Thanks ma)
Posted by iLoveTrolls
February 14, 2010, 3:23 PM
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