As a Woman With Armpit Hair...
- Aubrey Rose
- Aug 17, 2018
- 4 min read
Life is totally normal. Seriously.
Of course, this was a learned behavior- I certainly wasn't encouraged to do so.
From the time my eleven-year-old self first discovered my little patch of hair, I was taught to shave it. I didn't even realize it was there, it was actually my cousin that pointed it out and told me "you need to shave."
Shaving was never an issue for me. In doing so, I never felt like I was being denied freedom or granted an inconvenience. Rather, I liked being clean shaven and I prided myself in it. In middle school, I noticed that some of the girls at my school didn't shave and I thought that they were gross. Laying all of the cards out on the table here, I was raised to shave so I thought that not doing so was just lazy and dirty.
Of course, that was eight years ago.
I never had any interest in letting my hair grow out- I even shaved my arms. It wasn't until I moved to Texas that I started to do so.
It all started because I didn't spend much time with anyone outside of work, so I just got lazy. I didn't feel like shaving, so I just went without it for some time. After about a week, I realized I just didn't mind the hair all that much- it was less uncomfortable than the bumps were.
The first time that anyone noticed was when my aunt pointed it out. She didn't judge me or have anything negative to say, she just asked if I was "embracing my inner hippie by letting my armpit hair grow out."
Well goodness, I was mortified. My grandparents and cousins were there- and while they couldn't have given less of a crap, I was so embarrassed. The funny thing is that no one else cared. They even told me that if I was going to do it, I had to embrace it- not hide my beat red face whenever someone asks.
Even though I was shown support and acceptance, I judged and rejected myself. Then I shaved.
About two months later, I let it go again for the same reasons. After being called out that I needed to shave before going to the gym, I decided to let it grow. To my boyfriend, this was foreign and random, but he didn't care- so I just went for it. I didn't shave for a month.
Like I said before- life was normal.
I did get a few comments like:
- "You didn't tell me you had pet squirrels"
- "You have man pits" (my 4 and 9 year old brothers)
- "Disgusting. I think it's gross, but I support you."
- *Gags*
My favorite supportive one being:
- "They're longer than the last time I saw them- you go girl!"
About a week ago, I posted about the topic on my Facebook and Snapchat story. I was surprised at just how many people responded!
On Snapchat, where my typical audience is close friends around my age, the typical theme was that the girls didn't want the hair for themselves, but they wouldn't judge a woman that wanted to rock it. Others responded, as my friend Mono (19 M) put it, "IDK. It's like asking my opinion on head hair. Issa natural thing, y'know?"
A girl friend of mine (age 19) actually said that she would love to let her hair grow out, but "the reality is that girls who don't shave are normally earthy or hippie women. And our society has taught us to believe that it's not normal. In high school, a girl made fun of me in front of the whole track team for not shaving my legs and I've been scared by it ever since."
When analyzing my SC responses, I was surprised at her comment. No one has ever said anything to me, how did that happen to her? So, I posted on Facebook and the result was entirely different.
My poll received 20 votes and 2 comments- 11 in opposition and 11 that support women with armpit hair. When looking at the demographic, my understanding became a bit denser.
The general supporters were all girls and all under the age of 21 except for 1 person.
Those that opposed landed into a two different categories: 7 of them were males ranging from the ages of 18 and mid 30s and the other 3 were girls between ages 18 and mid 30s.
As far as my particular poll went, it seems that most men older than the age of 21 do not support it at all, as well as most of those under the age of 21.
Women over the age of 21 typically seem to dislike it for themselves, but still support the hair, while most women under the age of 21 just pledge their support.
The funny thing is that I'm sure that most of my family don't even know that I have armpit hair. If it's summer time and I'm wearing a tank top, sure. Most of the time, it doesn't really affect anyone. While people relate hair to stink or lack of hygeine, I'd like to point out that I'm a very clean person. In the pictures that I post, do I "look like" I'd have armpit hair? I don't mean to judge anyone with an opinion that opposes my own, but I do hope that those who read this may reconsider, or even try being a bit more open minded.
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