Why Do Women Shave Their Legs?

This actually was the topic of conversation at a fancy smancy dinner dance hubs and I went to last fall. Of course, the men had their opinions too and a few were excited that because of the 'special event' and their wives 'dressing up' had indeed shaved their legs so in their minds that meant they were getting lucky that night.

I actually shaved too that day - not because I had to or even wanted to. I hate shaving my legs and underarms. It's nice when one lives in the Midwest and thus never has to don a bathing suit and always wears pants. It's easier to get by with it then.

I remember eons ago when I was young, all I wanted was an electric razor and would be allowed to finally shave. It was a rite of passage. However, I was blond and very light skinned thus any hairs you find on me you usually have to use a magnifying glass to see. Of course when I was 12, I swore everyone could see every hair I had and I was the absolute last person allowed to shave. It was a big deal when I finally got my own electric razor for my 8th grade graduation. I was in heaven.

Then I grew up. Shaving became a chore and a royal pain in the you know what. I would shave maybe once to twice a week. Soon those weeks slid into months. Now even though I don't have much hair (never actually did), I shave when I feel like it. But men? Let them hear a woman has shaved - they become sex addicts. I swear it is an aphrodisiac for them!

Since it was such an interesting conversation, I thought I would do some research on it. It is a very common practice amongst us women in the Western countries and actually also done by some men (bodybuilders, cyclists, swimmers, and today's culture who thinks any upper body hair on a guy needs to be removed).

Shaving is the removal of hair by either razor or other bladed item down to the level of the skin. Some people use waxing (OUCH). Waxing is semi-permanent which removes the hair from the root. New hairs are slower to grow back (usually 2-8 weeks). There are also other methods like sugaring (a method of epilation that has been in use since 1900BC when a hairless and smooth body was considered the standard of youth, beauty, and innocence for women in Egypt). There is also depilatories, depilatory devices, and now laser hair removal.

During my research, I found this article which was pretty interesting:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/625/who-decided-women-should-shave-their-legs-and-underarms

I knew if I procrastinated long enough on this often-asked question somebody would eventually do the legwork for me. Sure enough, Pete Cook of Chicago has sent me a 1982 article from the Journal of American Culture by Christine Hope bearing the grand title "Caucasian Female Body Hair and American Culture."

The gist of the article is that U.S. women were browbeaten into shaving underarm hair by a sustained marketing assault that began in 1915. (Leg hair came later.) The aim of what Hope calls the Great Underarm Campaign was to inform American womanhood of a problem that till then it didn't know it had, namely unsightly underarm hair.

I strongly encourage you to read the whole article as it was that interesting.

But depending on the amount of hair or your own patience, some women only shave the hair below the knee while others shave their entire leg. The frequency actually depends not on hair growth but interestingly enough, on your age. Some shave as often as every day, and others may not bother to shave at all during winter months when their legs aren't visible to the public. In general, younger women tend to shave more frequently than older women.

I loved this line I found:

Research also suggests that women who do not shave their body hair are "characterized by higher global self-esteem." Scholars suggest that this is because women with lower levels of self-esteem are less likely to be satisfied with their natural bodies, and thus more likely to alter them.

Yeah I have a high self esteem. That is why I don't shave often. It's not because I am lazy or old. It's because I have a high self esteem (VBG)

I also agree with the cartoon I found above:

shaving your underarms is maintenance shaving your legs is dating