Ode To Women’s Body Hair

I am a human being who happens to be a woman. This means, like all other human beings (close to 7 billion of us!), I have body hair.

So why are people so afraid of women’s body hair?

It’s a sign that they are adult. A grown woman. Sexually mature. You’d think that’s something we would want to celebrate rather than run screaming from!

Hollywood thinks women should wax their pubic hair even during pregnancy. Mo’Nique was criticised for having hairy legs.

And I recently saw a documentary called Hairy Women in which they only portrayed the extreme. There was a woman who literally has a beard, another woman who is so obsessive about her hair that she waxes everything every two weeks, and one who couldn’t complete the challenge to go 2 months without hair removal (she lasted 5 weeks).

So where in all of this is the portrayal of the woman who doesn’t give a damn? Why does society force us to put so much effort into removing body hair? Why can’t we just let it be?

Most women will shave their legs when they wear a skirt. They will get a bikini wax when they have a date or are going to the beach. But during the winter time and when nobody is looking (sorry boys) under those stockings, trousers, and sexy knee-high boots, they have undoubtedly got hairy legs.

I sometimes get rid of my hair because society dictates that it is appropriate in certain social situations, and I can live with that.

But to be made to feel like I am dirty and disgusting and unclean when I don’t shave is ridiculous! I think women who feel this way must have incredibly low self-esteem because having hair on their bodies in no way reflects negatively on them.

Perhaps I’m wrong. Perhaps most people don’t really care and it’s only the media who makes me think it is this way. I certainly hope so because the idea that women should not have any body hair is something I want to eradicate.

My message to you is this:

Women, stop feeling ashamed! You are human and there is nothing wrong with your body hair. If you feel like you have to remove every single little bit of stubble then perhaps you should examine why you feel like this. And if your boyfriend insists on it? Dump him. He obviously doesn’t love you and was hoping you would belong to a mythical species of hairless ape, rather than being a normal human being.

And to men, get over it! We are human and have hair and there’s nothing wrong with that so stop expecting us to be otherwise. Love us for who we are, both inner and outer beauty, even if hairy legs come along with the deal.

Also read: Pubic Hair Is Back And Here To Stay

Hollywood Wants To Grab Me By The Short And Curlies When I’m Pregnant

Golden Globe Winner Slammed For Hairy Legs Under Dress