Hairless No More

More and more I have become fascinated with the beauty rituals that have been adapted into the western culture I live in. It dawned on me this week as I was trying to sooth another case of razor burn, why do I shave? There really isn't a justified purpose behind it at all. It's not proven to be more hygienic. Men don't shave their armpits, legs, or bikini area and as long as they shower, they smell fine. So, really, the only reason women go through the time and effort of shaving is to create some unnatural illusion that they are not born with hair.

I started shaving when I was 9 or 10 years old. I look at my 8 year old daughter now and I would never allow her to start shaving in the next couple of years, that's just ridiculous. The only time in my life I could see me shaving as justified, was when I was a swimmer. As a swimmer, shaving off all the hair on your body can equal shaving off seconds on your best time at a meet. That's why they wear swim caps. Male swimmers even shave. But, I haven't been a swimmer since the 9th grade.

I decided to do my research and figure out why women started shaving to begin with. We all came from somewhere else, and most other women in other countries do not shave. I found a little gem of a column here by Cecil Adams. This all started from marketers. Go figure. Ads started showing women in fancy new sleeveless dresses with bare underarms. It took a few years, but women in the U.S. and U.K. finally gave into to the ploy. Legs came later when sheer stockings came into style. It blows my mind to think that I have been shaving all these years because some ad told my elders I should.

I won't go on ranting. I have made the decision to stop shaving. I'm sure it will take some getting used to, for both me and my partner. I'm not making some huge feminist statement here. I just honestly don't see the point. There is no practical reason to do it, so I'm not going to. I know I will be saving money by not buying all those expensive razors and shaving cream. I will be saving the environment by being able to cut the 5-15 minutes of extra shower time it takes to shave. I am always looking for ways to save time and use less resources.

Call me gross, call me crazy, call me what you will. I am not going to waste my time with an unpractical task any longer. I really don't care if other people think I'm ugly or gross. They don't have to look, and I am not asking anyone to jump on the bandwagon with me. This is my choice and I'm happy to be making it.