I would consider myself an anomaly of the classic definition of feminine: having qualities or appearance traditionally associated with women, especially delicacy and prettiness. This is not to say that I don’t consider myself female, or that I think I am ugly. It just means that the definition of femininity is changing and, in many ways, is liberating a new generation of women to have the freedom to love themselves despite societal norms. This freedom encompasses a myriad of societal pressures, but today we’ll focus on just two: the freedom to be fuzzy, and the freedom to go grey naturally. Each of these freedoms are a naturally occurring part of the human experience, yet oftentimes the demonstration of these freedoms are viewed as the woman no longer caring for herself, or as a defiant act of an angry feminist.
Well, to tell you the truth, I am angry. I will never forget my first day of P.E. in the 7th grade. Clad in blue mesh, knee-length running shorts, a group of my peers—boys, and surprisingly, girls—mocked me for my leg hair. The lasting insult: comparing me to a “white ape.” Up until that point, I felt no need to shave. I was innocent and naively thought that since body hair grew naturally, it was beyond my control. I begged my mom to let me shave and was told I was too young. So, at the age of 11, I took matters into my own hands. I went to a friend’s house and shaved every inch of my body, right down to the fine, blond hairs on my knuckles- anything to not be viewed as a modern neanderthal. When I came home, my mom bitterly said something along the lines of, “Well, now you’ll have to shave for the rest of your life. Your soft, blond baby hair will grow back course, prickly, and black.” Of course, she was right. And so began the endless cycle of shaving my body every other day for a decade.
Women in America began shaving in the early 1900s when Gillette invented the first safety razor designed specifically for women. It was called “Milady Decollete,” and was launched in accordance with the brand’s “First Great Anti-Underarm Hair Campaign.” But the phenomena of conforming to hair removal standards did not start there. People of the Stone Age used sharpened rocks and shells in lieu of razors; the Ancient Egyptians made waxes from sugar and bees to rip the hair from its follicle; the Roman Empire applied depilatory creams, but only to the bodies of the wealthy and elite.
Today I subscribe to the philosophy of shaving for myself, meaning I shave when I feel it is necessary, not based on the opinion of anyone else. The transition from borderline obsessive shaving to infrequent at best was not smooth- pardon the pun. I found that most people were disturbed that women grow armpit hair; that we have hairs above the upper lip; and guess what! We grow leg hair the same way that men do. The issue, as is the case for most issues in society, is lack of representation and open dialogue on the topic. To bring awareness that it is okay to not shave if that’s what feels right for you, I want to take some time to highlight Instagram accounts that demystify body hair and embrace it for its natural glory.
@bodyhairloveaffair is an Instagram account that believes body hair removal is a choice and provides a safe space (rare on social media) for people to proudly share and display their body hair journey. One submission by account, @quickieswithmickie, includes this caption: “I have some pretty hairy armpits and I have no shame. I believe that everyone should be able to do whatever they want with their body hair without judgment, so I have a problem with the narratives society writes for us about our own body hair. It blows my mind that I have thick, long hair on my head and everyone loves it. I have thick, long eyelashes and everyone loves them. But the thick, long hair under my armpits is shamed and frowned upon. It’s not fair!”
The average time a woman spends on just shaving her legs in her lifetime is 72 days. This is approximately 1,728 hours throughout the course our lives devoted specifically to the removal of just leg hair- not factoring the time that is also spent shaving, tweezing, or waxing other parts of our body that society demands of women to be hair-free.
Based off these numbers it’s no wonder that the beauty salon trade is a 20-million-dollar industry. If it’s not shaving your entire body, it’s color treating your hair each month to stave off the appearance of aging. Depending on the salon, women spend anywhere from $75 to $200, not including tip, each month on dying their hair. That’s an average of $1,800 a year spent on just hair maintenance.
Last year I cut off my waist-length platinum blond hair- think Khalessi with split ends- in an attempt to grow out my natural hair, and grey whenever it is my time to grey. My mother was quick to remind me that going grey in my early twenties is just a statement, and that by the time I detect the first dreaded sign of grey later in life I will hop onto the color-my-hair-until-I-die bandwagon. I have nevertheless stood my ground. The state of my hair is currently grown-out ombre: a thick wedge of dishwater blond comes from the roots to meet its stark bleach-blond contrast at the ends. Despite my sister’s desperate pleas to at the very least add some highlights to help it blend, I have declined. I’m personally over spending half a paycheck to maintain the appearance of “pretty blond girl,” and all that comes with it.
I found solidarity in the Instagram account, @grombre, an account that is “a radical celebration of the natural phenomenon of grey hair.” They call themselves the Silver Sisters Community, and they are dedicated to encouraging women to feel empowered by aging; that beauty can still exist without the addition of dyes, bleaches, and toners. “When you’ve lost track of how many years it has been since you began showing your most authentic self, you realize that it is because you are busy living your most authentic life. Go grey, go true, go you,” featured account, @mundanemorsel writes in her caption.
My stance on the #bodyhairacceptance movement and the plight of the silver sisters is this: women should always have the freedom to choose what is best and most comfortable for their own bodies. We should never allow this freedom to be taken from us, and we should continue to bear this independence proudly without fear of ostracization. My hairy-legged, silver fox, braless sisters rise up! Our time is now.
By: Rachel Ladeby