So I went for a leg wax today and laying on the beauticians table while she ripped the hair off my legs and I tried not to scream or cry (which was very hard) got me thinking. Which very quickly turned into a rant to my friend which she wasn't really too interested in. So I thought I would tell you guys.

 

I don't know about you, but being a white teenage girl living in Britain I feel as though I am expected to remove every inch of hair from my body besides the hair on top of my head, my eyebrows and eyelashes. While boys get to walk around looking like yetis and nobody bats an eyelid.

 

It's not so much the actual removing of hair that bothers me, because if I'm honest I hate it and would probably remove it anyway. It's just the fact that we, as girls, are expected to and it is out of the ordinary if we sit there and go "you know what, actually I don't want to shave my legs, I'm just going to leave them be." Infact It's not even just out of the ordinary, It's frowned upon. Also another thing that gets me is how painful/expensive the hair removal is, and if you do chose shaving (the cheapest means of removal) there is risk of rashes, cutting yourself and ingrown hairs. Not to mention the fact that, if you're like me and the hair grows back very quickly, by the end of the day you're already as prickly as a cactus.

 

The media doesn't help either, it just reinforces the view that body hair on women and girls is unnatural and disgusting and should be removed straight away. Well I have news for you:

 

BODY HAIR IS TOTALLY NATURAL, IT IS SOMETHING EVERYBODY IS BORN WITH AND GAINS DURING GROWING UP.

(shock horror)

 

I'm not suggesting that everybody should stop removing their hair and let it grow wild and free and untamed. All I'm trying to say is that I believe we should be able to decide whether we want to keep that hair or not without looking in the mirror and feeling bad about it or having to justify ourselves. That's all.

 

What are your views on hair removal?