Body Image and the Hairless Norm

Going into this week’s topics, I initially did not see myself being too passionate about it. I, like many females in today’s society, shave most of the hair on my body. But honestly, I was never truly bothered by it until reading articles from The Last Triangle and having our discussion in class.

First of all, I agree that, yes, in today’s day and age it is seen as more appealing to conform to the “hairless norm.” Even men have been pressured into grooming their body hair. Something that used to be seen as natural and often something to be proud of, has now become something individuals, specifically women, are supposed to be ashamed of. It is so frustrating for me to watch the advertisements for women’s razors. They are created to make us feel as though our body hair is unnatural and unsanitary. Not only this, but the razors and products we, as women, purchase to remove the “unsanitary” body hair are far more expensive than the products men purchase for the same purposes. From personal experience, I have found that men’s razors work exactly the same (if not better) and are WAY cheaper than the stupid, pink, frilly razor I am expected to buy. Although frustrating, I cannot simply blame the razor companies for this phenomenon.

With the growth of the porn industry, today’s generation has really only been exposed to images of ideal men and women in sexual context. Parents struggle to provide proper sex talks, leaving children to turn to the internet to formulate their thoughts and opinions on the matter. What is depicted is shameful. Women are seen as completely hairless, often with multiple surgeries on their bodies to make them seem “perfect” and “appealing” in the eye of today’s media. The same, unfortunately, applies to men seen in pornographic material. This provides unrealistic expectations for young adults as to what to expect of each other when finally engaging in intimate acts. Women and men who don’t groom their body hair are seen as unclean (although this is often not the case). This also applies to their perception of their own genitalia, provoking the questions, “Am I normal?” “Am I the same as everyone else?” “What am I supposed to look like?” etc.

Overall, each person is different. It is up to each individual to decide how they want to keep their own body, no matter what shape or size. Although true, this is often difficult to believe due to the hairless norm and the pornographic propaganda of today’s media and society.