#1 Most women we know perform the grooming ritual of shaving some areas of their bodies a few times a week. Of those who do, the great majority would probably agree that it’s an annoying chore.
As with most cultural customs, everything we do has a traceable origin the moment that something goes from idea to societal norm. But Wwhen did our modern-day obsession with silky-smooth armpits and legs first take hold?
#2 American women had no need to shave their underarms before about 1915
In May of 1915, the upscale magazine Harper's Bazaar ran an ad featuring a young model in a sleeveless, slip-like dress posing with both arms over her head.
The word "underarm" was considered scandalous, what with it being so near certain other interesting body parts before the sleeveless dress came into fashion.
#3 Women would need to first see to “the removal of objectionable hair.”
There were several marketing strategies employed to lure women into jumping on the shaving bandwagon, most of which appealed to the timeless desire to be trendy.
#4 Here’s an example of an early ad:
It sounds shocking to hear and read such rhetoric now, but back then this was nothing. Shaming women about their natural state of being was just another way marketers could make endless amounts of money.
#5 The obsession worked its way down to the middle class slowly but surely, when fashion changed and women started wearing less, the media began to dictate what was acceptable and what was deemed ‘attractive’.
Consequently, the marketing industry pounced when it came to making money at our expense.
#6 The leg shaving phenomenon was a lot slower to catch on.
It's true that during the 1920s the flappers brought with them a decade of much shorter dresses coming into vogue but most women of the era didn't seem to feel the need to shave their legs, and when hemlines dropped again in the '30s, the point became moot.
#7 The ’40s, however, brought even shorter skirts, sheerer stockings, and the rise of leggy pin-ups such as Betty Grable.
It's only a slight exaggeration to say that the women of America have been shaving their legs ever since. Why, you ask? Because Betty's legs looked amazing, and to emulate that look, you had to wear a short skirt and sheer stockings. You also had to shave your legs, as nothing killed the effect you were trying to create more than leg hair poking through your silky stockings.
#8 “The removal of objectionable hair” suddenly applied to a lot more surface area.
Leg hair was on a par with leprosy, boldly referring to it as a "curse".
#9 The leg’s closest neighbors are the “private” bits.
Was it porn actresses who started this one? GIs concerned about disease? The Brazilians? Nah.
#10 For hundreds of years, the bikini wax has been a common practice among a group more often associated with extreme modesty.
#11 You wouldn’t want anyone to think you were that kind of girl, or give men any kind of wrong impression.
#12 We have completely internalised societies version of perfection, and it’s sad really!
We are actually programmed to feel gross when we have leg hair, and sexy when we have none. These days it takes a lot of courage to counter the social norms, and celebrities that are brave enough to do so tend to get a lot of stick for it in the media.
