Society’s obsession with hairlessness has always been perplexing for me. How did we get here? In a time where we are more and more aware of the intricacies of our bodies, our health, we negate the role bodily hair plays and choose to remove it for vanity’s sake. And it’s a mission, let me tell you! So many different methods and products; bodily hair is just that – bodily – it has a tendency to be everywhere. The process becomes incredibly time-consuming; the brain space and energy invested feels like a waste of life in the grand scheme of things. (The market for hair removal methods/products must be quite lucrative, in case you’re interested)
The purpose of this post? Hell if I know. But it was spurred by an article I read a few days ago. It was about an aesthetician who specializes in hair removal (waxing) for men. She loves waxing, “it’s like an art” (is that sadism if she enjoys inflicting pain? But then again, if someone is approaching her for the end result - that they will appreciate, maybe the process itself is of no concern. Oh but she doesn’t gain sexual pleasure from inflicting pain so I guess you can’t call it sadism). Read “Balls Go Bald” here
Ok no more tangents! Ugh.
Ok no more tangents! Ugh.
Apparently there are many men out there who prefer to be “smooth as a baby...” I know a few guys who choose to shave their pits, among other things. Then there’s the waxed chest – Kudos to men who wax. There is a certain level of ‘awe’ I associate with a man who can share and appreciate that feeling of hopelessness and sheer defeat (or loss of the willingness to live, as one friend put it) while a woman is mercilessly ripping the hair out of your body.
But how did we get here – why the change? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining – it’s your body; to each his own. But I’m just saying… there’s been a change since the Robin Williams-like time where guys everywhere equated their manhood to the abundance, or lack thereof, of hair that grew on their chests.
Another thing that intrigues me is society’s obsession with the pre-pubescent body. On the one hand, I understand the attraction to the youthful body – baby face, smooth, supple skin etc – evolutionary theories explain this well. Foucault, I believe would have his own two cents to donate to the discussion.
Is it perpetual youth we crave? Is it purely evolutionary programming that we’re following?
What does this say about people who find themselves attracted to children? … And now tell me how that translates when a woman attempts to achieve the pre-pubescent look because the man she is with finds it attractive? Watch Eve Ensler perform “Hair” from the Vagina Monologues here
This will launch me into a whole other conversation about sexuality, the baby-fication of grown women, and minors. Sexy pictures of adults in pigtails with lollipops; and pictures of children in some of the same attire, but in sexualized positions. And no, I’m not talking about pornography; in fact, I’m talking about popular advertising. So for fear of a new tangent developing, I’ll stop here.
Thoughts?
First off, the Vagine Monologues are just hilarious. Eve Ensler is a genius. Second, I'm really confused between the dichotomy of having hair naturally or not having it at all. While I agree it is a big waste of time, money and let's fact it, the s*** hurts! How did we get from the 70's where a hairy man was a manly man to men who are smooth as a baby's bottom? If you participate in any highly-competitive sport where body hair is your enemy (swimming, body-building and track), by all means go ahead and get rid of it. For the rest of us, we should be natural :)
ReplyDeleteThe Hulk
I totes agree with the previous comment.
ReplyDeleteVagina Monologues for the win! Whooo! 2 Months, 6 Days! This brit accent will rock everyone's socks.
When you started this post I was actually thinking of the Hair Monologue haha.
This post wins my heart
I can see how men might feel the pressure to be hairless, and god knows there is an entire section of the advertising industry devoted to it, though - not to downplay this predicament at all for you men out there - it is still generally acceptable for men to be either hairy or smooth, from my perspective of society. In fact, sometimes hair is preferred.
ReplyDeleteNot the case with women. NEVER the case with women. Find me the one guy who appreciates the hair and I will take this back. (I don't mean tolerates either, I mean appreciates. The hair. For it's own sake. Not because they've loved you for years and now you have adequate power to refuse hair removal when it suits you and they still have to love you anyway.)
Though maybe I should moderate this - I recognize this is the case largely in societies with a Western cultural inclination. When I was in the Caribbean somewhere when I was much younger - old enough to have hair but not old enough to care - a woman in the market took one look at the two-inch forest on my arm and said, "you know, hairiness is a sign of intelligence". That just about made my day. In an area where they must see tons of beautiful tanned waxed-/ shaved-/ tweezed- and plucked-/ naired-clean bodies, that was a huge breakthrough.
If we want to combat this, women everywhere have to decide it's not worth it, that we should all walk around as naturally as possible. But in that case, get rid of the makeup (which I am all for) and the height-adjusting heels (this would be a blessing) for everyday women, and certainly do away with all the surgical procedures for the upper class, and you've got yourself a new (and improved/reversed?) society!
...Problem is, women LIKE being clean themselves. Tamed hair gives an indication of presentablility and - unfortunately - personal hygiene. Changing men's receptiveness to the norm is only half the battle. Men and women both judge here. Women feel better about themselves when they're clean-shaven. Not about the money they've spend or they pain they've experienced, granted, but hey, "no pain, no gain" didn't come from men right?
Though heels did... I say get rid of the mile-high instruments of torture!
Dearest Hulk – I have no idea how we got here… blame the glorification of the metrosexual man in the media?
ReplyDeleteNadia, I agree with you completely - you're right, I have yet to meet a man who appreciates hair. Funny thing, I have yet to meet a 15 year old girl who appreciates hair. I've met a few girls who go 'eew!' and squeal if they see an unshaven armpit. God forbid.
You’re also spot on with the hygiene argument. I can't speak for women everywhere, but I happen to like 'tamed hair'. It does make me feel good about myself, making the seemingly barbaric process worth it. I'll even take it a step further and say that it sometimes makes me feel sexy. Now you can tell me that all I've done is internalize the notion that hairlessness is sexy, and my definition of sexy is a projection of the male ideal and I'm just a pawn in a game and my opinions of myself come from the male reaction I get and you might even be onto something. I am a child of patriarchy, am I not? But you see, despite the fact that I am a feminist, I still have what some might call un-feminist (patriarchy-induced) notions and opinions guiding me. It’s a sad world and as much as I think it’s a great dream that one day women will be up in arms, throwing their Venus razors into the air, in symbolical solidarity with the women who burned their bras decades ago – it is a farfetched dream.
As for the heels – I’m not entire sure where I stand on the issue (:p) I used to wear heels a lot, I’m a small person and for years I was very insecure about it. So I compensated, or so I thought, with 4-inch heels. It was painful in more ways than one. But then as I got older and my confidence grew, I lost the heels. But I do wear them when I go out or I feel like dressing up – and once, I will admit, for a boy. I think it’s all about motivation. For me, heels are a part of dressing up, the same way a cocktail dress might be. There is a difference in what heels meant to me a few years ago, when I thought those added inches would make me more relevant as a young woman. Though, this does give rise to an issue of how much we do as women to make us feel like women, whether it’s even necessary and who makes that distinction… alas, this is the topic of another post for another day.
PS. I love the market story :)
PPS. Everyone should go see Nikki in the Vagina Monologues in two months!