armpits - Jezebel

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Body Hair: The Long & Short Of It
Breast Intentions
People Think Female Armpit Hair Is Gross • Black Women Are Shrinking
Talking About Beyoncé's Shaving Habits Is The Pits
Obsessing About The New "It" Body Part Is The Pits
Paying Someone To Cut You Is Growing In Popularity
Something Stinks
Hairy Pits: Appealing Or Appalling?

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boxspelunker
07/29/09

In reply to Body Hair: The Long & Short Of It
I started to shave when I was in the 5th grade. Everyone was shaving by that point (we were so mature, am I right?), and I wanted to be popular. Two years later, in seventh grade, I became a huge anime freak and stopped giving a shit about that. Instead, I spent time making Sailor Moon hair (and it was epic). While I do have naturally light body hair, it was a constant source of teasing and mockery from my delightful fellow classmates. For some reason, that just never got under my skin (a bunch of other stuff sure did, though). I never started shaving again. It didn't take that much time for me, as I only used regular soap and water and whatever razor I stole from the bathroom closet, but I just didn't want to. It was like a rebellion that my mom couldn't yell at me for. She could bitch about weird hair and clothes (and throw them out), but she never could really do that much about unshaven legs. Especially if she never saw them (curse you, gymshorts!).

Shaving is a personal decision. I am happy with my hippie self, and I would encourage anyone to try not shaving for awhile and see how it suits you (especially if you've been shaving/waxing for a long time), but some people have painful hair growth, or honestly, just don't want to deal with the social shit. I can't blame anyone for that.

And to all the haters that said no man would ever love me, I am actually in a pretty decent relationship with a real, live dude (previously, it had been mostly women). I wouldn't date someone who wanted me to change such a superficial thing. To me, it was the measure of how much value they placed on the media-perfect person, and I wanted no part of that. He fully admits that if my body hair were darker, it would bother him, but I consider it close enough.

And I am not a fan of the "manscaping" trend. If a guy wants to remove his body hair, fine, whatever, I don't care either way. But social pressure and being made to feel "disgusting" is awful. My current partner has scars on his back from shaving/ingrown hairs. And he keeps shaving it! I've told him time and time again that it's not disgusting and I don't care in the least, but he can't shake the feeling. It makes him unhappy to spend time removing body hair, and he feels disgusting for even having it.

Boo hiss on the shame, from all angles.
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SharonTaint
07/29/09

In reply to Body Hair: The Long & Short Of It
I will never forget the day in the 6th grade when I was publicly shamed in music class for not shaving my legs.

I was twelve!!! I was hoping I wouldn't have to go near a razor for another three or four years at least!

Man, girls can be so brutal.
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FamaGloriaque
07/28/09

In reply to Body Hair: The Long & Short Of It
I didn't know until about a month ago that I was supposed to be ashamed of having arm hair. I was totally on top of legs, bikini, armpits, and any strays on the face etc. But one day I was at work and noticed that the women sitting on either side of me had NO ARMHAIR. I mean, everyone has armhair, right? It's not dirty or itchy, it's just there. and mine is blonde, so you can barely see it anyway. No matter how true these statements are, they didn't stop me from shaving my arms. Mr. Gloriaque wisely said "What the hell did you do that for? It's going to be all scratchy and awful when it grows bank." He was right. So what did I do? I bought some Nair.

THE TYRANNY OF GROOMING MUST END.

facepalm.
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clevernamehere
07/29/09

@FamaGloriaque: Seriously, this is crazy. So a few women have no arm hair, that doesn't mean that you're not supposed to have any. Maybe they naturally don't have any, maybe its cultural (arm hair removal is pretty common among Indian women) or maybe its an unusual personal preference. If a bunch of women in your office started carrying green handbags or wearing hijabs, that doesn't mean you're supposed to. This is no different.

I know you're unloading your personal issues, but I really wish you would have phrased it like that rather than as some mantra you think every woman needs to adopt.
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FamaGloriaque
07/30/09

@clevernamehere: Considering the subject of this article is the ridiculous obsession with hair removal among young, modern Americans, I felt it was pretty on-topic to give a personal anecdote about experiencing this firsthand. Just like you wish I had phrased it differently, I wish you had read the whole post and gotten to the part where I call it a "tyranny". Regarding the women i speak of: they were all young women, between the ages of 22 and 31. There were 3 caucasians, 3 African Americans, and one Venezuelan, and me, another Caucasian (all of us grew up in the same midwestern city). The intention was yet another personal story of how ladymags and photoshopping convince women to do really strange things to their bodies. The intention was not to "unload personal issues" (dare you?), but instead to replicate the posts of the other women on this site who wrote about getting waxed even though it hurts like hell. So please, think a little before you type, consider the context, and watch who you call crazy.
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NewsBunny
07/28/09

In reply to Body Hair: The Long & Short Of It
Everyone once in a while, I attempt a pussy hair removal. I've had two Brazillians, multiple shaving attempts, delapatories...

and I fucking hate it every time. It hurts. It hurts growing back. It hurts maintaining. My pussy is not dirty as is! My pussy is fine. My pussy is lovely.

I bought a beard trimmer and trim away every couple of weeks, then go with my life. I'm not going to hurt myself anymore.

My husband, who resembles an organutang, has no reason to bitch.
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wednesdayam
07/28/09

In reply to Body Hair: The Long & Short Of It
I have no problem with folks doing what they want with body hair - sometimes I let mine go wild for a bit, other times I keep things pretty well maintained.

But guys. I can't take unnaturally hairless guys. It's just something that seems, I don't know... wrong. If a guy is naturally hairless, then he can't help it, but the ones that I know personally who whine about a little patch of back hair... *sigh*

I love the tuft in the small of my boyfriend's back though.

And yes, I may very well be a total weirdo - some folks I know act like I'm odd all the times for not going "ew gross" about a guy that actually keeps his chest hair.
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Breamworthy
07/28/09

@wednesdayam: YOU ARE NOT A WEIRDO. Also, it is a known fact that that is the best and sweetest patch of hair.
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lavenderstain
07/28/09

In reply to Body Hair: The Long & Short Of It
Am i the only person who finds the gurilla comparison racist?

Im middle eastern and have lots of hair, aaaand olive skin. Am i a disgusting gurrilla then, to be only loved if I wax myself from head to toe?
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CatherineSloper
07/28/09

@lavenderstain: No. Throwing my support your way.
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Rooo sez BISH PLZ
07/28/09

@CatherineSloper: Seconded.
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andromache
07/28/09

In reply to Body Hair: The Long & Short Of It
the Egyptians used to pluck everything. but that had a lot to do with living in the desert too.
and I have to say, if this gorilla came up to me, I'd be very offended. not only am I too fat for America, but apparently I'm also too hairy?
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Lady Skittlehattington
07/28/09

In reply to Body Hair: The Long & Short Of It
How am I supposed to stay on that wild pony if there aren't any reins?

....is the title of the manifesto against men shaving their chests that I intend to write tomorrow.
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TildeMarks
07/28/09

In reply to Body Hair: The Long & Short Of It
I have clear - yes clear - body hair. I don't feel it to be a necessity to shave much of anything unless I feel it blowing in the breeze, and then only cause it tickles.

For all of us rockin' the retro-bush, hooray!
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Snooties McSnooties
07/28/09

@TildeMarks: Wouldn't that just be uber blonde and fine? Can hair actually be *clear*? =O
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pete
07/28/09

@Snooties: Actually polar bears have clear hair...
Yes, I own at trivia games.
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Scout
07/28/09

@pete: Save The TildeMarks!! they are (suposedly) drowning!
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Plum-Pie
07/28/09

@TildeMarks:Now I am an old lady of nearly 29, I have started getting the occasional, solitary, completely clear hair growing out of my chin. (The rest of my hair is dark brown). Even though I pluck them out, I'm proud of how weird they are.
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kithkin
07/28/09

In reply to Body Hair: The Long & Short Of It
1.8 billion? I am not in the least surprised that this is an extremely lucrative industry. I can't bear to shave my own legs most of the time, despite wearing dresses daily in the summer, because I need my razors to stay sharp as long as possible. I do shave my armpits (most days), although I'm thinking about quitting that too.

Out grocery shopping yesterday, I saw that a four pack of new cartridges for my husband's razor cost nearly $10. The same for replacement cartridges for women's razors. The 8-pack was on sale for $17. No wonder hair removal is pushed on us so fervently! Perhaps I am just a fundamentally stingy person but I can't afford that.
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Edited by kithkin at 07/28/09 2:56 PM kithkin was starred kithkin was unstarred

AvocadoGills: purveyor of kinky fish porn
07/28/09

@kithkin: That's why I switched to an epilator for my underarms. Even at thirty or forty dollars, it pays for itself - not only monetarily, but also in the fact that I am now consistently stubble- and underarm-rugburn-free, and I only have to worry about my underarms every couple of weeks. The beauty industry seems only to push the most lucrative options, but there are plenty of others that make a lot more sense than whatever they're shilling.
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andromache
07/28/09

@kithkin: herein lies the reason I use men's razors. works just as well, but much cheaper.
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atomic
07/28/09

In reply to Body Hair: The Long & Short Of It
Ah, hair. Hair everywhere. Hair - the reason I refused to let my high school boyfriends (and, sometimes even now) see me naked. Why I would not wear tank tops or shorts. Why a bikini would always be out of the picture. It took me so many years to just come to terms with being, what I call, slightly fuzzy, because everyone else seemed to be so hair-free and happy and careless. In my head, no hair = fun. Hair = shame.

I think the issue with all this uber shaving is that being completely hairless is now the norm, which leaves anyone WITH hair "abnormal." Even reading the comments, you see the "I used to shave, now I say 'fuck it'!" It's like we have to re-learn how to be our natural selves. While I do wholly and sincerely support women to grow or shave or pluck whatever they want, it seems like advertisements like these only serve to continue normalizing the unnatural which only serves to remind us of that we have ONE MORE THING to fix.
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NotCoolEnough
07/28/09

@atomic:agreed. and frankly, if i were to remove all of my body hair, I wouldn't look like me anymore, I'd look like some anonymous person. There's definitely a sense of homogenization with universal hair removal.
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AvocadoGills: purveyor of kinky fish porn
07/28/09

@atomic: Never trust the word of someone who's trying to sell you something. You're fucking gorgeous, hair and all. I promise.
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TastyBites
07/28/09

@atomic: I shave sometimes and not ashamed of that, but I am straight up infuriated with this nation's fixation on hairlessness. You know who's got little to no body hair? Babies and toddlers. I'm totally comfortable in my hairy personhood, and I resent the notion that I shouldn't be. I hear women speak of men who prefer their partner's pubic area to be hairless or at least closely groomed and that that's why they do it, and I generally lose my shit. I can't help it. And if Mr. TastyBites demanded that I groom or complained about my natural self, you'd have to break me out of prison.

And honey, I don't know what you look like, but I know I can safely say you are beautiful. Don't let the guys and gals on Madison Avenue think you are somehow less just because they all want us to look like pre-pubescent children. I'll not have it.
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katerton
07/28/09

@TastyBites: You know who does have hair, though? MAMMALS
MAMMALS HAVE HAIR
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veronykah
07/28/09

In reply to Body Hair: The Long & Short Of It
I like being hairless, I shave everyday and have for years.
When I was 19 I went as far as shaving my head, so perhaps I am a bit extreme.
I have long hair and eyebrows, but no hair anywhere else.
I just find it interesting how difficult a lot of women think shaving is.
Maybe its because I've been doing it so long but I can still be in and out of the shower in about 10 minutes.
Of course everyone can be hairless or not, but I personally don't find people that are hairy to be attractive. For whatever reason body hair grosses me out, men included.
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KatyLou
07/28/09

@veronykah: I wish I could do it that quickly - then maybe I would do it regularly. I have to sit in the tub and it still takes me 30 minutes to cleanly shave both legs. It is a pain in the ass, and as a result I only have about one week a month where I wear dresses.
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Snooties McSnooties
07/28/09

@veronykah: I'm definitely in that boat (or cruising along near it); I don't just have some vendetta against female body hair, I think a lot of men would look better with a trim. In fact, I think just about everyone should shave their 'pits: not necessarily for vanity's sake, but because they are just harbors of sweat, germs, and stank (and dear god, boys, the Axe is never going to cover it up).
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Elaken
07/28/09

@KatyLou: Is it maybe because of shaving infrequently? I use to hate shaving so I always put it off and thus when I did shave my legs it took FOREVER! Now I just do quick swipes over my legs every other day. I miss bits but usually they get caught two days later, and it is so much quicker. Of course it helps having hair that is relatively unobtrusive so I can have it go a couple days like that without it being an issue.
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veronykah
07/28/09

@Elaken: That's what I was going to say, and I'm sure your skills greatly improve if you do it everyday. I'm a shaving professional.
Also, use a good razor. If I use anything but a Schick Silk Effects, it sucks. I highly recommend getting one and trying it out.
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veronykah
07/28/09

@Snooties: I'm with that and with Traci on the shaving of the male nether regions.
Its so much more pleasant or at the very minimum trimmed.
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Pizza!Pizza!Pizza!
07/28/09

In reply to Body Hair: The Long & Short Of It
We're wild about hair removal... unless you're a woman talking about the hair on her head. Then hair removal makes you nuts!
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swashbuckling
07/28/09

In reply to Body Hair: The Long & Short Of It
I don't mind the promotion so much, but there's way too much fixation on body hair. I went for a pedicure and the beautician tried to hard-sell me on leg waxing. It's just another sales pitch for something I don't need, but there's still an inclination to articulate an argument against it in a larger sense. The advertising itself sets a more widespread expectation and I suppose that can be damaging.
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Lin-Z [linguist on duty]
07/28/09

@swashbuckling: When I was visiting my mom last december, she wanted me to get a pedicure and a manicure (not things I really do on my own) and apparently she also set up an appointment for me to get my eyebrows waxed and THEN the woman working there just went right on in for de-hairing my upper lip--even though I was saying I wasn't sure I wanted that. I was really irritated by the mom-stylist double team. That shit hurts, you know?
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Kitanne
07/28/09

In reply to Body Hair: The Long & Short Of It
I'm sort of more hairy than most girls because of hormone wacky fun so I can be really sensitive about my odd bits of hair. I definitely have a mustache and I worry about it constantly. I wax that baby whenever it's long enough and would soooo get laser removal.

But when it comes to more average hair growth, I'm less fanatical. I only shave to the knee. I like the feeling of shaved legs but by the end of the day I have stubblies again. I just can't be bothered to shave everyday, plus it's very skin irritating. In the winter (I'm in Minnesota), I don't shave my legs sometimes for months. It keeps my shins warm!

I do a little trimming around the vulva out of habit. Before being on birth control I had wicked bad clotted heavy flow periods and it was always so messy and hard to feel clean.

But mostly, I'm too lazy to really shave that often. Plus I have to do it separate from showering because if I don't wear my glasses, I always miss spots.
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