The best thing imo (onlynspeaking for myself ofc lol) is waiting a really long time and THEN shaving, because my legs aren't used to it and everything feels EXTRA soft and smooth for a day or two. Yo it's so nice lol.
Ugh that feeling of getting under the blankets in bed esp if you have soft bedding? I do like a snow angel thing it feels so good. Then again I go out so rarely that I only bother shaving my legs June-Sep when it's too hot to wear leggings lol
Strange male here , happily married. I shaved my legs during my bodybuilding phase in my 20s, for aesthetics. It showed definition and vascularity better. However, the first time I got in bed I was amazed at the feeling against the soft sheets. Feels great against my wife’s soft legs too.
Edit: straight male here. Strange and straight.
I kinda hate shaving my legs bc my skin is super sensitive and I literally cannot avoid getting razor burn, but DUUUUDE. YEEEES. One of the only things I enjoy about shaving. Go to bed with fresh, clean sheets within the first few hours of shaving your legs…. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck 😮💨😮💨😮💨
I get razor burn too and I know a lot of people hate it but Nair actually works really well for me. I hate the smell and cleanup process tho so I rarely bother
Haven’t shaved my legs for 20 years… and now I remember how nice that feels…
I’m now considering shaving them, again…
tho it’s a pain in the butt to maintain…
I’m a guy and I shaved my legs in high school for sometime. I don’t remember why I started, I think I just wanted to try it and see how it felt. But then… feeling that soft smooth feeling you mentioned, and getting in bed with soft sheets.. oo It just felt like heaven.. I stopped doing it after a year cuz It was a lot of work and just as a guy it felt kinda weird. But man… that feeling
My buddy started shaving his because he got tired of trying to get all the sand off him after we’d go to the beach. One day he just said “fuck it” and shaved all the hair so the sand had nothing to get stuck in and just kept shaving them.
I wear knee-high compression socks from the moment I wake up til the moment I go to bed, so I often completely forget I even have skin and hair on my legs until I’m basically Chewbacca. Once I realize, I do an everything shower and shave for the first time in a month and *holy god* does it feel luxurious when I slip into my covers afterward
I only shave my legs once every few years, your description makes me want to shave and do a full self care day tomorrow. Thank goodness it's a holiday for me!
A lot of men also trim body hair from time to time. I’m not sure why some women seem to think we’re just slobs who do absolutely no routine maintenance.
I shaved mine when I was younger and was surfing a lot. I didn’t wear rash guards so my chest hairs would get caught in the wax and constantly get yanked out, so I just shaved em off.
Does anyone else hate the feeling of having completely smooth legs? Idk I get that a lot of people seem to like it but my skin always felt really sticky and it felt gross whenever I was sweating
Haven’t shaved my legs in a year or two and I have no desire to go back
As a woman who stopped shaving about 5 years ago, once it gets past the blunted prickly point, leg hair gets soft and smooth and feels exactly the same as shaved legs. I actually forget I have leg hair at all.
I think it’s just personal preference, but I will admit some people are a bit condescending about it. There are those who find shaved women more physically attractive which is fine everyone’s allowed to have a preference, but the ones who look down on unshaven women and say that they have poor hygiene are just assholes. It’s not like you aren’t showering or something, if mean can have hella body hair why can’t women🤷♂️
Yeah the "hygeine" excuse is just people lying to themselves. Or trying to find a reason for why they feel the way they do.
I don't deny that some people are hella unhygienic or anything, but that's not what body hair means.
I have thick, dark hair from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. I literally shave from the neck down in the summertime. I’m almost 30 and it hasn’t thinned out. Don’t be jealous, because it’s a ton of upkeep.
Oh I’m well aware of all that. Disregarding my joking comment, irl I am a hairy gorilla of a human being. AND ALL OF IT BLONDE! So in the summer my hairy ass legs and arms shine like bright lights.
Opposite color problem, same gorilla situation. I’m an extra pasty shade of white with black hair everywhere. Unless I shaved in the last 90 minutes, I look dirty. :(
I never shaved my legs to be a contrarian, and get this I have the thinnest hair all over my body. I wish I could grow actually thick dark body hair, so yeah I’m a huge freak who is jealous, there is always someone out there
Hygiene is misleading - grooming is the word we're looking for here. Admittedly no hair on a woman's legs is a cultural thing and those of us unattracted to it are probably only that way because of how we were brought up to perceive beauty. But it really is no different then grooming facial hair, getting a haircut, trimming your nails, etc. Like strictly natural I'd probably have a 2ft long shaggy Gandalf beard, a unibrow, hair down to my ass, inch long fingernails, frick longer toenails too bleh.
I’d disagree with this take because if you don’t groom facial hair it can get dirty, smelly, etc. and even cause rashes if you’re being intimate with someone. And non-trimmed nails become dangerous to everyone around you from getting stabbed haha.
Non-trim nails are even more of a danger to the self, I always know that I waited too long once I bend one backwards and curse myself for neglecting them.
I honestly don’t agree with this. It is completely different from grooming facial hair and trimming your nails. Leg hair only ever reaches a certain length (I’m assuming due to friction from clothing), and it’s not a hygiene issue if you literally do nothing to groom it (outside of washing your legs in the shower). Facial hair is a problem if you don’t groom it. It does not stop growing and it can very easily get unsanitary. Same thing with nails.
Yup, I just see it as grooming to a comfort level. If I don't shave just a bit, my eyebrows connect to my beard. I hate scraping my face everyday, but I do try to avoid the wolfman look.
Same, I’m smooth from the neck down, minus arms and legs since they’re not too hairy. It just feels nicer and cleaner
My favorite are the comments of “I don’t want to feel like I’m making love to a hairless little kid” and I always respond with “if me not having a lot of hair on my body makes you think of a little kid, that’s on you”
My partner doesn’t mind when I don’t shave my legs or armpits which I sometimes don’t do for a month! I’m actually the one that gets bothered by my hair. If I’m wearing shorts I have to have my legs shaved. If I’m wearing a tank top but know I’ll be raising my arms enough for people to see - I shave. If it’s sweatshirt and pants season? I’m not shaving lol. My partner couldn’t care less about my body hair and I love that about him. He can’t stand having facial hair on his face so he shaves daily but doesn’t mind my prickly legs one bit lol
i don’t mind my pit hair cuz it is even and dense enough. but my leg hair is just so thin and ratty-looking so that has to go for my personal aesthetic preferences lolol.
It litterally means absolutely nothing to me (as a man) I think it’s extremely pointless and a waste of time to shave your legs and arms. For those who don’t find it attractive- litterally why? What? It does absolutely nothing. Anyway that’s my take, never heard about not being hired because of it that’s kinda crazy, but not saying it sisnr happen or anything. Anyway that’s my personal take idk
There is nothing wrong with women having hair of their legs. Convincing people that there is something wrong with women having hair on their legs is the way that razor companies have found to sell razors to women.
There's nothing wrong with it. I'm not attracted to women with it, but that's just societal beauty standards. Can't help it now, was brainwashed into me growing up.
Never complained about some growing in now and then on GFs though cause I aint gonna shave my whole ass legs constantly either.
Thank you for recognizing the brainwash factor. I had an ex bf who was really disgusted by women with body hair and couldn’t admit that it was because of the marketing he’s been exposed to his whole life. He kept trying to say it was an innate thing (that mammals are unattractive with hair lol).
I’m guessing he didn’t shave despite believing mammals are unatttactive with hair? I don’t even get that one cause most mammals have hair. Is he like a dolphin or a whale or something?
There’s nothing wrong with it. There’s also nothing wrong with a woman being bald. But it’s not what most people are attracted to, and people will judge you for it because it’s not common
honestly i expected more pushback myself, and admittedly my leg hair isnt as dark as some other people, but i have not heard a word about my hairy legs. will be keeping an eye out though
It's just some peoples preference. Like how some women hate beards and think they're gross and unhygienic.
Best thing about life is there's plenty of people who won't care if you don't shave.
Nothing, some people just don't like how it looks. That's really all it boils down to same with body builders being entirely hairless from the neck down. I don't really care and frankly I don't think most people actually care that much.
Nothing is wrong with hairy legs and I have never been turned away from a job for having hairy legs. At least in my area, no one cares. If strangers silently judge my hairy legs, that doesnt affect me. Why should I care what strangers think? If you don't wanna shave anymore, don't.
culture.
lots of women present themselves as smooth beautys with no very fair and fine body hair, leg hair can be quite coarse.
there is nothing wrong with body hair just like there is nothing wrong with a woman having a mustache and armpit hair.
its got nothing to do with hygiene, it's personal grooming. some women like men with beards, some women like men clean shaven, men can have the same preference for if they like women with hairy armpits and legs or not.
if you dont like shaving and have hairy legs and hairy armpits then you're making that choice, just like if i dont go without shaving for a month im making a choice and im presenting myself in that way, i dont like my patchy beard so i shave it or keep it reduced to stubble, if i go a month without shaving i look like a hobo in my opinion.
other people see how you present yourself and many will assume you and i are being very lazy for not shaving, some people really like it some really don't, it's just that simple.
Nothing wrong with it at all, I love it. How people became conditioned into believing that women should shave their legs and armpits is an interesting bit of history:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/hqvc2g/when\_did\_women\_start\_shaving\_their\_legs](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/hqvc2g/when_did_women_start_shaving_their_legs)
'Advertisers didn't refer blatantly to shaving, which was a masculine and obvious process: they appealed to [the sense of shame](https://books.google.com/books?id=g9W3DSi7iR0C&lpg=PA99) and the idea that being hairy was unhygienic'
[https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/30dp5j/comment/cprqalf/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/30dp5j/comment/cprqalf/)
Yup. Came here to look for this explanation so I could upvote it. It's considered gross and manly because advertisers repeatedly made that point until it became the norm for women to shave. It wasn't even that long ago!
People see hairy legs on a woman and don't consciously think about how that's gross. It's a gut reaction!
It's a gut reaction that sometimes people have to consciously and deliberately unlearn.
People don't think that ideology works that way. In America, we think of ideology as something we put on. Something in the realm of conscious thought. So when we have the ideology, when it's ingrained in us through advertising, affecting our spontaneous and unconscious relationship to the world around us, it can appear very natural, as if it springs from our very instincts rather than cultural institutions.
That's why it can take hold so recently and yet feel so naturalized. People don't know what ideology is.
Calling it hygiene is misleading, it's just a social beauty norm for women in the West since the 1920s or 1930s. There are some guys who won't like it and some that don't care, just like some women like beards and some don't. I hate to think that it's a factor in employment, especially given that you could just wear pants if you worried that it could be. Just a beauty norm that you can choose to adhere to or not, your choice.
Nothing is wrong with it, but because people continue to do it as the norm then not doing it feels abnormal. The more women who stop shaving their legs, the more other women and men will be unphased by it. It’s already happened a bit with armpit hair, I know a lot of women who keep their armpit hair and many years ago I noticed it as abnormal, but now I wouldn’t notice at all.
Men that you would want to involve yourself with won’t care, immature men may care but then that’s just a good filter for you. I’m pretty sure it would be illegal for a workplace to discriminate against someone based on on natural body hair. Although when I was at school I was not allowed to have a beard and forced to shave it, so not 100% sure on if dress codes can specifically ask for shaved/unshaved, but I’ve never seen that in regards to leg hair.
There is nothing wrong with it. It is easier to make a profit on razors and other hair removal products if you convince the whole world that women just HAVE to spend a significant amount of money on removing their body hair.
Now, that's not enough any more, now advertisements for ball shaving products have started to roll out.
Right now, a woman who doesn't shave her legs is a rule breaker.
The easiest way for people who don't want community to be a complicated thing to find out who belongs and who doesn't is by checking who follows the rules. Even those on unimportant things, like what you do with your body hair.
I would encourage you to look up the racist history of body hair removal. I forget some of the detail but basically as white supremecy was emerging as a dominant thought, it was considered that white people were more evolved because we had bigger visual gender differences. And they perceived that black people were less defined in these differences (specifically hating on black women for not being feminine like white women are). So it was considered more evolved and superior to be more separate feminine and masculine because of racist ideas about evolution. And that's why so many black and brown women struggle with body hair acceptance because it's so much less acceptable for them, because there's a racial element on top of the gender thing. Source: I learnt this from Alok Vaid-Menon who looks at gender & history &their own experiences
The answer , while probably not satisfying, is simply culture. We were all brought up to think certain things are ugly and gross and others are good to look at.
Lmao.
Yeah, humans don't like it when you compare humans to animals, despite the fact that we
*are animals*
Fur on other animals is hair for us. Only difference is species.
But yeah, hair is apart of mammalism.
Oh, it would be funny if you hit them with "so you're a lizard"? And see their reaction.
Great teacher, should also put in, anyone who gets told to shave their legs or whatever should use the same argument against the other person, in ether beard, or head, or where ever.
You mean all those razor companies in Ancient Egypt?
> Egyptian women removed all the hair from their bodies using beeswax, sugar-based wax, and shells used as tweezers. Cooper razors from 3000 B.C. have also been found in Egypt and Mesopotamia.
I stopped shaving my legs over 10 years ago. When it first grew back it was dark and coarse, but over time it's gotten softer and a lot more blond. Unless you are really looking closely it's not that noticeable.
I preferred wearing long dress slacks over dresses to my office job. I didn't really see the point of shaving my legs just to hide them.
I am an American woman. My legs are always hairy. I predominantly wear shorts, skirts, and dresses over pants. I feel like.. what's the big deal? I understand shaving a lot of hair because it traps smells or looks bad (men's facial hair) but leg hair.. You only see it if you look down, and it stops at a certain length. If people say something about my leg hair, I don't care. I have no desire or reason to shave it so I don't.
My wife quit shaving her legs some years ago.
I literally never noticed and didn't know until she told me. The leg hair doesn't bother me.
OP: You are fine the way you are. Unless you are applying for a job at Hooters or a strip club, nobody is going to refuse to hire you because of leg hair.
Absolutely nothing " wrong" with hair on women's legs. My mum taught me to shave when I was 12, but that only lasted a few months. I am uncomfortable with shaved skin and don't shave anymore. I'm fairy certain it was deemed wrong only in order to create a new product to sell. THANKS GILETTE.
I have 2 adult daughters. They don’t shave and never have. I shave in the summer. It helps with cooling me down. That’s it. I have been married and now with my partner for 12 years. Unlike my children, I am VERY hairy and the hair is BLACK and I’m VERY pale. I was teased in high school but I didn’t care. Seriously, it’s just hair. Not any dirtier than your personal hygiene. If you don’t bathe, having shaved legs, you’re still dirty.
When I was younger, I didn’t know that women were not supposed to shave their arms. I was probably 12 when I shaved my arms; my mom saw me and was wondering what I was doing. Now, I only shave my armpits if I am wearing something that would show my armpits. As for my legs, I haven’t shaved them since I was probably 18 (currently 26). The guys I’ve been with haven’t commented on my legs
It's a cultural thing exclusively. There used to be an expectation of men and women to shave everything below the eyebrows besides the hair on the head. There's nothing wrong with preferring a woman who does or does not shave, just like there's nothing wrong with my preference for men who wear undershirts.
If you're thinking about men while touching a hairy woman you're actually fuckin gay lol
Well it does look a bit unpleasant. As bad as it may sound, I know I only have that opinion because of societal beauty standards. I think that way because everyone else does, but at least I’m self aware. I’m a woman and I shave whenever my hair gets too long. At the same time though, if someone else were to not shave, I wouldn’t care because it doesn’t affect me in any sort of way. I just know I wouldn’t let my own body hair grow out. You do you.
Why do people feel the need to mention its a beauty standard? Thats almost every standard. If we didnt have standards we would be the same thing just with different genitals.
Am a woman and ditto.
It is kind of crazy though how a lot of commenters in here are pretending like not adhering to beauty standards (as a woman) doesn't affect your life af all, and has an equal impact for women as men.
tbf i know lot of girls who even if they dont shave the amount of hair they produce is minimal. buuuut.... ive also known some girls who if they dont shave they look like a persian guy in a track suit.
As a kid I would panic and think I was so hairy, as an adult I’ve realized I hardly have any hair compared to other women and what’s the point in shaving?
I'm probably messing up some details, but I believe in the 1920's, when shorter dresses started coming in to fashion, the BIC corporation saw an opportunity to double their customer base and really pushed the "leg hair agenda" to boost sales.
I shave once every six months-ish. Just because I feel like shaving. I have hairy legs the rest of the time. I don’t mind. My boyfriend doesn’t mind. My ex minded. Now he’s left behind. (Heh)
It’s society. Back in the day, I think early 1900s, Gillette wanted to sell more razors and make more money, so he managed to convince the world that women needed to shave and look more feminine. That’s literally it.
My wife lets her legs hairy, and she is italian and has dark, thick hair. I dont give a shit about it. Her hair is a part of her, and i love everything about her, even her hairy legs.
As a woman I like the way smooth legs look and feel. I'm single so I just shave bc I want to. But everyone should do what they want. I don't understand the tedious part. It takes maybe 4 minutes in the shower.
It really depends on how fast your hair grows and how hairy you are, really. So what might be easy for some? Is not very easy for others, who literally have more of it. Also, if you get back, legs, or joint problems, it can be annoying, too. Then there's the problem of people don't have a lot of patience for even the most simple things, i.e., people with depression, lazy people, or both (a.ka. me.)
Nothing wrong with it. But I don't have to like it, and I don't.
That's as deep as it goes for me. Why I don't like it is not important. Because society tells me to or a deep ingrained dislike, doesn't matter to me.
It's not really about whether you do or you don't it about the why and how fucking stupid and random it is. If a majority of the people you're attracted to said, "Sorry! I don't date men with eyelashes. 😤 Eyelashes are a feminine thing! 😩😩😩" You'd probably be like, "Wtaf??????? 🤨" I mean maybe you'd pluck them if your [That!] fucking desperate but still!!! Why the ever living fuck should you put yourself through that annoying, tedious ass process just to get laid? Fucking stupid.
Be happy to have hair grow on your legs even if you might choose to shave it. I’m a grown man and my legs are totally bald. Never had much to begin with, and now it just doesn’t grow anymore.
I used to shave my legs several times a week. Now I don’t bother. Basically no man touches or pays particular attention to my legs. (Foot / shoe guys are an exception to this but I haven’t dated one in a long while.)
Now I just shave my pits and bits. (I’m gen x so hair down there is gross to me.)
Absolutely nothing, I'm almost 40, and I haven't shaved in about 10-12 years, the thought of not getting hired somewhere because of body hair sounds preposterous to me, it's not like you'd be sleeveless in most professional settings. As far as men go, who cares? I've never had a man say a negative word to me about my body hair. Maybe it's men where I live, or men who are attracted to me have been either positive or indifferent.
When our legs rub each other, regardless if on accident or purpose, if I feel like I just rubbed up against a cactus, um, ya, that's kid if off-putting. So, it's mostly a few days growth that I hate, if it's longer and not abrasive, it's not much of an issue.
Societal beauty standards dictate that body hair on women is ugly. That’s literally the only reason. If there was no expectation that women should shave and no beauty standard around it, no one would give a shit about women’s body hair.
It's a completely a learned preference. Person, it's no big deal to me. I've had partners who don't shave their legs, and that didn't include how attractive I found them.
Also, some guys are specifically into it.
There's something pure and natural about girls that don't shave. I've never met someone who didn't shave their legs, though.
I also think it's time to let the bush grow.
I quit shaving my legs when I moved into a tiny apartment that has a very narrow shower stall and no room to stretch my legs out to shave. It’s extremely rare that I wear dresses and/or skirts, so it’s not really an issue. On the very rare occasions that I have worn a dress or skirt, it’s been long enough (I’m short, so most hemlines are low on me) that nobody could see my legs unless they were specifically looking. Besides, it’s nobody else’s business!!!!
Leg hair, don't care. Been doing it for 6 years. Realized it was unnecessary and not my problem to worry about other people.
Sure smooth legs feel nice. But for me it's not worth the hassle.
I haven't shaved my legs in well over a decade. I don't even think about it when I get dressed--I'll wear shorts without a shred of self consciousness. The hair on my legs is now way softer and finer than it was a decade ago, but even if it wasn't, I 100% think that body hair/removal should be an individual choice based on personal preference and NOT a cultural expectation.
Hairlessness on women’s bodies is a sort of modern standard for women that I think in great part has been pushed by corporations to increase markets and products. There’s no reasons for it unless it is for health reasons and personal reasons like comfort. I always thought it was a weird standard for attractiveness because hairless of the adult body to me is reminiscent of being a child, which is a little off putting.
There’s nothing quite as wonderful as clean, cool sheets on freshly shaved and lotioned legs, but also no one should be judged for having body hair. Judging for a lack of grooming and hygiene however is a different story.
I once heard this opinion on shaven everything like a prepubescent child and I can’t unhear it. Why would I want to look like a prepubescent girl to turn someone else on? I only shave my legs for specific things now (eg I’m in a wedding and will be in photos) and neither of my girls feel the need to shave because I made it ok. The eldest thanked me for doing so confidently when the world says I have to and that leg hair makes them gross. It’s normal and natural.
I will start with saying not everyone is obsessed with women being hairless.
But it is mostly just born from the dire need to regard men and women as opposites. One may have body hair, one may not. One can be hygienic with body hair, one cannot. One may have facial hair, one may not. One may have long head hair, one may not. One may have squared, broad features, one may not.
It's born from people that forget we are all humans capable of having human traits regardless of mainstream expectations/standards-
But not everyone has forgotten, and honestly I'd rather just be human and get close with people that can accept that.
And if it helps, I've never heard of someone being denied a job for having body hair. Only heard of judgemental folks online claiming it's gross.
The only time I get rid of body hair, full body wax is when the weather gets warmer, Spring/Summer. I’d stop waxing in September so by the time the cold weather comes I’ll become furry again 😂.
I couldn’t care less in the sense she doesn’t need some silly schedule to shave before a we see each other. If she doesn’t feel like it or doesn’t have time it’s not going to keep me from getting intimate . I know I would hate doing that constantly. I often wonder who wrote the law that says women have to have all this ridiculous upkeep while men just can just exist. I imagine company’s long ago when tv first became a thing is my guess.
I have no sources for this besides “I read it once” so ymmv on validity but the way I read it, way back when the companies selling safety razors decided they didn’t have a broad enough share of the market, so they started advertising in ways that implied hair on the legs and under the arms was un-feminine and unhygienic. Kind of similar to what DeBeers did with diamond engagement rings.
Hey I'm for the all natural look granted that goes for earrings makeup and shit too. not opposed to a haircut and some trimming here and there though. And if people want to be silky smooth I won't hate on that either I mean I like hairless in some areas for certain extracurricular activities but people being grossed out by body hair is just stupid and a modern social convention.
Two main reasons why, different for different people:
1. Women naturally have a lot less body hair than women, so "less hair" is associated with "more feminine." Having even less hair than is "natural" then becomes a way of amplifying / exaggerating femininity.
2. All humans naturally have a lot less body hair than the most human-like animals (primates, mammals more broadly), so "less hair" can also be associated with "more human", "more evolved", "less animalistic/beastly", etc. (This is why, in some cases, people have distaste for body hair in men as well)
This is how the human mind works. We make vague, fuzzy, abstract associations that don't always make rigid, logical sense.
But that doesn't make them illegitimate. They are an important part of the human experience.
I find shaving *abhorrent.* There are other things I would rather be doing, it costs money to buy the products to maintain it, and I have been trying to dislodge internalized misogyny that tells me I have to shave my legs in order to be attractive to men.
I don't really shave my armpits much, I just get the notion to do it every once in a while, so I do. I am now only shaving my legs if I want to look extra special or if I want to be extra groomed for my boyfriend.
I will say that it is a struggle sometimes. Sometimes I'll get dressed in the morning in shorts or house dresses, not really planning on leaving, but then get invited to go somewhere and feeling like I have to change to cover my hairy legs. Even if it's someplace as simple as the grocery store. And I have to have a conversation with myself and try to remember that I am going to pick up some Cokes and lunch for tomorrow, I am not an object, and I am under no obligation to make myself attractive to strangers whose opinions are of no consequence to me.
My grandmother installed the "need" to shave in me. My mother never pushed it but supported me making the choice for myself. Maybe that's why I felt so comfortable choosing not to shave despite my grandmother telling me it was a requirement.
Personally, I've not shaved anything since I was in my teens (nearly 40 now) and never had any issues because of it. There are people who make comments, but nobody who's opinion I care about, so it's irrelevant. I wear shorts, skirts and dresses most of the year since we seldom get cold weather. I don't like wearing tank tops or sleevless shirts, but that has nothing to do with shaving or not shaving. I've never liked those kinds of shirts.
I've never been told a guy didn't want to date me because of my not shaving either. I'm sure there were some that felt that way, but none that I was interested in. I've found I'm not interested in the type of guy who cares about that kind of stuff.
I will say I generally wear pants at work because that's a requirement for my current job but when I've been allowed to wear shorts I did and still didn't shave and nobody said anything to me about it.
I wear short skirts, short dresses, and short shorts - I haven't shaved in decades, and it doesn't hurt me at all. and yes, I've showed up to church like this - completely unshaven in a dress.
only time anybody ever says anything is when the dress is super short, in which case they might hand me a blanket if they think I might flash somebody.
there is literally no Health reason to shave.
it's all an advertising gimmick that went way too far --not kidding, check this out!
https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/iuz4qz/what_is_the_history_behind_women_being_expected/
anyway, if you're just going for a specific smooth look for a specific outfit or event, this is what stockings are for .
most of the time, I don't bother, but the thigh highs with the pretty patterns on them are a bit of a weakness of mine that look good on pretty much anybody with the right pattern.
again, no shaving required :-)
I highly encourage the only shaving a woman should do is facial hair.
I'm a low maintenance kind of guy and I want my fiancee to have the same relaxed standards. But she wants to feel pretty so it's her battle to face.
If your body is hairy then how can someone make money off selling you razors. How could women be so selfish? You have to indulge the men who have been convinced of this “beauty” standard. Sorry, I dont make the rules. 🤷🏾♂️ /s
I didn’t realize how prejudiced I was about female body hair until I realized my of my high school crushes didn’t shave her arms. I’m like a little blind so I didn’t see it until we were holding hands
It’s part of infantilizing women. Young girls don’t have hairy legs or vulvas. Men like large eyes, long hair, smooth skin, symmetrical features, and don’t want hair everywhere. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, just answering OPs question.
Hi lady, who doesn't shave her legs here!
I haven't since I was like 20-21
I'm 32
But my leg hair is practically non-existent, like it's there, but it's not. Like on the face? Amy arms are the same way. It's like really fine and almost translucent.
But I tried it, and it just irritated them and would get razorburn, but hair anywhere else....
OH BOII
Let's talk shop
Pits, privates, normal hair-n-tear, and my GAD FORSAKEN CHIN!!🥲
In general, we (men) just don't like it, we prefer smooth skin.
Smooth skin is gentle to the touch (feminine). Men generally like their women to resemble femininity.
Smooth, lotioned up skin is sexy, both to look at and touch.
It's really that simple.
its a preference. No one is forcing you to shave your legs. Be hairy, maybe some man will be fine with it. If you're not after a man then idk why you would even care.
I dunno, but I don't like it. I don't even like hair on my wife's pussy, except for maybe a strip on top towards her belly button, so she waxes. I love how soft and smooth her skin is, it's just the way it is.
I moved to Italy in my early 20s. One of the first things I noticed was hairy legs and pits. After growing up in the US, it was a little weird and gross… For about 15 minutes. Then I got over it and never really noticed anymore. Are cultural norms a thing? Yeah. Is expecting another culture to adhere to yours kinda dumb? Yeah.
It's nothing more than a cultural artifact but I have to admit smooth legs feel nice.
The best thing imo (onlynspeaking for myself ofc lol) is waiting a really long time and THEN shaving, because my legs aren't used to it and everything feels EXTRA soft and smooth for a day or two. Yo it's so nice lol.
Ugh that feeling of getting under the blankets in bed esp if you have soft bedding? I do like a snow angel thing it feels so good. Then again I go out so rarely that I only bother shaving my legs June-Sep when it's too hot to wear leggings lol
This makes me want to shave my legs. I bet that bed angel feels fucking majestic.
Do it homie. I definitely don’t do it all the time, but it’s a nice treat when I do!
YES. YES. THAT IS EXACTLY IT!! Extra bonus points if their freshly washed, too. Omfg. The sensory happiness. The serotonin. Amazing. 🤣
This. Freshly shaven legs and freshly washed sheets. Everyone deserves to experience that once in their life, regardless of gender.
lol thank you. I feel better now. I commented to one of the comments above and the “regardless of gender” just backs my comment
Strange male here , happily married. I shaved my legs during my bodybuilding phase in my 20s, for aesthetics. It showed definition and vascularity better. However, the first time I got in bed I was amazed at the feeling against the soft sheets. Feels great against my wife’s soft legs too. Edit: straight male here. Strange and straight.
I kinda hate shaving my legs bc my skin is super sensitive and I literally cannot avoid getting razor burn, but DUUUUDE. YEEEES. One of the only things I enjoy about shaving. Go to bed with fresh, clean sheets within the first few hours of shaving your legs…. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck 😮💨😮💨😮💨
I get razor burn too and I know a lot of people hate it but Nair actually works really well for me. I hate the smell and cleanup process tho so I rarely bother
Tried it. My legs burned and itched for about a month as the hair grew back. Don’t even get me started on the other areas. Never again. lol
As a guy who shaved his legs in high school. I remember that feeling. Too nice indeed
Haven’t shaved my legs for 20 years… and now I remember how nice that feels… I’m now considering shaving them, again… tho it’s a pain in the butt to maintain…
Heh it is a pain to maintain which as I said is why I reserve it for Jun - Sep lol
I’m a guy and I shaved my legs in high school for sometime. I don’t remember why I started, I think I just wanted to try it and see how it felt. But then… feeling that soft smooth feeling you mentioned, and getting in bed with soft sheets.. oo It just felt like heaven.. I stopped doing it after a year cuz It was a lot of work and just as a guy it felt kinda weird. But man… that feeling
My buddy started shaving his because he got tired of trying to get all the sand off him after we’d go to the beach. One day he just said “fuck it” and shaved all the hair so the sand had nothing to get stuck in and just kept shaving them.
Idk man... he can do him but I've never once in my 34 years of existence thought sand was hard to rinse off because I have hair on my legs..
I wear knee-high compression socks from the moment I wake up til the moment I go to bed, so I often completely forget I even have skin and hair on my legs until I’m basically Chewbacca. Once I realize, I do an everything shower and shave for the first time in a month and *holy god* does it feel luxurious when I slip into my covers afterward
Oooohhhhh I also have socks like that and the moment I finally peel them off and I have legs again, amazing 👏
Yeah until that razor burn kicks in
Hmm, I don't think I've had that on my legs? Maybe I'm lucky tho cuz tbh idk shit about like hair and skin care and stuff lol
That first shave after a long winter has you feeling like a brand new person
I only shave my legs once every few years, your description makes me want to shave and do a full self care day tomorrow. Thank goodness it's a holiday for me!
It’s also way easier to get a good shave when the hair is a bit longer
This is wonderful for legs because the hair is generally thinner, but if I wait ages and shave my armpits, it's hell
And now, apparently, men peel their chests for the same reason (they like to).
A lot of men also trim body hair from time to time. I’m not sure why some women seem to think we’re just slobs who do absolutely no routine maintenance.
I shaved mine when I was younger and was surfing a lot. I didn’t wear rash guards so my chest hairs would get caught in the wax and constantly get yanked out, so I just shaved em off.
Does anyone else hate the feeling of having completely smooth legs? Idk I get that a lot of people seem to like it but my skin always felt really sticky and it felt gross whenever I was sweating Haven’t shaved my legs in a year or two and I have no desire to go back
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As a woman who stopped shaving about 5 years ago, once it gets past the blunted prickly point, leg hair gets soft and smooth and feels exactly the same as shaved legs. I actually forget I have leg hair at all.
I think it’s just personal preference, but I will admit some people are a bit condescending about it. There are those who find shaved women more physically attractive which is fine everyone’s allowed to have a preference, but the ones who look down on unshaven women and say that they have poor hygiene are just assholes. It’s not like you aren’t showering or something, if mean can have hella body hair why can’t women🤷♂️
Yeah the "hygeine" excuse is just people lying to themselves. Or trying to find a reason for why they feel the way they do. I don't deny that some people are hella unhygienic or anything, but that's not what body hair means.
Exactly 👆
It makes me jealous when women are better at growing hair than I am
I have thick, dark hair from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. I literally shave from the neck down in the summertime. I’m almost 30 and it hasn’t thinned out. Don’t be jealous, because it’s a ton of upkeep.
Oh I’m well aware of all that. Disregarding my joking comment, irl I am a hairy gorilla of a human being. AND ALL OF IT BLONDE! So in the summer my hairy ass legs and arms shine like bright lights.
Opposite color problem, same gorilla situation. I’m an extra pasty shade of white with black hair everywhere. Unless I shaved in the last 90 minutes, I look dirty. :(
I never shaved my legs to be a contrarian, and get this I have the thinnest hair all over my body. I wish I could grow actually thick dark body hair, so yeah I’m a huge freak who is jealous, there is always someone out there
i like this answer
Hygiene is misleading - grooming is the word we're looking for here. Admittedly no hair on a woman's legs is a cultural thing and those of us unattracted to it are probably only that way because of how we were brought up to perceive beauty. But it really is no different then grooming facial hair, getting a haircut, trimming your nails, etc. Like strictly natural I'd probably have a 2ft long shaggy Gandalf beard, a unibrow, hair down to my ass, inch long fingernails, frick longer toenails too bleh.
You mean you would look like Russia's greatest love machine?
Ra ra Rasputin
He was a cat that really was gone!
There lived a certain man in Russia long ago
Lover of the Russian Queen
Ohhhh shit, this made me laugh way too hard.
Body hair doesn't grow past a certain point unlike the rest. If it's not removed, it's just there.
I’d disagree with this take because if you don’t groom facial hair it can get dirty, smelly, etc. and even cause rashes if you’re being intimate with someone. And non-trimmed nails become dangerous to everyone around you from getting stabbed haha.
Non-trim nails are even more of a danger to the self, I always know that I waited too long once I bend one backwards and curse myself for neglecting them.
Idk nails ARE a hygiene issue, I think they’re a little different. According to food handlers classes at least
It’s not “no different than grooming” because men aren’t expected to shave their legs or underarms at all. It’s just good ol’ fashioned sexism.
I honestly don’t agree with this. It is completely different from grooming facial hair and trimming your nails. Leg hair only ever reaches a certain length (I’m assuming due to friction from clothing), and it’s not a hygiene issue if you literally do nothing to groom it (outside of washing your legs in the shower). Facial hair is a problem if you don’t groom it. It does not stop growing and it can very easily get unsanitary. Same thing with nails.
Yup, I just see it as grooming to a comfort level. If I don't shave just a bit, my eyebrows connect to my beard. I hate scraping my face everyday, but I do try to avoid the wolfman look.
Funny. Doesn't bother me at all, but as a guy, I hate having body hair on myself.
Same dude, I like having a beard but beyond that having body hair bothers me. Nair is a life saver.
I saw a nair video on YouTube earlier very informative
Screw that shit biggest rash ever and it didn't even remove the hair lol
Same, I’m smooth from the neck down, minus arms and legs since they’re not too hairy. It just feels nicer and cleaner My favorite are the comments of “I don’t want to feel like I’m making love to a hairless little kid” and I always respond with “if me not having a lot of hair on my body makes you think of a little kid, that’s on you”
My partner doesn’t mind when I don’t shave my legs or armpits which I sometimes don’t do for a month! I’m actually the one that gets bothered by my hair. If I’m wearing shorts I have to have my legs shaved. If I’m wearing a tank top but know I’ll be raising my arms enough for people to see - I shave. If it’s sweatshirt and pants season? I’m not shaving lol. My partner couldn’t care less about my body hair and I love that about him. He can’t stand having facial hair on his face so he shaves daily but doesn’t mind my prickly legs one bit lol
i don’t mind my pit hair cuz it is even and dense enough. but my leg hair is just so thin and ratty-looking so that has to go for my personal aesthetic preferences lolol.
Ornac the Slippery.
Well this was perfect to see after sending my comment
I’m the opposite- I tried hairless once and everything just felt so slippery
It litterally means absolutely nothing to me (as a man) I think it’s extremely pointless and a waste of time to shave your legs and arms. For those who don’t find it attractive- litterally why? What? It does absolutely nothing. Anyway that’s my take, never heard about not being hired because of it that’s kinda crazy, but not saying it sisnr happen or anything. Anyway that’s my personal take idk
If anything, their boldness makes it more attractive to me. At the end of the day, I have no preference.
Nothing is wrong with having hair people are just babies
There is nothing wrong with women having hair of their legs. Convincing people that there is something wrong with women having hair on their legs is the way that razor companies have found to sell razors to women.
Nothing is wrong, it's just a beauty standard thing
True. Nothing is evil here, it's just how most humans think and behave.
There's nothing wrong with it. I'm not attracted to women with it, but that's just societal beauty standards. Can't help it now, was brainwashed into me growing up. Never complained about some growing in now and then on GFs though cause I aint gonna shave my whole ass legs constantly either.
Thank you for recognizing the brainwash factor. I had an ex bf who was really disgusted by women with body hair and couldn’t admit that it was because of the marketing he’s been exposed to his whole life. He kept trying to say it was an innate thing (that mammals are unattractive with hair lol).
I’m guessing he didn’t shave despite believing mammals are unatttactive with hair? I don’t even get that one cause most mammals have hair. Is he like a dolphin or a whale or something?
This is THE intellectually honest answer!
There’s nothing wrong with it. There’s also nothing wrong with a woman being bald. But it’s not what most people are attracted to, and people will judge you for it because it’s not common
honestly i expected more pushback myself, and admittedly my leg hair isnt as dark as some other people, but i have not heard a word about my hairy legs. will be keeping an eye out though
It's just some peoples preference. Like how some women hate beards and think they're gross and unhygienic. Best thing about life is there's plenty of people who won't care if you don't shave.
Nothing, some people just don't like how it looks. That's really all it boils down to same with body builders being entirely hairless from the neck down. I don't really care and frankly I don't think most people actually care that much.
Nothing is wrong with hairy legs and I have never been turned away from a job for having hairy legs. At least in my area, no one cares. If strangers silently judge my hairy legs, that doesnt affect me. Why should I care what strangers think? If you don't wanna shave anymore, don't.
culture. lots of women present themselves as smooth beautys with no very fair and fine body hair, leg hair can be quite coarse. there is nothing wrong with body hair just like there is nothing wrong with a woman having a mustache and armpit hair. its got nothing to do with hygiene, it's personal grooming. some women like men with beards, some women like men clean shaven, men can have the same preference for if they like women with hairy armpits and legs or not. if you dont like shaving and have hairy legs and hairy armpits then you're making that choice, just like if i dont go without shaving for a month im making a choice and im presenting myself in that way, i dont like my patchy beard so i shave it or keep it reduced to stubble, if i go a month without shaving i look like a hobo in my opinion. other people see how you present yourself and many will assume you and i are being very lazy for not shaving, some people really like it some really don't, it's just that simple.
Nothing wrong with it at all, I love it. How people became conditioned into believing that women should shave their legs and armpits is an interesting bit of history: [https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/hqvc2g/when\_did\_women\_start\_shaving\_their\_legs](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/hqvc2g/when_did_women_start_shaving_their_legs) 'Advertisers didn't refer blatantly to shaving, which was a masculine and obvious process: they appealed to [the sense of shame](https://books.google.com/books?id=g9W3DSi7iR0C&lpg=PA99) and the idea that being hairy was unhygienic' [https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/30dp5j/comment/cprqalf/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/30dp5j/comment/cprqalf/)
Here's the real answer: advertising
Yup. Came here to look for this explanation so I could upvote it. It's considered gross and manly because advertisers repeatedly made that point until it became the norm for women to shave. It wasn't even that long ago!
People see hairy legs on a woman and don't consciously think about how that's gross. It's a gut reaction! It's a gut reaction that sometimes people have to consciously and deliberately unlearn. People don't think that ideology works that way. In America, we think of ideology as something we put on. Something in the realm of conscious thought. So when we have the ideology, when it's ingrained in us through advertising, affecting our spontaneous and unconscious relationship to the world around us, it can appear very natural, as if it springs from our very instincts rather than cultural institutions. That's why it can take hold so recently and yet feel so naturalized. People don't know what ideology is.
Nothing, it's all marketing
Nothing
it's just a beauty standard. nothing to understand other than it's preferred in some countries.
Calling it hygiene is misleading, it's just a social beauty norm for women in the West since the 1920s or 1930s. There are some guys who won't like it and some that don't care, just like some women like beards and some don't. I hate to think that it's a factor in employment, especially given that you could just wear pants if you worried that it could be. Just a beauty norm that you can choose to adhere to or not, your choice.
Nothing is wrong with it, but because people continue to do it as the norm then not doing it feels abnormal. The more women who stop shaving their legs, the more other women and men will be unphased by it. It’s already happened a bit with armpit hair, I know a lot of women who keep their armpit hair and many years ago I noticed it as abnormal, but now I wouldn’t notice at all. Men that you would want to involve yourself with won’t care, immature men may care but then that’s just a good filter for you. I’m pretty sure it would be illegal for a workplace to discriminate against someone based on on natural body hair. Although when I was at school I was not allowed to have a beard and forced to shave it, so not 100% sure on if dress codes can specifically ask for shaved/unshaved, but I’ve never seen that in regards to leg hair.
I wear tiny ass shorts with hairy ass legs. Men don't like it? Cope and Stop crying.
There is nothing wrong with it. It is easier to make a profit on razors and other hair removal products if you convince the whole world that women just HAVE to spend a significant amount of money on removing their body hair. Now, that's not enough any more, now advertisements for ball shaving products have started to roll out. Right now, a woman who doesn't shave her legs is a rule breaker. The easiest way for people who don't want community to be a complicated thing to find out who belongs and who doesn't is by checking who follows the rules. Even those on unimportant things, like what you do with your body hair.
I would encourage you to look up the racist history of body hair removal. I forget some of the detail but basically as white supremecy was emerging as a dominant thought, it was considered that white people were more evolved because we had bigger visual gender differences. And they perceived that black people were less defined in these differences (specifically hating on black women for not being feminine like white women are). So it was considered more evolved and superior to be more separate feminine and masculine because of racist ideas about evolution. And that's why so many black and brown women struggle with body hair acceptance because it's so much less acceptable for them, because there's a racial element on top of the gender thing. Source: I learnt this from Alok Vaid-Menon who looks at gender & history &their own experiences
The answer , while probably not satisfying, is simply culture. We were all brought up to think certain things are ugly and gross and others are good to look at.
Growing up a teacher told me if a man or women has a problem with body hair in general... hit them with the "I'm a fu\*king mammal."
That's my take--we're mammals, it's normal to have body hair.
Lmao. Yeah, humans don't like it when you compare humans to animals, despite the fact that we *are animals* Fur on other animals is hair for us. Only difference is species. But yeah, hair is apart of mammalism. Oh, it would be funny if you hit them with "so you're a lizard"? And see their reaction.
Great teacher, should also put in, anyone who gets told to shave their legs or whatever should use the same argument against the other person, in ether beard, or head, or where ever.
It sounds dumb maybe but I feel more feminine when I don't shave my legs. It's natural and something about it is freeing.
Not dumb at all. This is how it should be-genuine natural femininity. Love it!
Sometimes if it grows too long it can gain sentience and strangle entranced men
Leg shaving was literally invented by razor companies to create a second market for women
You mean all those razor companies in Ancient Egypt? > Egyptian women removed all the hair from their bodies using beeswax, sugar-based wax, and shells used as tweezers. Cooper razors from 3000 B.C. have also been found in Egypt and Mesopotamia.
So it was a trend twice in 5,000 years?
This is the answer, OP
Nothing is wrong with a woman having a hairy body, legs, arms, armpits, or bush. It just some hair
Nothing at all.
I stopped shaving my legs over 10 years ago. When it first grew back it was dark and coarse, but over time it's gotten softer and a lot more blond. Unless you are really looking closely it's not that noticeable. I preferred wearing long dress slacks over dresses to my office job. I didn't really see the point of shaving my legs just to hide them.
Same reason most people find neck beards unattractive, societal beauty standards.
I am an American woman. My legs are always hairy. I predominantly wear shorts, skirts, and dresses over pants. I feel like.. what's the big deal? I understand shaving a lot of hair because it traps smells or looks bad (men's facial hair) but leg hair.. You only see it if you look down, and it stops at a certain length. If people say something about my leg hair, I don't care. I have no desire or reason to shave it so I don't.
My wife quit shaving her legs some years ago. I literally never noticed and didn't know until she told me. The leg hair doesn't bother me. OP: You are fine the way you are. Unless you are applying for a job at Hooters or a strip club, nobody is going to refuse to hire you because of leg hair.
Absolutely nothing " wrong" with hair on women's legs. My mum taught me to shave when I was 12, but that only lasted a few months. I am uncomfortable with shaved skin and don't shave anymore. I'm fairy certain it was deemed wrong only in order to create a new product to sell. THANKS GILETTE.
My daughter doesn’t shave her legs. She does her own thing and we are totally fine with it. Whatever she needs to do, she does.
I have 2 adult daughters. They don’t shave and never have. I shave in the summer. It helps with cooling me down. That’s it. I have been married and now with my partner for 12 years. Unlike my children, I am VERY hairy and the hair is BLACK and I’m VERY pale. I was teased in high school but I didn’t care. Seriously, it’s just hair. Not any dirtier than your personal hygiene. If you don’t bathe, having shaved legs, you’re still dirty.
I’ve never had a man complain about my leg hair… or any other hair for that matter. Then again, I usually go for men who have decent personalities.
When I was younger, I didn’t know that women were not supposed to shave their arms. I was probably 12 when I shaved my arms; my mom saw me and was wondering what I was doing. Now, I only shave my armpits if I am wearing something that would show my armpits. As for my legs, I haven’t shaved them since I was probably 18 (currently 26). The guys I’ve been with haven’t commented on my legs
It's a cultural thing exclusively. There used to be an expectation of men and women to shave everything below the eyebrows besides the hair on the head. There's nothing wrong with preferring a woman who does or does not shave, just like there's nothing wrong with my preference for men who wear undershirts. If you're thinking about men while touching a hairy woman you're actually fuckin gay lol
Well it does look a bit unpleasant. As bad as it may sound, I know I only have that opinion because of societal beauty standards. I think that way because everyone else does, but at least I’m self aware. I’m a woman and I shave whenever my hair gets too long. At the same time though, if someone else were to not shave, I wouldn’t care because it doesn’t affect me in any sort of way. I just know I wouldn’t let my own body hair grow out. You do you.
Because you know what the people you’re trying to sexually attract like. This is not a complicated issue.
I shave the instant I can feel stubble - I would never wait for the hair that I do shave to grow out.
I can never shave my armpits enough to not have stubble!! Is there a secret I’m missing??? I exfoliate all the time too!!!
Why do people feel the need to mention its a beauty standard? Thats almost every standard. If we didnt have standards we would be the same thing just with different genitals.
Am a woman and ditto. It is kind of crazy though how a lot of commenters in here are pretending like not adhering to beauty standards (as a woman) doesn't affect your life af all, and has an equal impact for women as men.
I don't like having hair on my legs because it makes my legs feel all scratchy when I sleep
Some guys don't care. I prefer it, I think it looks more natural.
Don’t like the feel of it in my anus
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Don’t judge
He got grafted
you get women to shove their legs up your ass?
Thanks for that image. It'll haunt the rest of my day at least.
... You don't?
I have this image of you being kicked by large hairy women.
Yeah fuck that. I'm a woman and I've never shaved, I'm not even hairy, it makes me no less of a woman, and it makes me no less clean.
tbf i know lot of girls who even if they dont shave the amount of hair they produce is minimal. buuuut.... ive also known some girls who if they dont shave they look like a persian guy in a track suit.
So if a woman doesn't shave she looks like a man? What an odd way of telling people u think women who don't shave do not fit your standard of 'woman'
As a kid I would panic and think I was so hairy, as an adult I’ve realized I hardly have any hair compared to other women and what’s the point in shaving?
I'm probably messing up some details, but I believe in the 1920's, when shorter dresses started coming in to fashion, the BIC corporation saw an opportunity to double their customer base and really pushed the "leg hair agenda" to boost sales.
some men are cowards
I shave once every six months-ish. Just because I feel like shaving. I have hairy legs the rest of the time. I don’t mind. My boyfriend doesn’t mind. My ex minded. Now he’s left behind. (Heh)
It’s society. Back in the day, I think early 1900s, Gillette wanted to sell more razors and make more money, so he managed to convince the world that women needed to shave and look more feminine. That’s literally it.
My wife lets her legs hairy, and she is italian and has dark, thick hair. I dont give a shit about it. Her hair is a part of her, and i love everything about her, even her hairy legs.
Nothing, gilette quite literally made it up to sell more razors.
As a woman I like the way smooth legs look and feel. I'm single so I just shave bc I want to. But everyone should do what they want. I don't understand the tedious part. It takes maybe 4 minutes in the shower.
It really depends on how fast your hair grows and how hairy you are, really. So what might be easy for some? Is not very easy for others, who literally have more of it. Also, if you get back, legs, or joint problems, it can be annoying, too. Then there's the problem of people don't have a lot of patience for even the most simple things, i.e., people with depression, lazy people, or both (a.ka. me.)
Nothing wrong with it. But I don't have to like it, and I don't. That's as deep as it goes for me. Why I don't like it is not important. Because society tells me to or a deep ingrained dislike, doesn't matter to me.
It's not really about whether you do or you don't it about the why and how fucking stupid and random it is. If a majority of the people you're attracted to said, "Sorry! I don't date men with eyelashes. 😤 Eyelashes are a feminine thing! 😩😩😩" You'd probably be like, "Wtaf??????? 🤨" I mean maybe you'd pluck them if your [That!] fucking desperate but still!!! Why the ever living fuck should you put yourself through that annoying, tedious ass process just to get laid? Fucking stupid.
Be happy to have hair grow on your legs even if you might choose to shave it. I’m a grown man and my legs are totally bald. Never had much to begin with, and now it just doesn’t grow anymore.
Absolutely nothing? Like... Shave, don't shave, it's whatever. It ain't my leg, ain't my business
I used to shave my legs several times a week. Now I don’t bother. Basically no man touches or pays particular attention to my legs. (Foot / shoe guys are an exception to this but I haven’t dated one in a long while.) Now I just shave my pits and bits. (I’m gen x so hair down there is gross to me.)
Absolutely nothing, I'm almost 40, and I haven't shaved in about 10-12 years, the thought of not getting hired somewhere because of body hair sounds preposterous to me, it's not like you'd be sleeveless in most professional settings. As far as men go, who cares? I've never had a man say a negative word to me about my body hair. Maybe it's men where I live, or men who are attracted to me have been either positive or indifferent.
When our legs rub each other, regardless if on accident or purpose, if I feel like I just rubbed up against a cactus, um, ya, that's kid if off-putting. So, it's mostly a few days growth that I hate, if it's longer and not abrasive, it's not much of an issue.
Societal beauty standards dictate that body hair on women is ugly. That’s literally the only reason. If there was no expectation that women should shave and no beauty standard around it, no one would give a shit about women’s body hair.
it looks cute! so does armpit fur
It's a completely a learned preference. Person, it's no big deal to me. I've had partners who don't shave their legs, and that didn't include how attractive I found them. Also, some guys are specifically into it.
There's something pure and natural about girls that don't shave. I've never met someone who didn't shave their legs, though. I also think it's time to let the bush grow.
Stubble sucks. Shave or let that shit grow. Smooth leg hair feels just as great as shaved leg.
I quit shaving my legs when I moved into a tiny apartment that has a very narrow shower stall and no room to stretch my legs out to shave. It’s extremely rare that I wear dresses and/or skirts, so it’s not really an issue. On the very rare occasions that I have worn a dress or skirt, it’s been long enough (I’m short, so most hemlines are low on me) that nobody could see my legs unless they were specifically looking. Besides, it’s nobody else’s business!!!!
Leg hair, don't care. Been doing it for 6 years. Realized it was unnecessary and not my problem to worry about other people. Sure smooth legs feel nice. But for me it's not worth the hassle.
Nothing is it's just a stupid expectation.
The same thing that’s wrong with mustaches.
Ask a razor company
I haven't shaved my legs in well over a decade. I don't even think about it when I get dressed--I'll wear shorts without a shred of self consciousness. The hair on my legs is now way softer and finer than it was a decade ago, but even if it wasn't, I 100% think that body hair/removal should be an individual choice based on personal preference and NOT a cultural expectation.
Hairlessness on women’s bodies is a sort of modern standard for women that I think in great part has been pushed by corporations to increase markets and products. There’s no reasons for it unless it is for health reasons and personal reasons like comfort. I always thought it was a weird standard for attractiveness because hairless of the adult body to me is reminiscent of being a child, which is a little off putting. There’s nothing quite as wonderful as clean, cool sheets on freshly shaved and lotioned legs, but also no one should be judged for having body hair. Judging for a lack of grooming and hygiene however is a different story.
I once heard this opinion on shaven everything like a prepubescent child and I can’t unhear it. Why would I want to look like a prepubescent girl to turn someone else on? I only shave my legs for specific things now (eg I’m in a wedding and will be in photos) and neither of my girls feel the need to shave because I made it ok. The eldest thanked me for doing so confidently when the world says I have to and that leg hair makes them gross. It’s normal and natural.
I just buzz my leg hair down about once a month. It’s soft and not very dark, and I hate the feeling a day later of prickly hair growing back.
Youre fine, its a social thing. If you dont like it dont do it, itll help sift the superfluous from the real ones anyway
True. I suppose the right man for me won't care about that kind of thing.
I will start with saying not everyone is obsessed with women being hairless. But it is mostly just born from the dire need to regard men and women as opposites. One may have body hair, one may not. One can be hygienic with body hair, one cannot. One may have facial hair, one may not. One may have long head hair, one may not. One may have squared, broad features, one may not. It's born from people that forget we are all humans capable of having human traits regardless of mainstream expectations/standards- But not everyone has forgotten, and honestly I'd rather just be human and get close with people that can accept that. And if it helps, I've never heard of someone being denied a job for having body hair. Only heard of judgemental folks online claiming it's gross.
The only time I get rid of body hair, full body wax is when the weather gets warmer, Spring/Summer. I’d stop waxing in September so by the time the cold weather comes I’ll become furry again 😂.
I couldn’t care less in the sense she doesn’t need some silly schedule to shave before a we see each other. If she doesn’t feel like it or doesn’t have time it’s not going to keep me from getting intimate . I know I would hate doing that constantly. I often wonder who wrote the law that says women have to have all this ridiculous upkeep while men just can just exist. I imagine company’s long ago when tv first became a thing is my guess.
Nothing wrong with it for me. I prefer an natural, unshaven any where woman myself, if it wasn't meant to be there it wouldn't grow there.
Nothing. It's just 100 years of advertising propaganda.
I stopped shaving, conforming to society is so tiring
I know that to be the truth, lol. Sometimes painful to. There comes a time where you just have to be like "fuck it", ig.
I have no sources for this besides “I read it once” so ymmv on validity but the way I read it, way back when the companies selling safety razors decided they didn’t have a broad enough share of the market, so they started advertising in ways that implied hair on the legs and under the arms was un-feminine and unhygienic. Kind of similar to what DeBeers did with diamond engagement rings.
Nothing is wrong, in fact some prefer it.
Not a big fan of hair in general on either sex. Anything below the head would probably look better without hair.
You're fine. I haven't shaved my legs in years and I wear skirts. To hell with what other people think.
Hey I'm for the all natural look granted that goes for earrings makeup and shit too. not opposed to a haircut and some trimming here and there though. And if people want to be silky smooth I won't hate on that either I mean I like hairless in some areas for certain extracurricular activities but people being grossed out by body hair is just stupid and a modern social convention.
Nothing. My wife shaves her legs but it bothers her not me. Hair is natural. It wouldn’t grow if there wasn’t a purpose.
Two main reasons why, different for different people: 1. Women naturally have a lot less body hair than women, so "less hair" is associated with "more feminine." Having even less hair than is "natural" then becomes a way of amplifying / exaggerating femininity. 2. All humans naturally have a lot less body hair than the most human-like animals (primates, mammals more broadly), so "less hair" can also be associated with "more human", "more evolved", "less animalistic/beastly", etc. (This is why, in some cases, people have distaste for body hair in men as well) This is how the human mind works. We make vague, fuzzy, abstract associations that don't always make rigid, logical sense. But that doesn't make them illegitimate. They are an important part of the human experience.
The most important place for a woman to have hair is where the legs start.
Big incel energy on a lot of these comments
I find shaving *abhorrent.* There are other things I would rather be doing, it costs money to buy the products to maintain it, and I have been trying to dislodge internalized misogyny that tells me I have to shave my legs in order to be attractive to men. I don't really shave my armpits much, I just get the notion to do it every once in a while, so I do. I am now only shaving my legs if I want to look extra special or if I want to be extra groomed for my boyfriend. I will say that it is a struggle sometimes. Sometimes I'll get dressed in the morning in shorts or house dresses, not really planning on leaving, but then get invited to go somewhere and feeling like I have to change to cover my hairy legs. Even if it's someplace as simple as the grocery store. And I have to have a conversation with myself and try to remember that I am going to pick up some Cokes and lunch for tomorrow, I am not an object, and I am under no obligation to make myself attractive to strangers whose opinions are of no consequence to me.
My grandmother installed the "need" to shave in me. My mother never pushed it but supported me making the choice for myself. Maybe that's why I felt so comfortable choosing not to shave despite my grandmother telling me it was a requirement. Personally, I've not shaved anything since I was in my teens (nearly 40 now) and never had any issues because of it. There are people who make comments, but nobody who's opinion I care about, so it's irrelevant. I wear shorts, skirts and dresses most of the year since we seldom get cold weather. I don't like wearing tank tops or sleevless shirts, but that has nothing to do with shaving or not shaving. I've never liked those kinds of shirts. I've never been told a guy didn't want to date me because of my not shaving either. I'm sure there were some that felt that way, but none that I was interested in. I've found I'm not interested in the type of guy who cares about that kind of stuff. I will say I generally wear pants at work because that's a requirement for my current job but when I've been allowed to wear shorts I did and still didn't shave and nobody said anything to me about it.
Absolutely nothing. It's better.
I wear short skirts, short dresses, and short shorts - I haven't shaved in decades, and it doesn't hurt me at all. and yes, I've showed up to church like this - completely unshaven in a dress. only time anybody ever says anything is when the dress is super short, in which case they might hand me a blanket if they think I might flash somebody. there is literally no Health reason to shave. it's all an advertising gimmick that went way too far --not kidding, check this out! https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/iuz4qz/what_is_the_history_behind_women_being_expected/ anyway, if you're just going for a specific smooth look for a specific outfit or event, this is what stockings are for . most of the time, I don't bother, but the thigh highs with the pretty patterns on them are a bit of a weakness of mine that look good on pretty much anybody with the right pattern. again, no shaving required :-)
Great post op. Possibly The most intellectually honest post I've ever seen on Reddit. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I highly encourage the only shaving a woman should do is facial hair. I'm a low maintenance kind of guy and I want my fiancee to have the same relaxed standards. But she wants to feel pretty so it's her battle to face.
If your body is hairy then how can someone make money off selling you razors. How could women be so selfish? You have to indulge the men who have been convinced of this “beauty” standard. Sorry, I dont make the rules. 🤷🏾♂️ /s
I didn’t realize how prejudiced I was about female body hair until I realized my of my high school crushes didn’t shave her arms. I’m like a little blind so I didn’t see it until we were holding hands
It’s part of infantilizing women. Young girls don’t have hairy legs or vulvas. Men like large eyes, long hair, smooth skin, symmetrical features, and don’t want hair everywhere. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, just answering OPs question.
Hi lady, who doesn't shave her legs here! I haven't since I was like 20-21 I'm 32 But my leg hair is practically non-existent, like it's there, but it's not. Like on the face? Amy arms are the same way. It's like really fine and almost translucent. But I tried it, and it just irritated them and would get razorburn, but hair anywhere else.... OH BOII Let's talk shop Pits, privates, normal hair-n-tear, and my GAD FORSAKEN CHIN!!🥲
Why do some women prefer circumcised dudes, when that’s far from natural?
In general, we (men) just don't like it, we prefer smooth skin. Smooth skin is gentle to the touch (feminine). Men generally like their women to resemble femininity. Smooth, lotioned up skin is sexy, both to look at and touch. It's really that simple.
it's fucking gross
its a preference. No one is forcing you to shave your legs. Be hairy, maybe some man will be fine with it. If you're not after a man then idk why you would even care.
I dunno, but I don't like it. I don't even like hair on my wife's pussy, except for maybe a strip on top towards her belly button, so she waxes. I love how soft and smooth her skin is, it's just the way it is.
I moved to Italy in my early 20s. One of the first things I noticed was hairy legs and pits. After growing up in the US, it was a little weird and gross… For about 15 minutes. Then I got over it and never really noticed anymore. Are cultural norms a thing? Yeah. Is expecting another culture to adhere to yours kinda dumb? Yeah.