One time when I was home for break, my mom told me this: “you’ll never get a husband if you don’t shave your legs.” She wasn’t trying to be mean. My mom is a great mother and only wants the best for me, however; this sentence encapsulates what is wrong with Western Christians and their ideas about female purity in the context of sexuality and marriage.
In Christian communities, I’ve been called “sasquatch” and have physically repulsed people because I am a woman with leg hair. I’ve been told that it’s gross that I wear spandex shorts for volleyball but don’t shave my legs. My female friends with tattoos have been asked “what if you can see your tattoo in your wedding dress?” and “what will your future husband think?” Growing up, I wasn’t even allowed to wear fake tattoos since my body is a temple and all. The idea of female body image is deeper than just leg hair and tattoos. It surrounds our culture and influences how we raise our children.
These microaggressions (see Luke Lauer’s thesis art project in the Ortlip gallery about this very topic) against us ladies are based on the premise that our main priority as women is marriage. Nigerian Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as quoted in Beyoncé’s song Flawless discusses gender roles and feminism:
“Because I am female … I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important. Now marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support but why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don’t teach boys the same?”
I don’t know how many of you use Spotify, but there is one ad that has popped up while I’m listening to music that has some unknown singer say she feels most confident on stage with smooth legs. Really? Not because you have a great voice or have been working really hard on your vocal range or are a good person? I understand that this is a marketing ploy, but it’s perpetuating the lie that women have to maintain physical beauty in order to be accepted and feel worthy. Men don’t have to look good in order to step outside their house or feel confident.
The end tagline for this ad is “start taking care of your legs.” This implies that shaving is a sign of hygiene; something my mom has said to me as well. Granted, college has changed my hygiene standards, but I’m not a total slob. The fact that I don’t shave has nothing to do with my cleanliness. Men with facial hair aren’t considered unclean.
Two years ago I stopped shaving my legs. Why don’t I shave my legs? There are practical reasons: I think it’s a waste of time, money, water, etc. There are also reasons of principle: men don’t have to shave their legs according to society and I believe in equality.
Body hair is natural. God gave it to both men and women for real biological reasons. Only recently have women started removing body hair regularly (1915 for underarm hair and 1930/40 for leg hair).
Despite my personal resistance of leg shaving, I do not believe every woman should shave. Feminism is about a lot of ideas but to me it is all about choice; doing what you want because you want to and not because of societal ideals and gender expectations. Do I look down on other women who shave? Of course not. If that’s what makes you comfortable, then you do your thing. There are other legitimate reasons for shaving one’s legs no matter your gender: swimming faster or improving aerodynamics because of cycling, etc.
Moral of the story, shave your legs or don’t because it’s your decision. God gave you hair and it’s your choice what you do with it. In the meantime remember my battle cry: “haters gonna hate / shake em off.”