I’m getting increasingly wound up by the mass media’s disapproval of female body hair. OK, not all aspects of the mass media are the same but, frankly, on this subject it speaks with pretty much one voice. Virgin Mobile have decided that they will advertise their phones by showing images of ‘celebrities’ doing things that are embarrassing. These include falling over outside nightclubs, showing their bum to the world and, shock horror, a woman showing that she has a hairy armpit. What is wrong with hair under your arms? In my view, nothing.
I find myself going round in circles on the body hair thing because I’d be perfectly happy covered in hair if it weren’t for the fact that I feel out of place at the gym and on beach holidays. This doesn’t lead me to shave under my arms (frankly, I really think the world can cope with that – although I don’t wear sleeveless tops in the summer) but I do remove hair from my legs. I just think there’s something deeply unhealthy about a society that has such a problem with a natural female body image. I know that men have pressure around this too, but I don’t think it’s to nearly the same extent. I might even go so far as to say this unnatural idea of femininity leads to women looking pre-pubescent and then how far do we have to think before paedophilia suddenly fits into a whole new cultural context? Maybe I’ve gone a step too far, but it’s worth considering.