Every few years a female celebrity hits the headlines for being pictured with underarm hair. But why does the media find this so shocking? Body hair is completely natural and yet in a survey conducted by Soft Paris only 1% of women surveyed said they would grow their underarm hair. So should women leave body hair to grow naturally?
Yes – Bridget
I find it very strange that millions of women are spending time, money and often subjecting themselves to pain, all in the pursuit of being hair free. Body hair is completely natural and so we should embrace it – not hide it. The reason that a lack of hair is so fashionable is purely down to marketing. Beauty companies make millions of pounds selling lotions and devices that remove body hair and so they promote an image of a smooth hairless woman and tell us that’s what we should aspire to. Sadly, lots of women buy into this and throw their money at the companies that are creating insecurities and profiting from them.
I often get told that having body hair is unattractive but I think the opposite is true. It’s a sign of being a mature woman and if you’re confident enough to keep your body hair then I think that confidence can be very sexy.
The argument that body hair is unhygienic is also ridiculous. There is absolutely no reason why body hair should be unhygienic. In fact, removing hair can cause its own problems – there’s certainly nothing sexy about a shaving rash, stubble or in-growing hairs.
Why should any woman be made to feel strange or unclean for choosing to keep her body hair? We need to fight back against the marketing that’s gone too far.
No – Fiona
I don’t believe anyone can truly believe that body hair on women is attractive. There’s certainly nothing sexy about hairy armpits and I’m very happy to remove my excess body hair.
There are so many ways to deal with body hair that there really is no excuse for letting it grow. I prefer waxing but if you’re worried about pain, then you can shave or use creams – there really is something for everyone.
I’m all for personal choice but I do believe that personal hygiene affects other people. I live in London and when I travel on the tube, I don’t want to be offended by smelly, hairy armpits! Being clean shaven makes it much easier for women to stay clean and free from sweat.
I’ve never met a man who would prefer a woman to let her body hair grow naturally and I think anyone who says it is attractive is just trying to get a reaction. From time to time you hear about a female celebrity who has been photographed with underarm hair but they are not letting it grow because it’s attractive – they are doing it just to get attention.
People might say women should let their hair grow in order to support the feminist movement but I think there are much more important issues to address such as equal pay for women. Saying that a woman has to let her body hair grow in order to be a feminist is ridiculous.
Comments are closed.