Image: By Benreis (Own work) 

Some time back, I was participating in an online discussion about various methods of hair removal and what I found to be most effective. This is a topic I know a lot about. (As someone with pale skin and dark hair living in a society that’s increasingly obsessed with removing it from nearly every part of the female body, it’s been part of my consciousness for as long as I can remember.)

I do find it amazing that something that grows so naturally, something that is so normal, has the ability to provoke such strong reactions in people. You only have to visit the very awesome Hairy Legs Club Tumblr blog to see just how many women are struggling to gain acceptance when they don’t conform to the hairless standard.

Family members telling girls that their body hair is ‘unsanitary’ and ‘unclean’ and forcing them to remove it.

Teasing by classmates.

Women who have been walked out on when they have taken off their clothes to have sex and revealed their un-depilated bodies. Continue reading →