DU Women Lovers: Leg and underarm hair on a woman (full on)??

[RadiationTherapy]

I love it. I love what it symbolizes counterculturally. I love that it is the natural state.

My wife stopped shaving her legs and underarms at age 16. I find this very very strong and attractive. She argued with her mom on the phone when it was time to shop for wedding dresses. Her mom told her she was an embarrassment (because of BODY HAIR, mind you) and would not go wedding dress shopping with her; my wife trimmed her underarms with scissors and wore pants while dress shopping to accomodate my MIL.

My wife does now shave and wax after more than 12 years of not, but she is in full control making that decision.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

1. i like underarm hair. leg hair i like both ways to change things up

on me, i keep my underarm hair and shave my legs

[RadiationTherapy]

7. I try so hard not to flirt, but

knowing you have underarm air is a wonderful addition to your already attractive attractiveness.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

10. and to my unpredictability, right?

:P

[RadiationTherapy]

12. Absolutely.

[NJmaverick]

2. I find either gross, but to each their own

what ever floats your boat or raises your sail.

[RadiationTherapy]

3. Do you think the pressure on women to shave legs and armpits or be considered gross is fair?

Not that perceptions of beauty or attraction is at all fair in any way....

[NJmaverick]

6. Society has pressures for both men and women

both are expected to keep their hair clean and cut and reasonably well groomed. Men are expected to shave or at least keep any facial hair trimmed and neat. There are social pressures on staying slim as well.

It is what it is. Societies always have standards of beauty. However to suggest there is or isn't a fairness to the standards sort of assumes there is some sort of conscious decision making process. I just don't think that is the case.

[RadiationTherapy]

11. A man's beard, in a social context, does not "revolt" like underarm and leg hair on a woman. THAT is

the unfair part.

[redqueen]

27. You're awesome.

Just sayin.

:loveya:

[RadiationTherapy]

35. Thanks! nt

[La Lioness Priyanka]

34. ..

:thumbsup:

[fizzgig]

50. i'm sick of men telling me that part of my body or something about my body is gross

how would you feel if you were constantly told that something about your body was revolting?

it is a double standard that women are expected to keep their body hair groomed while men are not. a man's beard is nothing like a woman's body hair.

[RadiationTherapy]

52. Your statement is what I love about my wife. To think she "let it grow" at age 16 is awesome.

I was such a little wimpy conformist at that age.

[SallyMander]

58. Amen, sweetness

:yourock:

[PassingFair]

68. Ahem. Have you ever taken a good look at a scrotum?

Revolting.

It's like looking at Ronald Reagan's neck.

[LostinVA]

73. I try to avoid looking at both

*shudder*

[TroglodyteScholar]

76. So how about guys with a lot of back hair?

It's not necessarily the same thing as the armpits&legs with women, but I think it's VERY common for someone to be disgusted by hairy men

[fizzgig]

81. my guy is pretty damn furry and it doesn't bother me one bit

:shrug:

[redqueen]

4. Hah...

refreshing. :)

[thewiseguy]

5. How much hair are we talking about?

[Dr. Strange]

8. If it looks like you've got two kitties in an armlock...

that's too much.

:shrug:

[thewiseguy]

15. Now that would be gross!

:D

[RadiationTherapy]

13. We are talking "full on". Some women have very thin light hair and some don't. nt

[Bucky]

16. I think we're talking "She's got Burt and Ernie in a headlock" armpits.

[redqueen]

26. Believe it or not... when it comes to body hair,women are just like men. Some have a lot, some less.

I find it sad that we're so limited in the images we see of women that this question is even asked.

Le sigh.

[bertha katzenengel]

9. To each her own. It doesn't gross me out. n/t

[RadiationTherapy]

17. I actually prefer it. nt

[Bucky]

14. Underarm hair? Shit, I don't even like my women to have a college degree

I likes 'em bald and stupid. My usual dating technique is to troll through the cancer wards with a GED test. Once I find me one who can land on the left side of the Bell Curve, I know who I'm going out dancing with. You know, assuming they're healthy enough to go dancing, that is.

[bridgit]

92. Pft, boowhahahahahaha!!!

:spray: :rofl:

[Forkboy]

18. Not my bag, but the trend of women shaving themselves completely isn't much better.

If you know what I mean. :)

[RadiationTherapy]

19. I know what you mean.

I don't like the "bald; fresh out the diaper" look.

[Forkboy]

20. What, you don't like that "make me feel like a pedophile" thing?

:D

[RadiationTherapy]

22. "Is daddy going to be naughty? Are you a naughty daddy?"

Yeah, I hate all that shit. I only fuck my equals.

[LostinVA]

31. I only fuck my equal, too -- body hair and roleplaying have nothing to do with being equal

[RadiationTherapy]

36. Honestly, it is a bit weirder with Hets, I think.

There, perhaps, is less threat OF power plays when the gender is the same. I am really not sure... but my experiences with baldness and "daddy" cries were not roleplaying; it was "a priori". It was not to titillate ME, it was their default expression of sexuality. That bothered me.

[Shakespeare]

37. Or, there's this explanation.

About 10 years ago, completely on my own (meaning no input from any lover) and unrelated to any fantasy, pedophile or otherwise, I decided I simply preferred being completely shaven, for the reasons I listed in the post below. Please don't assume that the default reason for going shaven must have something to do with daddy fantasies--it certainly doesn't in my case.

Edited to add: I'm a hetero female; sorry you find it "weird" that I choose to do this. I think my reasons for doing so are every bit as valid as another woman's reasons for choosing NOT to shave. Why must some sort of values judgment be made?

[RadiationTherapy]

38. Oh no!! Choice above all! I am sorry to have implied otherwise.

My smart aleck comments about bald and diapers are only smart aleck comments.

Sorry I was so harsh about it in my post.

[Maine-ah]

46. ok, here it goes...personal question you can pm me back if you

would rather not reply here...

I have tried this numerous times. Each time I make a total mess of it...ouch...and re-growth, is a bit, um, uncomfortable... how do you do this? Do you wax, shave? If I had my way, I'd get it permanantly removed.

[Shakespeare]

51. For me...

...shaving works best. Use a GOOD razor (like the Venus, or one of the multi-blade men's), always start with a new blade, hot water, and a good shave cream. Repeated forays with the razor will acclimate your skin a bit, and you should have little problem with irritation/razor/burn, etc. I think Lost is of the same opinon, btw, and maybe LeftyMom, too (I think one of the subthreads on the notorious thread in the women's forum gives a lot of detail/suggestions for methods).

There--hope that steps carefully enough around the lounge rules (hi, mods!). :-)

I'm the same way--if there was a permanent method that was truly permanent, I'd be all over it.

[LostinVA]

60. Here is what I suggest -- pretty close to Shakespeare's suggestion

I personally like the Mach 3 razor best. For shaving cream, Coochie Cream is by far the best. Amazon.com has the best price on it. Then, I use the Gillete aftershave (it's a men's aftershave) for sensitive skin.

Naturally, you want things to be trimmed as close to the skin as possible before shaving. The first couple times you might get a bit of razor burn, but that seems to stop pretty quickly, and always use a fresh razor blade.

[RainDog]

54. it's not just about/for a partner

if someone wants to go pube commando, or some variation thereof, I have no problem with this, even tho it started in the porn industry (look back at fashion.. it's all a porn industry in one way or another.) but commando makes certain parts of the female anatomy more... available to sensation (of any kind, even clothing) and that's not a negative thing at all.

as far as hair, no hair, where hair - I don't care what someone else does. all up to them, their preferences. I had a time when I didn't shave when I was younger and, frankly, it didn't do a thing for me. I found it annoying. I prefer shaved because it feels good to me, just like some men don't like to grow beards b/c it feels better to them to have smooth skin.

I also do not like the look when men go pube commando. Again, it's a personal preference.

Grooming and cleanliness are really what matters.

[Forkboy]

56. Well, I'm not saying I want a woman who looks like she has Buckwheat in a headlock.

;)

[RainDog]

57. LOL. Or...loretta lynn

country and western armpits... somehow, it just works for me. LOL.

[Arugula Latte]

101. "Pube Commando" -- That would make a good DU name

:rofl:

[DarkTirade]

21. I tend to prefer less rather than more

but I also prefer that in men too, so at least I don't have a double standard. :P

[RadiationTherapy]

24. I used to tell my wife that loving her body hair is as gay as I can get.

She is out to prove me wrong.

yikes.

[LostinVA]

23. No hair below the neck

[RadiationTherapy]

25. Wow. A hard and fast rule, huh?

Do you have a reason?

[LostinVA]

30. There's a whole huge thread about it in the "Women's Rights Forum"

My wife feels the same way about body hair, so it works out.

[RadiationTherapy]

32. Will you include the thread; I'd like to see it.

Consensual is good with me!

[LostinVA]

61. Here's the link:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=229&topic_id=5935&mesg_id=5935

[RadiationTherapy]

105. Thank you. That was very interesting. nt

[Shakespeare]

28. Same here.

Comfort, hygeine, heightened sensation...there are a number of reasons I prefer this. :hi:

[LostinVA]

95. Yep

Those are the same reasons as me.

[flvegan]

55. Thanks

for the confirmation and the visual.

:rofl:

[LostinVA]

96. You're welcome

:eyes:

[unpossibles]

29. I like both - I love underarm hair, actually

but leg hair I could go either way with. I do like the aesthetic of smooth skin sometimes, and sometimes it is more practical, but I don't really care, nor would I want to shave every day, so can hardly expect someone else to.

For the record, I have occasionally shaved my own legs for a variety of reasons, usually practical: cycling, swimming, and going to the desert (when you have to put on sunscreen several times a day, it just goes on easier without the hair, and I don't have enough to make a natural sunscreen). I enjoy how smooth skin feels, but it sucks when it grows back in.

[RadiationTherapy]

43. Yeah, I am an underarm guy in general.

Legs I prefer at one extreme or the other. I don't like "stubble"

[unpossibles]

47. very few people do like stubble

except maybe on the face of Sawyer or George Michaels, I guess.

[regularguy]

33. Women who break rules are hot!

OTOH, shaved legs are pretty hot too, so I guess I'm fine either way.

[Xithras]

39. Another vote for "nothing below the neck"

No double standards there either. I'm as bald as a swimmer below the neckline. Body hair is gross.

I even find bald women attractive :)

[NJmaverick]

42. Yeah body hair is pretty gross in general

[goodgd_yall]

72. On men---yes

No hair, I mean. I go for the opposite of the traditional aesthetics----hairless men and SOME hair on women.

[Xithras]

79. Whatever rings your bell I guess.

It really is just a personal preference thing (just like preferences for eye and hair color). When I say I prefer no hair below the neck, I mean a full brazilian. Not a stray hair to be found on either partner.

Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't kick a partner out of bed for having a few stray hairs, or even a full bush, but we're talking about what we find most attractive. Have no worry if you are furry, but a bald body is a beautiful thing to behold!

[RadiationTherapy]

106. I think it ought to just be a personal choice, but for many women it isn't.

I realize all of us are pressured to appear in certain ways, but body hair on women (in the US) is openly criticised.

[Xithras]

108. I disagree. It is, the choice is just a little different.

Let's say that I make a decision to only date women with red hair, green eyes, and a totally bare body except for one furry armpit. If a woman decides she wants to date me, and puts in green contacts, dyes her hair red, and shaves everything but one armpit, is SHE making that choice, or am I? I'm looking for a woman who enjoys those things. If a woman chooses to fake it and does those things simply to attract me, how is that my fault?

I have a right to choose bare bodies as more attractive. There are other men here in this thread who have mentioned a preference for the opposite. If a woman shaves her body because she wants to attract men who find that arousing, that's her choice, not something she's forced into by some unfair male expectation. If a woman wants to go au natural, there are plenty of men out there who would find that sort of thing groovy and date her.

As for open criticism, I just don't see it. Some people may not find hairy women attractive but if they speak out about it they're simply being rude. I've heard plenty of men say things against bare female bodies too (usually hinting that they think it's pedophilic or some nonsense like that), and it's just as rude. I don't find hairy pits attractive, but I'm not going to say anything about it because I was raised better than that. To me, it's really no different than being blonde (which I also don't find attractive).

[Guava Jelly]

40. I prefer smooth shaved females

Except downstairs I like it trimmed not shaved.If ya know what I mean.. fahgetaboutit

[MrScorpio]

41. Even I don't have any hair on my legs

I'd prefer my woman to return the favor

[RadiationTherapy]

44. Holy shit! When people say "Mr. Scorpio" is smooth, I think a completely different thing!

[MrScorpio]

45. Literally and figuratively, Homeskillet

All smooth!

[datasuspect]

48. hairy women have stronger natural sex odors

my natural manmusk became more noticeable after i stopped using deodorant. i even turn myself on.

[RadiationTherapy]

49. Yes. My wife and I use baking soda for non-odorous days.

Deodorant only smells like BO + deodorant to me. Bakingsoda is complete non-odor.

[Deja Q]

65. uncircumcised males are more sensitive too...

Sometimes putting a razor unto something can do some good...

:spray:

[sam sarrha]

85. there's sebaceous glands in hairy areas, Sebum is exuded, Sebum's a sexual attractant and ADDICTIVE

That's why men say your hair smells Soooo GOOD. the hair soaks it up and disperses it

[Chan790]

94. Not everybody likes that smell...

I find it mildly-nauseating to be frank. Sweat as well.

[sam sarrha]

109. maybe a tripple earth Capricorn...?

[Chan790]

113. Me?

Sun: Sagittarius
Moon: Virgo
Ascendant: Libra

I have zero idea what that means though. I had to look that much up.

No...I used to be a swim rat from about the time I was born (literally...if you throw a newborn into water they intuitively know how to swim. At least that's what my parents believed. I was in the pool at 2 weeks and could swim long before I could walk.) until I was well into college. The look and feel of smooth depiliated skin and the astringent bleachy smell of pool chlorine are hard-wired into my sense memory the same way that other people have an attraction towards the scent of the cologne that their father wore or to earthy scents or the ocean.

It's like I said down-thread...even the feel of my own body hair (and scent) skeeves me out.

[Redstone]

53. No, thank you.

Redstone

[AngryAmish]

59. Not for me

[FloridaJudy]

62. I have seasonal foliage

Winter: let it grow, baby!
Summer: take it all off.

In winter shaving is too irritating - maybe I'll have to try that coochie cream. Besides, everything that needs shaving then is covered by pants and long sleeves. Summer I occasionally wear sleeveless tops and above the ankle skirts, so I shave. In any case, I'm one of those with very little body hair (thank you, Asian great-grandparent!) and what there is is very fair (thank you, Scottish Dad!), so for me it's optional.

[Critters2]

67. Same here. Shave in the summer, not in the winter.

And I have Scottish ancestry on both sides, so very fair.

[goodgd_yall]

71. Me too

and no fair hair here. Actually, my arms have always looked hairier than the average woman's, but then I prefer women and don't give a damn if a guy likes it or not.

[Deja Q]

63. GROSS!!!!!!!!! If I wanted hair, I'd date a yeti or Cousin It...

[jane_pippin]

74. There's a nice, well reasoned, intelligent response.

You don't have to like it, but comparing women who don't shave to a monster or something is extremely immature and disrespectful.

[Deja Q]

80. Well, at least you didn't get a lie. Oh, by the way,

you could have asked for context instead of doing the fascist routine - you simply assumed I was comparing women who don't shave to a monster or something. Seems a bit disrespectful and/or immature of you too. Like I said, "fascist" - you know, "guilty, forget about being considered innocent" and all that.

Welcome to being human.

Yetis and Cousin It have lots of hair. When I think of "excessive quantities of hair", yetis and Cousin It come to my mind first. Hair was the only part of the equation. I'm sorry you want to read into things way too much. That's your problem.

[jane_pippin]

84. Oh here we go with this. No.

I'm not getting sucked into your pattern.

Say inflammatory thing
Get called on inflammatory thing
Blame the responder for not being human or compassionate enough to be a mind reader and ask what you really meant.

What. Ever.

The fact that "GROSS!!!" was the first thing that came to mind when asked about women with more body hair than the norm points to you being the one with a problem, don't you think? Or am I reading too much into "Gross!!" too? Does it actually mean "Awesome!! I'm not really calling this gross at all!" or something?

And fascist? :rofl: Yeah, ok. I'm a fascist. :rofl:

Talking to you is clearly pointless--I can't believe I forgot.

Have a good night.

[Chan790]

64. I'm not a fan.

It's not just women...I find body hair in most places, even my own, to be nauseating unless it is very fine and/or very short. It's the swimming thing, I started removing any of mine that wasn't covered by the suit as soon as it started to come in...now that I'm no longer spending 20 hours a week in the pool, I'm less hardcore about it, but still it's pretty gross to me.

Thus, I don't date people with appreciable amounts of body hair. It's simply an attraction thing...I find it unattractive in the same way I find tans, freckles, Yankees fans, dreadlocks and blond hair to be a turn-off.

Different strokes for different folks. If it works for you, that's cool.

[skygazer]

66. My husband much prefers my having both to shaving

I, on the other hand, feel ungroomed and uncomfortable if I don't shave, even though I know it's no more than a societal convention.

Strange, huh? :shrug:

[RadiationTherapy]

86. This "feeling" is what I dislike most about the pressure on women to shave.

Once this feeling is overcome, obviously, preference is choice.

[goodgd_yall]

69. Underarm hair

If it's not being shown, I say grow it as much as you want. I just have to admit, I don't like the look of it---on MEN OR WOMEN---when someone raises their arms and I see hair under the arms. Leg hair is fine with me. I myself grow my underarm hair until summer when I wear tank tops and the leg hair I occasionally shave but mostly just let it grow.

[Deja Q]

70. Of course, they can do what this guy did with his goatee:

[alarimer]

75. I shave my underarms (well when I think of it I do)

but leave my legs alone. I do my underarms for hygiene reasons. I work outside and sweat A LOT. I think it makes deodorant work better (not that it makes that much difference as far as I can tell). But there isn't much on my legs to begin with and it hardly seems worth the effort. My boyfriend does not seem to mind. If it mattered too much to him, I doubt I would be with him anyway.

[KG]

77. NBtN

thank you very much.

[Throd]

78. Yes for the armpits and muffy, no for the legs.

[SarahB]

82. I strongly prefer the extreme minimalist approach to my body hair.

So does my husband. Yes, removing underarm and leg hair is cultural, but cultural standards that do not restrict or inflict pain should be just that, a choice or preference. NOT shaving is not "gross", but just like anything else in terms of appearance, we all have different things that aesthetically appeal to us and some that simply don't. There's places on his body I prefer a somewhat minimalist approach as well for reasons that should be obvious to anyone who's sexually active.

[RadiationTherapy]

107. As I mentioned above, preference is choice, once the cultural pressure is overcome. nt

[Radical Activist]

83. No. Just no.

I dated one woman who rarely shaved. I do like various types of counter culture and radical feminist women. But some things are unattractive no matter what my politics are.

[Robeson]

87. No.

[Skittles]

88. I'm all for liberation but I don't like the way it looks at all

I don't believe I care much what others think, it's what I think - I just like smooth legs and pits. Luckily I am blonde and can get away with shaving only occasionally. :)

[Orrex]

89. Way to sell out to the patriarchy, you smooth stooge!

:evilgrin:

[Skittles]

93. yeah, I've heard that and do understand that point of view

but when I see men with big hairy thatches in their pits I wonder how can they use deodorant effectively and why don't they f***ing shave it off? :D

[LostinVA]

97. I think the exact same thing

I'm gay, and I think there should be way more "manscaping" in this world.

[Skittles]

98. AWESOME!!

it disgusts me so much I once ran a thread asking about it! :D

[Chan790]

115. I agree.

As a guy it doesn't bother me at all. "What's good for the goose is good for the gander" as my grandmother used to say. Also I like the feeling of being smooth/trimmed.

[Skittles]

118. the worst is guys who trash a hairy gal

while they themselves are in dire need of a week-wacker all OVER - yes. Many men would be surprised to know lots of us gals prefer a "trimmed" - not hairless, but trimmed - look on a guy - yes INDEED

[Genevieve]

102. Agreed. nt

[IndianaJones]

90. boo. nt.

[bridgit]

91. I'm so light I don't even have to shave my legs, and hubby doesn't care he's a Californian

[elshiva]

99. I SHAVE NOTHING.

eom.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

100. While I think women should be free to choose as they please

I prefer as little body hair as possible in terms of my own personal preference in terms of women

[last_texas_dem]

103. Why not?

As a hairier-than-the-vast-majority-of-guys guy who doesn't shave anything besides my face (it's too patchy) and the back of my neck (ditto) and hates doing both, I certainly can't fault a woman for "keeping it real." It's not a look I'm very used to seeing on a woman, but knowing she was willing to go against the trend and just let her body do what it's naturally meant to do would definitely be hot on a certain level.

[MrSlayer]

104. I find it to be repulsive.

The only hair I want my woman to have is on her head. That includes brows and lashes. Other than that I like it completely clean.

[Taverner]

110. I'm not into either

Granted, its no deal breaker, but personally I go for clean shaven.

I shave myself "down there" personally, so I see it as a hygiene issue

[Seeking Serenity]

111. OK, here's my $0.02.

I'm a leg and underarm shaver. Have been since I was 12. One time, after having been to Europe, I went a winter without shaving my underarms. DH, the conservative, said nothing (he's such a sweetie!). But when spring rolled around and I wanted to wear sleeveless tops, I had to shave again.

I know it's a cultural thing, probably a patriarchal thing, but I thought I just looked not pleasing to myself with hairy armpits.

As for below the waist, I never touch it. I don't shave any higher than mid-thigh. Yes, I have the little patches on the thighs, but I don't wear thongs or any of that and my swimsuits are all modestly cut, so they don't show anyway. I don't shave there because it irritates my very-sensitive skin (I'll spare you the details).

DH has never asked me to shave there or even trim. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't prefer the whole brazilian thing, as he has said that he's convinced that the men who like the completely bare look are trying to satisfy a latent pedophilia (don't bother with the protest posts how that has nothing to do with paedolhilia -- he said it, I didn't, and if he thinks so, how does that harm you?). However, I don't know exactly how he feels about it. He, out of respect, doesn't bring it up, and I don't ask (repression).

I also have dark hair on my arms that I've long been self-conscious about, but DH has assured me over time that he thinks that is just fine ("It's the way God made you," he says), so now I'm more comfortable with it. He's such a sweetie.

I do find it mildly offensive when women (or men) say they like the full dipilatory because it's "more hygenic," with the unspoken correllary being that not to be bare there is, a fortiori, less hygenic. I bathe daily, so I'm hygenic, I assure you.

I guess that's all for now.

[Rhythm]

112. I'm comfortable with whatever my partner's comfortable with, as long as

I am afforded the same respect in that regard.

Don't like my hairy legs? :shrug: Don't ask me out.

As far as what i 'prefer' in my intimate partners, I really have no 'preferences' in that arena. I'm bisexual, and have had intimate partners in my life that ranged from bald to sasquatch. I would never think to make requests with regard to what they do with their personal grooming, other than that they bathe regularly. I think that's fair.

I also am someone who only on rare occasion removes hair from anywhere below my neck. I really see no reason to scrape my skin with a piece of steel for the preferences of others. If i'm comfortable with it, and so is my intimate partner, then why put my skin through the irritation just for the tacit approval of strangers.

Anyway... just my $0.02. YMMV

[Joey Liberal]

114. Hairy broads are hot! n/t

[GoneOffShore]

116. TMI there Sunshine, TMI

[cynatnite]

117. I shaved sporadically because I was sharing razors with two teenage daughters...

Now, that they've moved out I no longer have to share. Legs and pits are hairless all the time now. :)

[Catch22Dem]

119. No thanks. Yuk. (n/t)

[Marr]

120. ...no, thank you.

It strikes me as unkempt. I keep myself eh... groomed, since I assume my partner would be similarly turned off if I didn't.

[DerekG]

121. Utterly repulsive

Guess I'm too much of a conformist.

[ZenKitty]

122. To each his or her own...

No wrong answer on this issue IMHO.

As a woman, I choose...no scratch that, I need to shave my

legs: nothing better than sliding in to the sheets after a long day with silky smooth legs. Smooth legs mean I can toss and turn in the middle of the night without waking up. lol

pits: I guess I'm a fail in some peeps eyes but honestly it doesn't bother me one bit. I don't like stinkin' and I don't like the feel of pit hair + deodorant + sweat. I prefer to shave it off in a matter of 2 seconds one or two times per week.

The need is not dictated by anyone else but me!

[MikeH]

123. I also love natural body hair on women; why any more strange than homosexual attraction?

I am a heterosexual male, and I have had an attraction to body hair on women since I was an adolescent in the 1960's. Hairy legs have been my favorite, but I also like body hair elsewhere, i.e. underarms, arms, etc.

I saw a fair number of women with hairy legs and other body hair when I was a college student in the 1970's. It has been one of my disappointments that that never became more common since. In fact female body hair has become even more unacceptable than it was in the 1970's. For instance I remember seeing a fair number of women with hairy arms in the 1960's and 1970's, but rather few now.

I have been puzzled as to why just about anything else has become acceptable in our society at some time since the 1960's except for natural body hair on women.

I respect people's personal preferences, and I respect that some people do not like body hair on women (and in some cases not on men either). However I am very sorry, and find it very sad, to see the number of people who have expressed comments like yuk, gross, or repulsive. I have to say that I am particularly sad and sorry that somebody who likes counterculture and radical feminist women would draw an arbitrary line at body hair.

In fact I am struck in noting that the feelings of revulsion for body hair on women expressed in some of the posts in this thread are identical to feelings of revulsion to homosexuality which were expressed by most "normal" people (and are still expressed by people in the Religious Right) before it became "cool" to be in favor of gay rights and to accept homosexuality as being something perfectly normal.

Not being gay myself, I admit I find the thought of any kind of sex with another man to be distasteful to me. And I myself thought of homosexuality as being something "deviant" and actually "icky" when I was much less enlightened than I am now. I later learned that people do not entirely choose who they are attracted to; they find that they are attracted to certain people, some people find that they are attracted to people of the same sex.

To me, before acceptance of homosexuality became the norm, I would have thought it much more radical to accept homosexuality than to accept body hair on women.

Even though I myself find the thought of sex with another man to be distasteful for me, that does not mean that it is wrong, "perverted", deviant, or "icky" for another person to be attracted to somebody of the same sex.

And I remember people (including myself) were very judgmental of boys and men wearing long hair when they first started doing so in the 1960's (as I remember it started with the Beatles in 1964). But then long hair became common and accepted, especially in the 1970's.

One thing that especially boggles my mind is that tongue piercing (OUCH!) and multiple body piercing are more accepted in our society than natural body hair on women. I personally consider body piercing to be a form of mutilation, and am at a loss to understand why people desire to pierce their bodies, or are willing to do so in order to hang objects on them. However if that is what other people want to do, then that is their business.

It should be noted that razor companies and cosmetic companies profit from women removing their body hair, starting from the time that they are young girls.

This started about 1915 when the Gillette razor company started an advertising blitz to convince women that they had to have bare armpits, and later that they had to have smooth legs. See the following links.

http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m062802.htm#5

http://books.google.com/books?id=XmwCN-Bju4wC&pg=PA58&lpg=PA58&dq=1915+Gillette&source=web&ots=0u8lWNUVRM&sig=DKY_kazUc_d6Zs608QJ_v87oMjI&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result

The razor and cosmetic companies prey on women's fears and insecurities about being uncool and unfeminine, starting when they are young teens. This is not much different from the way tobacco companies have always hooked young people on smoking.

I have mixed feelings about men (or at least some men) now removing body hair as well as women. I remember that until fairly recently it was almost unheard of for men to remove body hair. Body hair, particularly chest hair, was considered to be very manly.

It has always seemed very unfair to me that women have had to go through all the pain and trouble to remove body hair, but not men. And it particularly bothered me in the 1970's that hairy legs and underarms on women never became common and acceptable like long (head) hair on men.

So if men are now removing body hair it seems a little less unfair and a little less sexist for women to remove body hair. (Though still by no means all men remove body hair.) However I would have much preferred for women to also grow their body hair grow out, rather than for men to remove their body hair.

Incidentally I myself have no intention of removing any of my own body hair; however I just have a normal, moderate amount of body hair in the usual places; I do not have any excessive amount of body hair anywhere.

I have to wonder how much of the dislike for body hair is really "real", and how much of the dislike is conditioned by advertising and societal pressures, and fear of being considered "uncool".

For myself I find very sexy the idea of a woman who by other standards would be considered attractive, and who has more than just a little body hair, and who lets her body hair grow out, and who loves and is not ashamed of her natural hair and her natural state. And I see nothing wrong with liking what I like.

[RadiationTherapy]

124. Thanks for this great write up, you touch on a lot of important topics. nt

[ZombieHorde]

125. When I first met my wife, my head, armpits, legs, and other places were shaved clean.

She had nothing shaved. This did not stop either of us from enjoying each others company.