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Originally Posted by TheCunningStunt
The business about shaving and taking care of your appearance... people do it because it's the social norm, why's that a bad thing? It's the social norm for a reason..
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The reason it's a bad thing for women to feel pressured by society/culture to shave their bodies is that they are being told that how they are physically, naturally, is disgusting, which IS sexist and demeaning toward women, since men are not told this about their body hair.
A related, and much worse, analogy for males is the case of male genital cutting in the U.S. One reason many men and women here STILL agree and *want* their baby boys to be strapped down, spread-eagled on a circumstraint board, and have their foreskins gauged and then cut from their glans (often without anesthetic) is that Mom and Dad feel "foreskins are ugly," and Dad wants his little tyke to "look like him."
I feel it is a good thing to fight the view that women's bodies are ugly as they are naturally, just like it is a good thing to fight the notion that boys' foreskins are ugly. People should not be made to feel bad about their bodies as they are naturally.
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Originally Posted by boo boo
Again there's nothing wrong with self maintenence, women just shave their legs for the same reason you maintain other parts of your body like hair or teeth or fingernails. You could play the "but guys have hairy legs" card sure but guys also have beards. I guess you could argue that it's unfair that men can be hairy but women are encouraged not to be hairy but I'm sorry, I conform to that view, granted I take it to it's greatest extreme. 
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Yes, it
is unfair that men can be hairy but women are encouraged/forced/chastised to not be hairy. The problem with this norm of body shaving is that it encourages women and men to have bad and judgemental views of women's bodies as they are. Men aren't ridiculed out in public if they have beards...although perhaps they are if their beards are very long?
Brushing teeth helps protect people from cavities and gum disease. Shaving body hair has no physical benefits, wastes time, and usually results in cuts every once in a while.
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Originally Posted by boo boo
Just because people ridicule you for choosing not to do it doesnt equate to sexism because men and women alike are considered undesirable if they don't do certain things, like if we don't keep ourselves sexually presentable, but this is truly the case for both sexes. We just happen to associate women with cleanliness and smooth legs is part of that concept, but it's something most women embrace so what's the problem? Should they be FORCED to go grizzly addams just because a few women don't like it? Women who have a choice of their own anyway?
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My whole point, boo boo, is that for many women NOT shaving ISN'T a choice they even consider, because they are too afraid not to shave. That is why it is sad. The reason it is sexist is that men's leg and arm hair is considered okay, but women's is not. I am all for choice...that's why I want to make sure my fellow women HAVE a real choice and are not denegrated for their bodies and shamed into feeling that how their bodies are naturally is bad.
As for your contention that my not shaving is a "cry for attention," the only cry for attention I feel my hairs make is the cry to women telling them, "Your bodies are okay as your bodies naturally are!"
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Originally Posted by Tea Supremacist
I agree that it is a social norm and that it is expected of women, from other women and men alike, but for me part of it is taking pride in my appearance (even if nobody else seems to like it!) which is important to me because if I feel that I look nice and have made the effort for myself then I feel good. If that makes any sense...
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I understand completely the nice idea of pampering yourself, which I agree is fun. But why is shaving off your leg hair taking pride in your appearance? Why isn't *having* your leg hair taking pride in your appearance? That's what I'm getting at.
I don't feel too concerned about people's negative reactions to me and my body hair, either, though when I was younger I did (and had good reason to be). Now I think it is interesting to observe people's reactions (mostly surprise and lots of curious looks), and a quick way to find out whom you like or don't. Most people are very polite, such as recently when I was at the U.S. largest Indoor Aquatic Center. I get amused by the times when people cluster around to stare at me. That's too bad your villagers aren't used to individuality!
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Originally Posted by Urban Hatemonger
If women really hate shaving their legs that much just do what my sister does which is stop whining about being persecuted & just buy a pair of f*cking trousers.
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Whining about being persecuted is so much more fun.
Also, one of the things I like most about not shaving (and not wearing f*cking trousers) is that it requires no effort on my part. It's activism that requires no activity! When you're a "fluffy" woman and wear shorts, other women can see you and your hair and think, "Hey look! I don't
have to shave and I can survive/get married/have a kid!" So, it's fun to empower people like that. The more people who get used to seeing hairy women, the easier it is for women to feel free to consider not shaving, so they don't feel forced to do it or cover up.
Of course, some women may think upon seeing me, "Eegads! Where is my rasor?!" But those are only the women who dislike how they naturally look. Please tell your sister I hope she will wear shorts if she wants to.