Girls who shave

Why is shaving your legs such an important thing for girls? My step-mother won't let me shave because "you're only 14, you don't need to be trying to look sexy" but guys don't even notice. so why does it turn girls vicious, I get attacked all the time (wel, I wear jeans, so not 'all' the time) but why?

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Reply 1

cl_steele

to quote a 'friend' its seen as 'chimp' like not to, uncivilised if you will. not sure why it makes such a difference when youre only 14 but hey when you get older itll be seen as a necessity, men do not like fluffy legs.

oooh controvertial :colone:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 2

HolyFuzazzle

I can't believe people openly say rude things because you don't shave your legs =/ Someone was telling me yesterday how her daughter, who is only 10, got teased horribly by girls at her school because of the hair on her legs and it made her so upset that she begged to have them waxed. It's depressing.
It's just leg hair, god. That being said, I hate being hairy but that's because it feels uncomfortable, and unfortunately, you get ostracised for it. Shaving is just quick and easy as with waxing you have to wait for the hair to get long again. So you might be nice and smooth for like a week or two... But I'm 18, I didn't worry that much when I was 10 or 14. I will get them lasered once I can afford it though.

Reply 3

Deziah

I really don't get how girls can turn vicious over you not shaving your legs, that is weird, weird indeed. Once you start shaving your legs, you'll realise what a boring task it is and the effort really isn't desirable if you have no reason to do it. You have to do it like every week, and when you cut your leg it stings like crazy and bleeds for ages. I actually find shaving outdated and prefer to use hair removal cream, but there you go. I started shaving my legs when I was twelve, I can't actually remember why I did it but I just did. There really isn't no point when you're fourteen.

Reply 4

hellobonjour

I remember when I was in year 8 a girl (supposedly one of my close friends) called me a monkey and showed another girl because I had the tiniest of hairs on my legs.

I still think that without that incident I would be shaving my legs now, more as a personal choice rather than anything. At that age it certainly wasn't to do with appealing to boys, and it's such a shame that girls are under such pressure to keep up appearances, rendering their personal choices obsolete.

Reply 5

x-Sophie-x

I don't understand this either. In primary school, some girls used to make fun of the girls with darker hair during P.E. lessons :/
And we were only 9/10/11 at the time. It's quite immature of these girls to be honest; you should be able to do what you want and not feel self conscious (:

I have never shaved my legs. I had laser hair treatment on my legs when I was 14 and I used hair removal cream before that (:

Reply 6

1582

Volunteer Team

Girls and boys were telling me to shave at age 11. :/ Didn't do anything about it until my mother suggested it when I was 12.

I think it's a bit strange that your step-mother would assume that it's "to look sexy". Although, admittedly, I definitely don't feel sexy with hairy legs. :tongue:

Actually, I feel generally unclean if I don't shave for a few extra days - it both looks and feels icky and I almost always wear dresses/skirts/hotpants so I can't really get away with not shaving. But it only takes a moment in the shower and it's worth it to feel clean and more confident about my appearance. :smile:

Reply 7

inadilemma

I have recently decided to try not shaving my legs or my underarms. I wear trousers most of the time anyway. It's absolutely preposterous to claim that having hair on your body makes you less feminine. When people go through puberty, their bodies start to change and become more mature i.e. boys start to become men and girls start to become women. One of the changes is that we grow body hair.

So, for girls, puberty is the process of becoming a woman. One of the changes is body hair. Therefore, body hair is a sign of sexual maturity. The idea that women have to shave it off seems to be a social construct. It's perfectly natural.

I've not told anyone that I'm not planning on shaving. I'm trying not to draw attention to it and to make it as natural as possible. If anyone asks why, I will tell them and if they don't accept my right not to shave and think it's disgusting or unattractive, then that will just show me how shallow they are. I wouldn't want to be friends with/be in a relationship with someone who thinks less of a person because of body hair, a natural, healthy thing.

To the person who negged me, I would like to know what problem you have with me not shaving.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 8

annelidatome

Original post by sinfonietta

I know, she has strange ideas

Reply 9

writergirl

Original post by HolyFuzazzle

This. What will be next...us shaving our arms?

Reply 10

inadilemma

Original post by writergirl

This. What will be next...us shaving our arms?

Some people do. I find the whole thing rather ridiculous.

Reply 11

writergirl

Original post by inadilemma

Some people do. I find the whole thing rather ridiculous.

Seriously? Just so long as we don't all have to start shaving our heads.

Reply 12

1582

Volunteer Team

Original post by writergirl

This. What will be next...us shaving our arms?

I've been doing this one as well since I started shaving my legs. Don't see what's weird about it.

Reply 13

writergirl

Original post by sinfonietta

I've been doing this one as well since I started shaving my legs. Don't see what's weird about it.

Well personally I find it unnecessary seeing as I have blonde hairs, but each to their own.

Reply 14

breakeven

Original post by writergirl

This. What will be next...us shaving our arms?

Most girls at my school did, I did once actually in Year 8. Now I just leave them and I was lucky to not have them grow back really dark and thick. Ideally, I'd love to have no hair on my body from the neck down, if only it were that easy.

Reply 15

writergirl

Original post by breakeven

Really? I've never heard of this before, I now feel very ignorant.

Reply 16

HolyFuzazzle

Original post by writergirl

This. What will be next...us shaving our arms?

Meh, I do this from time to time. It doesn't grow like it doe son my legs so I don't do it that much but I do. I have dark hair though.

Reply 17

breakeven

Original post by writergirl

Really? I've never heard of this before, I now feel very ignorant.

Probably just my school, we were all a bit 'plastic' in the lower years :rolleyes:

Reply 18

im so academic

It's what men want. Deal with it, or deal with being forever alone - as they would say.

All men want a woman who is smooth all over. Especially down there.

Reply 19

philistine

Original post by inadilemma

I have recently decided to try not shaving my legs or my underarms. I wear trousers most of the time anyway. It's absolutely proposterous to claim that having hair on your body makes you less feminine.

So you're fat, have a forest growing from your underarms, and most likely have legs which could easily warrant the nickname 'Hairy Jeremy'?

Brb, throwing up in my mouth.

Random anecdote:

I volunteer once in a week in a charity shop. A middle-aged, petite blonde came in on a bike one day, with one trouser leg rolled up. I didn't think anything of it until she came into the store. She bought something, and when she walked away to put it in her bag, I saw that the leg which was exposed was just as densely packed with hair (long hair, might I add) as my own. I felt physically sick.

EDIT: This is apparently my most controversial post yet!