Catherine Saint Louis’ article, “Unshaven Women: Free Spirits or Unkempt,” is centered on the societal expectation that women should remove all of their body hair. Women choosing to let their body hair grow are taking the path of least resistance, and in effect, allowing all women to have more freedom.
Saint Louis’ article, which was published on April 12, 2010, begins by mentioning several celebrities who were spotted with noticeable body hair. Most recently, Mo’Nique, showed off her unshaved legs at the Golden Globes. Media reactions were extremely critical, and many assumed that she simply forgot to shave her legs. An assumption that Mo’Nique forgot to shave her legs is completely absurd when considering the amount of time and energy celebrities spend preparing for the big night. Nobody “forgets” to shave their legs for the Golden Globes. Anyone that was shocked to find out that her unshaved legs were intentional was not thinking clearly.
The negative response by the media, as Saint Louis’ points out, was “designed to make every ‘tween girl snap to attention and realize that leg hair is not allowed.” This idea is expressed in Ariel Levy’s novel, Female Chauvinist Pigs. A chapter titled “Pigs in Training” discusses how young girls are influenced by what she calls “raunch culture.” Young girls internalize everything that the media presents them and feel the need to do what is considered sexy, because they see no other choice. No teenage girl wants to deviate from the norm. If shaved legs are what are considered acceptable, then you better believe young girls will be shaving religiously.
Amanda Palmer, who used to sing for the Dresden Dolls, once made a display similar to Mo’Nique’s, but of her unshaved armpits. “People say you’re making a statement, but I’m not,” she says in the article. The notion that anyone who chooses to keep their body hair intact is trying to make a statement is definitely a widespread one. Untamed body hair is a stereotypical feminist trait. The idea that perhaps a woman would like to spend her time doing something other than shaving her legs or that her armpits suffer from razor burn is lost on most of society. If a woman has visible body hair, the general assumption is that she is making a stand against the oppression of women.
Palmer went on to say that she “likes reminding younger fans that they have a choice.” Women like Palmer can serve as powerful role models to a younger generation. Joan Brumberg’s “Body Projects” discusses how “the body has become the central personal project of American girls” (97). Appearing the way that society suggests that you should consumes the lives of many young girls. Diets, training bras, and piercings are three examples that Brumberg gives of “body projects,” and hair removal is undoubtedly just another aspect of appearance for women, young and old, to dwell on.
Mo’Nique has referred to her unshaven legs as “a black woman’s thing.” Danielle C. Belton, a blogger, explains in the article that when she was younger her parents wouldn’t let her shave her legs because it was “something white people do.” This is somewhat reminiscent of “Ain’t I a Woman?” by Sojourner Truth. Here, black women were not allowed to do something that would have given them what many consider a defining characteristic of the female sex. This may have caused black women to seem less feminine than white women, because we generally base our female stereotypes on the white, middle to upper class woman rather than women as a whole.
Of course, the issue of whether or not men find body hair attractive comes into play. This is just another example of how patriarchy affects our everyday lives. Most women are guilty of shaving their legs and other body parts solely because they will be coming in contact with someone of the opposite sex. Shouldn’t we be doing things to satisfy ourselves, and not the men in our lives?
As Bojana Anglin, a student at the University of California-Berkeley, says in the article, “Women have a measure of freedom that they aren’t exercising.” Women who criticize other women for not shaving are only further eliminating choice for women. Our bodies belong to us, and we should be given the choice to do with them what we wish. Society tells us that we must remove our body hair in order to be deemed attractive. Women who reject this standard are taking the path of least resistance and as a result, giving other women the choice to opt out as well.
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I think this is a really interesting topic. Women today participate in so many of these "body projects" that they do not even realize they have a choice in the matter. The media inundates young girls with how they are supposed to look, dress, and feel that they grow up with these assumptions that this is normal. I think it is really interesting to consider how these body projects vary by culture; it shows just how socially constructed they really are. Still, I don't foresee a movement from shaven to unshaven to happen anytime soon; it is more visible and open to criticism than other methods of feminist activism.
ReplyDeleteI also found this news flash to be extremely interesting and a topic i honestly never think about. If you look at it objectively, it seems ridiculous that women have to remove their body hair, yet men don't have that pressure placed on them. But I will say, I definitely have embodied the ideas expressed in the article above, that women need to shave and if not they are attempting to rebel from the demands placed on them. This was just something placed upon me, and if I see a woman getting a pedicure next to me in the nail salon for example, and her legs have not been remotely recently shaven, I get a little disturbed. I think it's so interesting how this ideal has been placed in my head and I don't even know how it got there in the first place. I honestly don't think that this will change though because it is so deeply woven into our society that women must act like women, and men must act like men.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a nicely written News Flash by Missy. She raises interesting points about a notion that is deeply ingrained in our culture and lives, yet is rarely examined. We often question why society demands a certain level of attention to the exterior, the superficial. We question society's influence in relation to many "body projects" such as make-up, tanning, and weight loss, yet hair removal, something almost universally practiced by women in our country is completely over-looked.
ReplyDeleteI am interested in Mo'Nique's activism, specifically in the way she refuses to take the path of least resistance on a subject trivial and central in the lives of women.
This is an interesting topic and only because she is a celebrity. If this has been any other woman on any other night it would have been dismissed without so much as a thought. The fact that she is a celebrity and showing off her hairy legs, she is just setting herself up for an attack. It's sad that people don't have much else to talk about but that is how the media works.
ReplyDeleteI too thought this was a really interesting topic to look into. In society it is the “norm” for women to shave and I think that when women step out of it, they are in a sense seeking empowerment. It is also interesting to notice that shaving one’s legs, for example, is not as prevalent for women in other parts of the country. While abroad in Barcelona, I noticed many women did not shave their legs, which reveals the differences within countries. I also definitely see the connection between the article and Brumberg’s “Body Projects” as well. Advertisements and commercials promote the idea that women need to craft their body into what society deems as the perfect body. So often I see razor commercials, advocating that they make one’s skin feel silky smooth with no evidence of any hair. Why do we feel the need to conform to society’s constructs? We must work together to break out of it and by celebrities and general people alike working against society, we can start a new trend. However, like Michele points out, I don’t think it will change anytime soon because it is so ingrained in our society.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was definitely impressed by this news flash, I have to disagree with the idea that not shaving a woman's legs is not a statement. If the hair becomes noticed, it is the exception the proves the rule. By not shaving, a woman is clearly breaking a social norm and if she meant to or not, she is making a statement about how she would like to live her life. No matter what, the clothing that we wear and the way the we present ourselves to the outside world become a statement about our individuality and our role within social institutions. The choice to shave or not to is a purely feminist assertion of the ability for women to choose their identity. I am commend these women for not making a show of their individuality and would think it was a shame if we thought of their hairy legs as no big deal!
ReplyDeleteI found this to be a rather interesting topic. When I think about the body project phenomena I rarely think about body hair as being a part of that. I think women should have the right to choose whether or not they want to shave their body hair, because this is a personal choice. You don't see women as a whole shunning men who have beards or calling them gross and disgusting because they either don't want to shave or because they like the way it looks. Body hair is body hair, everyone has it. I don't think any person has a right to judge.
ReplyDeleteThis article is definitely pertinent to everyday women, not just as statements made by celebrities like Mo'Nique. Just yesterday, as I was listening to a favorite Pandora station, I noticed I was being told to experience that "clean, just shaved" feeling by buying Nair products. Women literally cannot avoid hearing and seeing messages that advocate a certain type of image, through advertising, product placement, and the type of role models idolized in society. If a woman chooses to shave her legs or not to do so, it's important to consider her reasons for shaving, be they personal preference or influences by societal norms. This goes for more than simply baring legs, but applies to all sorts of choices that women make in their everyday lives.
ReplyDeleteThe management of body hair in general is kind of interesting to think about because shaving is, I think, one of the beauty standards that has been rendered most invisible by cultural normalization. Even women who embrace alternative beauty standards are often put-off by seeing a woman with hairy legs. When I was studying abroad I took a WMST class where one woman would always come to class in skirts with unshaven legs. I was pretty surprised by how weird I found it because I generally consider myself pretty open-minded. As much as I realized that ideaologically it was a pretty cool things to do, I kind of always had this visceral reaction that it was...well, unattractive.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I have to agree with Lindsey: if a woman doesn't shave her legs and people see them, it's going to make a statement. It's radically different from typical standards of feminine beauty in a way that is not often talked about. Sure, we address issues with weight and skin color as problematic beauty standards, but the issue of hair removal has kind of become invisible, to the point that seeing it kind of throws you off. I think this is pretty obvious when we consider that Mo'nique--who, as a curvy woman of color definitely transgresses some typical beauty standards--was singled out for it above those other deviations.
It is strange how our socially inforced compulsion to rid ourselves of visible body hair goes relatively unmentioned. I would never dream of wearing shorts with hairly legs or a tank top with unshaved arm pits, but I never really stop to think why I am programmed to think that body hair on a woman is unattractive. It has become so engrained, through commercials flaunting long, tan, hair-free legs, to the social reinforcement around me, that I have always just accepted it. I commend Mo'nique and Amanda Palmer for transgressing these social norms that dictate our body projects and raising the question of why we adhere to such social norms. It is through such statements that we can begin to challenge the norms we all accept. Still, while I recognize that my razor may be an instrument of the patriarchy, I don't think I am going to stop shaving any time soon. Also, it is interesting to think of men's body projects, as they too feel the social pressure to shave.
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