Body Hair Is Natural. Society Thinking Otherwise Is Dangerous

[Islander]

Heather Widdows
June 13, 2018

Visible body hair is rarely seen. It is so rare that underarm hair on a celebrity becomes a news story. For the rest of us, showing it in public — even at the beach, when wearing very little — is almost a political statement in itself. Increasingly, women remove all visible body hair. Including pubic hair. Men too have been getting in on the act, hence the long-rising popularity of the “back, sack and crack” waxing technique. The hairy chests and Playboy bushes of the 1970s are gone. Quite simply, body hair is no longer a feature of the ideal body.

Keep reading: http://time.com/5300646/body-hair-sh...3a%22USA%22%7d

[Ora Moose]

While this article may be generally true, I think it applies mostly to women and I don't necessarily agree with the beauty/desirability aspect of it. Most women do shave their legs, but unshaven doesn't bother me. As for men, you may have noticed that in recent years, a clean shaven or full beard is not the absolute norm anymore - in fact, stubble has become a fashion statement for males. I also see a lot more women dropping the hair coloring in later years and going with their natural gray, and I find that more attractive and healthy. The other thing I would recommend against is something that my wife is very guilty of: blow drying hair even when you have plenty of time to let it dry naturally. Why fry your hair and make it frizzy when you don't have to?

[Julieanne]

I won't comment on hair removal, other than agreeing that pubic hair is no longer acceptable, which seems weird to me. As for blow drying, my hair is a complete mess if I let it dry naturally - all over the place. I have short hair that sticks out everywhere if I don't tame it with a dryer. Long, straight hair would probably look the same whether you let it dry naturally or blow dry it. But walking around with long, wet hair can be a bit chilly in cold weather!

[Ora Moose]

Julianne, I didn't mean that you should leave your hair wet (and cold,) just that drying it with a towel suffices, and that's what I do with the little hair I have left :-) I think blow drying wipes away the natural oils that make your hair shiny and beautiful but that's just me. My wife is a redhead, and has very little body hair so shaving is not necessary and I find it sexy, anywhere. Pubic hair shaving is an abomination in my book for both men and women.

[Pattypans]

Most, if not all, of our body parts are there for a reason. Pubic hair is a great shock absorber.

[Maurya]

Most American black women have been compelled by society to have bald pubic areas for a long time. Nothing that I would go in for, but many people have been conditioned to find this to be the norm.

[Islander]

Maurya, a lot of white American women do the same; some leave a thin "landing strip." I agree that it's unnatural and unappealing, and suggestive of pedophilia. What's the attraction of a prepubescent body?

[Maurya]

That was my interpretation of this custom, imitation of a child; but one cannot say this out loud because it is seen as an attack on culture.

[Islander]

Sadly, I'm not known for keeping my mouth shut. TBH, however, I think the trend is more the result of hair's being seen as a masculine attribute. Women don't have beards, so by extension, they also shouldn't sport hairy legs or armpit hair. Too mannnish. Which reminds me of my readings in anthropology. The Spanish (or was it the Portuguese?) conquistadores were disappointed that the native women were nearly hairless, and lacked the "bush" of the gals back home.

[Ora Moose]

The Spanish (or was it the Portuguese?) conquistadores were disappointed that the native women were nearly hairless, and lacked the "bush" of the gals back home.

Depends on location. If I recall correctly, Portugal and Spain made an agreement back in the exploration navigator days, that discovered lands either North or South of imaginary lines would belong to one country or the other. That's how Brasil ended up speaking Portuguese while the rest of central or South America speaks Spanish. I don't recall "native women" of those lands being nearly hairless, but the Portuguese tend to be dark haired and in my childhood I don't remember any blondes or certainly not redheads. Of course, I ended up marrying one... here in America :-) and she doesn't even have to shave her legs because the hair is nearly invisible

[Islander]

By "native women" I was referring to the Aztecs/Incas/Mayans. I phrased it that way because I was unsure of which population they were conquering. The indigenous people as a group were never very hirsute.